[windswept4]

To lower the spare tire: find the lugnut wrench (stored in the right wall encasement near the rear liftgate. Raise the carpet in the luggage storage area to locate a circular plastic tab the size of a tennis ball can lid. Pry open that plastic tab and there is a nut inside. The nut is attached to a round shaft by threading and a drive pin. If the drive pin shears off, the lug nut will spin uselessly without turning the round shaft. When the round shaft turns, it will lengthen or shorten the steel cable that retains the spare tire under the vehicle near the exhaust pipe. Looking down from above, turning the nut clockwise tightens the cable (raising the spare tire). Turning counter-clockwise loosens the cable (lowering the spare tire). Please refer to the picture. The lug nut and spare tire lifting and lowering assembly has been removed and is shown in the photo. The close up shows the shaft and lug nut holes, which when properly assembled and the nut hole and shaft hole are properly aligned will be held together with the drive pin. Since my drive pin sheared from over tightening I put a nail in place and sawed off the excess of the nail. In a pinch a pair of vice grips on what little portion of the shaft is exposed might allow enough rotation to loosen the spare tire. I have also heard that letting some air out of the spare will decrease the tire size slightly so that cranking the shaft may not be as difficult. In desperate circumstances I have heard of cutting the steel cable to get the mechanism to release. There is also a lug nut underneath the mechanism (visible when lying on your back on the ground and looking up from the ground). That lug nut does not drive the shaft so turning it either way does not lengthen or shorten the steel cable length.