The dashboard on my 2003 4 Runner SR5 started cracking straight across the length and then some, and it's not slowing down. Problem is, it started cracking within a month after the May 2017 expiration of the free fix by Toyota, so unfortunately I'm out of luck there. Vehicle runs great at 159,000 miles and I'm not ready to call it quits. Any ideas as to the cost involved if we wanted to repair/replace the cracked dash on our own?

A new dash is somewhere around $2,000 and time consuming to replace. You can get a dash mat to cover the cracks, there are some decent nice fitting ones, or there is this dash cap.

4Runner Dash Cap Page - Dye Guy Inc.

That's about all I know of to hide the cracks.

You can pay about 900 for an OEM dash and install yourself. That’s what I did. It wasn’t bad. Took me a few hours total.

Most people way over exaggerate the difficulty of the dash swap.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was in the same situation and opted to install a Coverlay. Here is my write-up:

Coverlay Installation for Cracked Dashboard (video)

That's a damn shame about your '03 dashboard just starting to show cracks. I had an '04 SR5 and it started cracking probably like a year before they announced the program to repair cracked dashboards. I'm guessing it's dependent on climate in your area whether cracks will occur sooner than later. VA for me. Look into local junkyards for totaled 4R's. 100% you will find a solid dash although may be dirty but a good interior detail will resolve this.


I think there's a legitimate reason to why a good number of people prefer to have work done by the dealership or a private shop. It's time consuming and if something goes wrong during the process, unless you are already savvy with your hands working on automotives, you're going to have to take it to the dealership where it will certainly result in you paying more $ for them to correct issue(s).

I repeatedly say this every time I come across threads where people quickly say, "why don't you save $ and do the work yourself??". Respectfully speaking, there are 3 types of owners here on T4R: 1) Owners who can do all the work on their 4Runners due to years of experience working on cars over the years / guidance from local friends who also own 4R's or 4WD vehicles where they can share knowledge with each other. 2) Owners who are nowhere close to possessing technical knowledge on conducting major work on their 4R, i.e. major repairs versus minor repairs like replacing a light bulb or a fuse and probably lives in an area where they do not know other 4R owners. 3) Owners who can easily do the work themselves but unwilling to put in time and effort due to their busy schedule or simply may not want to get their hands dirty on a project that'd take them a lot longer versus a professional shop that must meet deadlines.

In my opinion, I wouldn't want to go around telling people, "hey it's easy, save yourself labor costs and do the work yourself!" if I were you. What if you said that to someone who had limited knowledge on a project like this? I highly doubt you'd fly out there and correct issue(s) made during the project since you were the one to suggest him saving $ and do the work himself.

BTW, nice alias! Is it a reference to your old truck, f250 prior to switching over to Toyota 4R's ? If so, welcome to Toyota Nation!

In general, I agree with you, with a few caveats.
1) I didn’t say “save the $ and do the work yourself” I said that’s what I did and it worked well for me. I have 100% paid for work I could perform myself in the past due to time priorities. And I get not everybody has the same skill level. In my own searches specific to dash replacement, I simply found a LOT of people saying “it’s extremely time consuming and difficult, set aside an entire weekend for the project”. After doing the project myself, I found this information wildly inaccurate, so my goal is to offer some more experience based information that’s a bit more encouraging and accessible.

2) This is an enthusiasts forum, I assume an individual posting here would at least be interested in hearing about the range of options out there including DIY. If someone gets themselves in over their head on a DIY project, it’s their own responsibility, they made the decisions to get themselves there. If they’re worried about that, then they don’t do the work themselves. If I have experience pertaining to a fix someone asks about, I’ll happily share my experience and they can do whatever they want with it.

3) there’s no personal liability or insurance implied or offered when someone offers a story of their own experience. No, not going to fly somewhere to help someone change their dash. I would however happily offer help through this venue, even talk or FaceTime with someone if they shared they were struggling with something I could simply assist them with. Also, my post did not include detailed info or help. That was on purpose. My goal was simply to encourage someone who’s interested in a diy option to consider it. Not as bad as some people say. I’ve offered multiple people who had specific questions about this swap detailed assistance and am always happy to.

So while I agree with you on the range of individuals and skill sets out there, and the fact that DIY is NOT always the wisest, honestly I do not worry about these things to the level you laid out. We’re all adults here. At least old enough to drive. We’re all responsible for our own actions, and I choose to offer potentially helpful info when someone asks, even if it potentially doesn’t fit every possible scenario the question asked could be in.

My handle, yes you got it lol. I had an old f250 for several years and my dad and I were both heavily involved in the online forum community for that vehicle. The names sort of stuck, and I’ve used it ever since, long after I got rid of the truck. For me, forums and enthusiast communities have always been a part of my own love for vehicles. I’ve been in Toyota’s for a while though, I frequented Tacoma world for a long time, and switched over here when I got my 4r. Honestly, t4r.org is miles better. Way more info.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Have you asked toyota to work with you on this? 1 month, out of roughly 15 years (~180 months) is really insignificant. I would imagine toyota should be willing to do something, even if they ask you to pick up part of the cost. Try this article The Right Way to Get Your Issue Resolved - Toyota Customer Service Tips

Have you skimmed Craigslist or the local pick a parts? Prob find a dash for pretty cheap from a parts car.

I'd like to add, while I'm VERY happy with the results of my dash swap, I had not found the coverlay option until after I did the dash swap. Coverlay is WAY cheaper. And based on the videos, it actually looks like a good long term solution. I would have strongly considered the coverlay INSTEAD of a full dash swap, just because of the cost difference. Money's already spent, and I'm happy with the OEM solution, but the 750ish cost difference could have almost bought me an ARB front bumper. Or it could have bought a fridge. And at least gotten me half way to a dual battery setup. Or it could have bought me almost a full set of cooper st maxx's.

Just food for thought OP, if you're seriously considering one of these DIY approaches.

So I did the Coverlay dash cover and it kind of turned out looking crappy (and I followed the instructions and threads on here to a 't'). Didn't adhere well around the glovebox area and behind the center speaker. I'm pondering just replacing the dash because I'm a bit OCD and now that I've focused on this, it's all I can focus on. There is a replacement dash on eBay for $225 and it appears to be crack free. How hard is it to remove and replace the dash?

Before I went that route, I’d try to re-glue the Coverlay to see if I could get a better result since the money is already spent. I was fortunate enough to have a non cracked, perfect dash in my ‘04 until last year when my daughter lost her grip on a dog we were transporting that was on her lap. During the struggle, the dog put some claw marks in the dash pad that drive me nuts every time I get in the truck. I had considered grabbing a Coverlay at some point, since I’m not keen on dropping close to $1k to fix a dash cover, or wasting the many hours it would take to remove and replace the whole dash.

R&R'ing the dash is way easier than people make it out to be. It took me roughly an hour and a half/2 hours to pull, and an hour or so the next day to install the new one.

Its just expensive. I'd reglue the coverlay before spending that money.

Did you have a diagram you worked with showing the location of all the attachment points and fasteners, or did you just take stuff off as you went along?

I just used the service manual. it gives enough info on the dash assembly that you can pull it off.

Honestly I haven't seen it around for a while but if you search around there's a couple of copies floating around on T4r.org