I dont know how many of you realized this when you bought your trucks, but the cracking dashboard is totally avoidable.

The day I bought my truck in 01 I ordered a dashmat to protect the dashboard.


To this day, my dashboard underneath the mat is still Cherry.

Before you go and crucify Chrysler over this, realize that you had the power to prevent this, but chose not to.
Thats a good tip when we get them replaced. I bought mine in 05 within 6 months it was cracked, I didnt know this was an issue until I had a crack. I plan on purchasing an 09 Patriot, however the dash seems to be the same quality, I am leary of that

 

Seems to be a lot of Chrysler employees on this forum.
1. Didn't know it was necessary until after it cracked, too late.
2. It shouldn't be necessary for any manufacturer. Mine sits next to a 19 old Bronco that has a dash with no problems.
The only thing that would make this excuseable would be if they didn't know it was going to happen, and they made it right by fixing it.
I just wish I could buy a 3rd party replacment and have it hold up better.

 

I have a o1 1500 and I brought it 3months ago, The first thing I looked at was the dash, It was fine. I have no cracks and I use tire magic on it. I dont believe a person should have to buy a dash cover!! Grant you all products need some kind of care to protect it, even dash borads.

 

No, the money does not go toGermany

Daimler sold it to Cerberus Capital Management in NYC. Here's the USA Today story. http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...cerberus_N.htm Here's Cerberus' "About" page on their site. http://www.cerberuscapital.com/about_comp_prof.html Check'em out!!

My '96 is an Arizona truck and the dash lasted 4 years. It's made of cheap, thick, children's toy quality plastic that can't handle the desert sun and heat. Notmany dashs, including my Corolla, can. Everybody was sreaminglouder thanbanshees about the Dodges, and a very large number of people filed complaints, but the Feds wouldn't do diddly squat.

You people with newer trucks definitely should should file, but the complaint on mine was filed in 2001.

 

I just logged my cracked dash at the site. I dont think anything will happen.

 

If you believe the automakers care about you, you should read the Ivey Memo.

In the now-infamous 1973 “Ivy Memo,” estimated that there were “a maximum of 500 fatalities per year in accidents with fuel fed fires where the bodies where burnt.”

Rather than immediately approaching its engineers to redesign a safer automobile, the memo sets out a calculation to determine which would cost less - a human life, or a new design. GM figured it would cost around $8.59/vehicle to protect fuel tanks in crashes.



Then, mechanical engineer Edward C. Ivey, author of the memo, calculated a value of $200,000 for each human life lost in an automobile fire. By figuring the amount of GM cars currently on the road, Ivey reasoned it would save GM about $6.19/vehicle or $253,790,000 to simply let the people burn up.


GM took Ivey at his word, and made no significant changes in the design of its automobiles to protect the fuel tanks, buried the memo and began lying about its knowledge of its fuel tank hazards. Meanwhile, GM fuel tanks continued to rupture in roadway crashes, resulting in horrific deaths.

 

Complaint filed. Dash and heater *****.

 

Guess you didn't notice that this thread is a year old.

 

Thats great news.....except my 2001 dodge ram has a mint looking dash. Almost 145,000 on it and it still looks new. I'm going to forward this to a few dodge owners that I know.

 

sure did, but the site and the complaints are still active. People should be aware of that.