SIX QUICK WAYS TO DEFEAT THE GENERAL MOTORS FACTORY INSTALLED PLASTIC SPARE TIRE LOCK.
Place a screwdriver or small prybar under the flange edge of the plastic lock housing and pry away from the bumper. The flange edge will break away in several pieces. The broken lock housing is then pushed through the stamped mounting hole to the back side of the bumper. Reach up from behind the bumper and the remove the broken lock housing from the end of the plastic winch tube with the locked lock cylinder inside.
Locate the small raised cavity on the lower side of the plastic lock housing on the backside of the bumper. Hold the pointed end of an ice pick angled slightly to the rear and make a small hole in bottom of cavity. Push the end of the ice pick through the hole, depressing the spring loaded lock cylinder cam. This will release the lock cylinder and allow removal through the front of the lock housing.
Clamp pliers around the plastic lock housing from the back side of the bumper, forcing the lock housing to rotate in the square shaped mounting hole. This will crack the lock housing causing it break away at the edge of the steel retainer ring. Pulling downward on the remaining section of the lock housing, now partcially attached to the bumper, releases the lock cylinder.
Reaching above spare tire from right side, grasp the flexible plastic winch tube and pull downward. This will disengage the winch tube mounting flange from the winch mechanism, exposing the shaft of the winch mechanism. The square end of winch shaft is now accessable through large rectangular opening in the rear bumper behind the licence plate.
Only one bolt is now used to attach the winch mechanism to the frame of the vehicle. The new wheel design has larger air slot openings allowing easy access to the single mounting bolt. Removal of this single bolt releases the winch mechanism from frame with the spare tire still attached to the winch cable.
The quick and easy way to defeat spare tire locks that limit access to the winch mechanism crank tube, is to simply reach through the one of the openings in the wheel and cut winch cable. The current wheel design has large air slot openings allowing unrestricted access to the winch cable. NOTE: A redesigned winch mechanism introduced late in model year 2002 makes this method somewhat more difficult, but not impossible.