Crack in 2005 Dash

A

Andrew0425

New member
My wife and I recently took a trip to Colorado, from Oklahoma. After about 7 days in Rocky Mountain National Park and Colorado Springs, we headed home. Durring the drive my wife pointed out a small crack on the passenger side of the dash. It is about 3-4 long and you can push down on both sides and it seals up. The vehicle is a black 2005 sport 4wd V8 that has 47k on it. This is the first problem and I wanted to know if anyone else has had a similar problem and what the best fix is.

Thanks

Andrew
 

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WOAH. Wierd!

Never seen that or even heard of such a thing...though that doesn't mean it can't happen.

Take it to the dealer?
 

Just a thought............is this a vehicle you purchased used? I hate to say it, but my first instinct is that you got a car with an airbag that had been deployed and some unscrupulous malcontent never put in a new one - but just covered up an empty hole.

I'm probably way off base, but that was the first thing that came to mind. I hope I am wrong!
 
Yes unfortunately the car was purchased used, in Aug '07. The carfax was completely clean. Does the airbag come out from the top or the front of the dash? Unfortunately it is not under warranty per the 36k. When I called the dealership they suggested a vinyl repair guy. I thought it might be due to the change of altitude, air bubble under/trapped in the dash expanded but I am not sure, again any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Andrew
 
I don't buy the altitude/bubble theory. A lot of pressure would have to build in that area with no time to dissipate and nothing is completely airtight within a car, at least nothing in the cabin that I can think of.

A more plausible explanation is the hot, dry air in CO, especially if it was baking in the sun. Your car does not sound old enough to be having those kind of problems already, but if the dash is exposed to a lot of sunlight, parked outside a lot, and/or you or the previous owner armoralled the dash causing drying and cracking, all of those can cause a dashboard to crack.

Whatever the case, it seems premature for the dash to be cracking so I hope you get it resolved. Vinyl repair guys can sometimes do a sh!tty job so be careful. Since the car is still relatively young, you might want to price out a new dash or check around with local salvage yards.

Best of luck.
 
Carfax doesnt always have the entire history on a vehicle, so be careful with that.

I purchased a 4Runner that had oil in the brake lines, which werent on the carfax report despite it being a serious problem.
 
antidentite said:
Carfax doesnt always have the entire history on a vehicle, so be careful with that.
Click to expand...

I had Carfax ran on my old car that I no longer have. The accident never showed up. I don't think my insurance ever reported it to DMV, thus Carfax never had it.

Not sure if it's accessible on a vehicle level, but a CLUE report would be much better. CLUE reports contain every insurance claim a person makes. The CLUE report is used by insurance carriers to determine your premium.
 
I would agree with the airbag theory as the most plausible cause for that crack. However, wouldn't there be an airbag light coming on via the ECU? Or if it did previously go off, someone just reset the sensor (or removed the fuse even?)

I would price out a dash from a salvage yard and compare that with the price of a plastic/vinyl/leather repair service. Ask for references of work he/she/they have done.

I was transporting a TV in the backseat of my car once, swerved out of my lane when someone merged into my blindspot.. to make a long story short, the TV tipped and punctured the leather door panel... I was very suspicious of these repair guys, but after seeing some of his work... this guy made it look 95% as good as brand new.

Also, I've been in the shoes of the guy that hasn't reported accidents. I got into an accident, my fault. (some black ice bull**** what can I say). It was turned into insurance for the counter claim but I took my vehicle to a side-job guy I knew to save $$ and he, of course, never reported anything. Before you rip me for shoddy work... it was a beater Kia I was driving, not the Toyota :p
 
Thanks for all the advise. I had the service manager take a look at it yesterday. He said it was not the airbag, there there would have been a larger crack/tear and it would have been more visable around the front, allthough it will blow out the top. The repair guy they use is the one they use to repair all of their vehicles. Supposedly they have had a few new ones show up off the truck with a similar problem, all reparied by this guy. I called a salvage yard and they didnt have any that the airbag had not gone off on. Guess that wont work. I think I am going to give the repair guy a shot and if it looks like ass then get my money back and just replace the entire dash.
 
Andrew0425 said:
Thanks for all the advise. I had the service manager take a look at it yesterday. He said it was not the airbag, there there would have been a larger crack/tear and it would have been more visable around the front, allthough it will blow out the top. The repair guy they use is the one they use to repair all of their vehicles. Supposedly they have had a few new ones show up off the truck with a similar problem, all reparied by this guy. I called a salvage yard and they didnt have any that the airbag had not gone off on. Guess that wont work. I think I am going to give the repair guy a shot and if it looks like ass then get my money back and just replace the entire dash.
Click to expand...

Try here: http://www.alltoyotatrucksuvparts.com/
 
Why would anyone say the airbag had gone off? It would have busted that vinyl wide open beyond any repair. That crack is on the airbag cover itself right?
 
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