Hey all, I filed a complaint with NHTSA about my cracked dash


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Your Confirmation number (ODI Number) is: 10274549

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... this is the e-mail I received. Maybe if enough complaints come in, Dodge will FINALLY do something.

Hello Joseph, thanks for adding the accessories - interior complaint with your 1995 Dodge Ram 1500 - it's been added to CarComplaints.com! Click on the link below to view your complaint:
http://www.carcomplaints.com/Dodge/R...ashboard.shtml

Cracked dashboards on Dodge Ram trucks is one of the most frequent complaints we receive. Up until recently, in most cases Dodge refused to do anything. Lately there has been a lot more pressure on them especially after a news station ran a report about the cracked dashboards. Go to www.CrackedDash.com for more help and information.

When you experience any other problems with your Ram 1500, please remember to come back & add them using the Add Complaint form: http://www.carcomplaints.com/addreport.shtml

Cheers,
-Sarah

http://www.CarComplaints.com
What's wrong with YOUR car?



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Good luck getting them to recall anything on a vehicle that is 8-14 years old.

I am not trying to be a dick, but there aren't very many companies out there that will do something like that on products that old.

How would a cracked dash pose a safety hazard? Flying pieces in a wreck? Pfft.....

 

The website says the sharp edges pose a hazard.

"However it's obvious (to us) that someone could be seriously hurt by the sharp edges of the exposed broken dashboards."

Thats kind of stretching it, I'd say. Not saying it isn't Dodge's fault or that they shouldn't recall them/fix them, just saying the whole "cut yourself on plastic" thing seems slightly lame.

 

Imagine some of those sharp, jagged pieces getting dislodged in an accident and flying in front of the airbag as it deploys. It could happen and, unfortunately, it will probably take something like that actually happening before NHTSA forces Dodge to do something about this. The longer this drags on, the fewer of these trucks will still be on the road when Dodge is finally forced to fix them. All car manufacturers know this and they delay doing anything until forced to for just this reason. It lowers the eventual cost of a recall. Ford wrote the book on this practice.

 

Ditto on what Miami said, and odds are it would have to happen at least a half dozen times and have law suits involved as well before Dodge would move on it.

 

I agree with you guys but that is a really stupid way to do business. That is a wonderful way to loose customers and ruin a business. Which is why they are all doing so poorly. I will agree that most people aren't smart enough to think these things through when buying a car, but some of us do. I can tell you due to my bad experiences with cars, I wont buy a Honda, and I wont buy a GM. I probably wont buy a new DODGE because they are so screwie they don't know if they are coming or going. That is assuming they even survive past next year. That doesn't mean I don't love my DODGE, but that's the exception that proves the rule, as they say. I wouldn't buy a FORD either, but I bought a Mustang because I have always wanted one. Only live once you know, but I wouldn't buy any other FORD. Customer relations and satisfaction are very important, and my money is just as good any place else, so why give my money to a company that doesn't give a rat's a$$ about me?

 

they already went broke putting in cheapo dashes. why should they give a $hit now. don't hold your breath waiting on a response.

 

You have to look at it as if they were two different companies. One company designs and build the vehicles and cares a lot about the products they make and sell and the people that buy them. The other cares about the stock price and sales numbers and in keeping the margins as high as possible in order to please shareholders. Unfortunately, these two companies almost always find themselves at odds with each other because they serve different masters.

 

Let's talk physics for a second. Did either of you have this in high school or college?

Let me pose the first question: What is the purpose of the airbag?
Purpose: To deploy upon impact with a speed great enough to allow it to become fully inflated to save the driver extreme injury. With me so far?

Now, let's get to the physics: When an object is moving forward, where is the inertia going to be? If the object isn't accelerating, there will be zero (0) inertia present. When the object impacts a stationary object, Where is inertia going to be then? It's going to follow the same direction that the object was traveling before sudden impact. So, if you are in a head on collision, the "dash shards" will be faced forward.
Since the air bag sensors are in the front end only, this eliminates the theory of side or rear impact.
Considering that the average automotive air bag will deploy in .10 seconds or less, There is a better chance of watching the moon fall out of the sky tonight before your theory becomes true.

Now bring the flames!

 

Air bags go off over 5-15 mph.