Even the replacement ones that you can get on ebay are of a different material or something like that. I don't know about the reinforcement thing that Purpl was talking about, but I do know that there is at least one guy on ebay selling these dashes and he claims that they wont crack as they are of a different compound..

 

You see the little lines on it? Thats called reinforcement. The new Mopar dashes have them and are made of a different material and are from a different vendor. I was talking to the parts manager about it at the dealer.

 

I didn't even click on your link. Just wanted to chime in that there are people making the OEM style out of a different compound.....

 

whats the difference between the earlier 90's dashes vs the late 90's

 

Look at them. Its pretty obvious.

 

If this is true then Chrysler should make them available to anyone with a cracked dash at cost. It is grossly unfair for a part like this to fail through no fault of the owner. My truck was garage kept until I bought it 7 months ago and has never been abused. It's obvious from the many complaints I've seen that this is a defective part, plain and simple. In addition to the hassle and inconvenience this causes, our vehicles are taking a major resale hit because of these cracks.

 

Yea a cracked dash sucks but dont think its only a dodge thing I know of many chevys from around the same time my truck is with dashes cracked to hell.

But then again my dash wont crack so I dont have to knock on wood, and after a couple months the cover should firm up some and form to the dash better.

Mine was rolled up when I got it been on there for sometime and some people dont even notice it

 

15 years..and still solid like new *knocks on wood*

and mines had **** thrown on it..sat in the sun..not to mention was never ever cleaned dont think that has anything to do with it..but man i had to clean it four times just to get it looking semi good

Miami- i dont care much for the cover but i like the rest of the interior..especially the wood grain, and the guages..to each his own

 

I just found this in the factory service manual:

"The instrument
panel surface components are designed to deform
upon impact without breaking. This type of construction
provides improved energy absorption which, in
conjunction with the dual airbags and seat belts,

helps to improve occupant protection."

According to the manual, the instrument panel includes the top dash panel. These paragraphs indicate that there is a safety component to the design and manufacture of this component and that its integrity is necessary for continued safety, which is jeopardized when this panel is not intact. I'm no lawyer, but that tells me that there is a legitimate basis for a class action lawsuit to force Chrysler to do something about these crumbling dashes in our trucks. After all, it's right there in their own words that the cover is part of this energy absorbing safety feature. Anybody know a defective product attorney that might want to take this on? I am so pissed about this I could chew nails. I'm going to start a thread where anyone with a defective dash can place their name and contact info to see just how widespread this problem is. How can NHTSA ignore this if even Chrysler themselves say the design and integrity of the dash is related to occupant safety?

 

They tried to do this a long time ago didnt work then definantly wont work now