.......especially if the truck was exposed to direct sunlight or extreme cold.......


hmmmmm...............designing truck, or any vehicle, to be exposed to sunlight or extreme cold.............. like who would keep their truck outside. Of all the nerve, LMAO! However, the safety of the issue is a bit of a stretch there but it's more than simply "cosmetic". I don't think it's too much to ask to have a product to last longer than 10 years. I keep my vehicles till they drop eg: '77 dodge sport van died in '91, '83 chevy died in '04, 87 s-10 died in '06 ....... dash boards weren't cracked or rotted. A '00 or '01 with interior rot? I don't think that's "reasonable". My 2001 seems fine, but if it cracks Deiter is gonna get my size 13 RedWing logger boot in his backside.

If something is going to be exposed to sunlight or cold use materials that hold up.

 

I have complained for months maybe even years since i bought my ram i have enormous cracks popping up all the time. im beyond sick of this ****. thanks for the link and keeping this thread alive.

 

Age should have very little to do with this faliure. I have a 1991 W150 w/185k that NO cracking at all (never been garage kept). My 2001 1500 has only 40k with a big crack coming from the right defroster vent. It just started this july.

 

I have a 2000 Dodge Ram. Until a few months ago, my dash was fine. I have used a windshield cover to minimize the sun damage. My dash began cracking at the right hand defroster and then began splitting all the way from the right corner to the passenger air bag. It looks awful. I will not buy another dodge product for that reason. The dealer wants 900 dollars to replace it. [:@]

 

Does anyone have any updates on the actions mentioned above? I closed my hood today and a large chunk (12" x 8") completly broke off today and fell into the firewall area. Now i have a amazing veiw of half of my right side airbag. If i was worried about my dash before i am now cause i would hate to live with the fact that i may be driving and get into an accident where an airbag might save a life only for that person who was sitting in the front pass. side to have a huge chunk of plastic disfigure them of worse kill them. I am tired of this dash problem, tired of having a nice looking truck that has been somewhat reliable (aside form the usual tranny and rear end problems and more) having 36 cracks total. Or i guess 36 was the last time i counted.

Now truthfully, i know everone has had the dash problems and i know i am new here and i know how to use the search button, but if i did a search to see if anyone has done anything more about this i would be reading for months and months. Has anyone considered trying to get a local new station or a national new show to do some research on this and see if Dodge gets provoked into taking somekind of action?

I myself am not a huge fan of overlays cause i look at it like your covering a gun shot wound with a band-aid. Your problem is hidden but still exists. What happens when we cant see it and dont notice that pieces are still falling off and not sitting directly on our airbags? What if it is rubbing holes in the airbags? Has anyone seen what an airbag does when it goes off in person? or seen what an airbag with a small hole in it does with it deploys?

I know im getting back on a dead horse and this has all been repeated but losing a large piece of my dash today just burns me up! I will not lie i am a proud dodge owner but now i just feel ashamed to own one...all the work i have done to this truck to keep it looking nice and running nice seems to be all negated when i look at the innards of my dash board while im in my office looking out the second floor of my window at my truck.

Sorry for the rant, i dont feel any better yet

 

Weird, I have had two Rams now (a 01 I bought new now I have a 99) and drove probably a hundred (I work at an RV Dealership with a hitch shop so we see Rams almost daily for hitch work/brake controls etc...), and I have never seeen a cracked dash on any of them that I remember. We do look for things like that before we pull them around to work on them so that we cannot be blamed for something later on.

I am certainly not saying that it couldn't happen, just weird that I have never seen one. Where do the cracks occur? Are they mainly in one place, or does it happen all over? Maybe it is a regional thing too??? I live and work in Denver, Co. FWIW.

 

Well add another 01 Ram owner to the list of cracked dashes. I was quoted an outrageous Dealer price approx. $1k to replace, screw that I restore old bikes I can handle simple stuff like trim work. How difficult and what kind of tools are involved? Where are all the mounting screws? Is there a procedure list, 'cause the clymer manual I have seems to be better for the 1st gen rams than the 2nd.

 

Add mine to the list. I have an 2001 and it has developed several cracks in the dash over the past year and a half. I live in an area with very mild climate all year. The dashes on two of our work trucks, 2000's, are fine.

 

im a proud owner of the POS dash club also , will be interesting to see if it holds up this winter

 

I have a 99 ram 1500 quad and my dash is starting to crack a little on the passenger side. My husband has a 01 and he has big pieces that have already fell through. We to have hit a wall with Chrysler. Does any one know where to get a new dash cap without going through the dealer?