Spare Tire Carrier

I have a 1997 Isuzu rodeo, the spare tire carrier that I have is having the issue of not being able to open so I can access the hatch. The lever that you pull, that releases the hatch to access the gate, seems to slide rather than engage and open it. I was able to finally pull the lever to relapse it and noticed that the area that it makes contact with the mechanism has created a groove that is the cause of the problem. The groove seems to be more of a plastic material than metal.
My question is, is there a low cost method of correcting this or do I need to buy the lever part?

Can you take a picture and post it? Have the same carrier, but for the life of me, I'm not sure what part you're referring to.