This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
During the calendar year 2016, I have experienced two(2) severe dashboard cracks. One crack in front of my instrument cluster occurred while driving as I heard it "crack". the other crack appeared on the passenger side above the air bag panel. I am not sure when this crack appeared, but concerns me relative to the air bag operation/safety. I have drilled holes at the end of the crack on the driver side in an attempt to stop the progression, but the crack continues to get larger. The dash apparently is becoming brittle and the cracks are continuing to grow. I can only assume that soon I will have pieces of the dash come off exposing electrical wiring and components below the dash. Due to the safety concerns and appearance aspects, I am having the dash replaced by my dealership at a cost to me of almost $1,000. I have seen many complaints of this component defect on the internet, and am surprised that GM does not issue a recall.
I have had my Chevrolet Avalanche dashboard repaired twice for cracking/rattling. The issue seems to be that the clasp underneath the center speaker of the dash is faulty and breaks easily. This causes the rattling which causes the cracking. The cracks appear right above the instrument gauge and the passenger airbag. The concern is that if cracked badly enough, it could send pieces of plastic everywhere in the case of an airbag deployment. GM will not fix the issue.
The dash in my Chevrolet Avalanche has become more and more loose where the two main dash pieces connect, or so I thought. Clearly the middle speaker in the dash is too heavy for one of the pieces (seat facing piece) and it broke the snap that "held" the two of them together. After realizing exactly what was happening, I wanted to get it fixed but really did not know who to turn to. In one of the pictures you can clearly see where a piece of the dash has actually broken and it has fallen into the inner/underneath of the dash and I do not know where it went. Now, both sides (the airbag corner where it all started and just at the end of the steering wheel rise in the dash) the plastic is cracking. The airbag side is clearly worse than the steering wheel side. How do I get this fixed" is there a recall on this? how much does something like this cost"
The dash board on my 2010 Avalanche has two cracks one right beside the passenger airbag and the other right over the steering wheel. In case of an accident I'm sure the dash would explode and debris/plastic from the dash sharp pieces would fly into someone's face.
- N. Chesterfield, VA, USA
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Dash cracking next to the passenger airbag due a manufacture's defect of poor quality material with little to no support underneath the dash and with every small bump in the road it becomes worse and worse. Dash appears to be made of an inferior material and is not supported properly for it to crack so easily. If the air bag inflates, the dashboard may easily shatter into thousands of shards of sharp plastic that could be a cause of serious injury or death. Many of the thousands of people that have this same problem have said they have had the dash replaced, only to have it crack again. GM should be 100% responsible for fixing all of their defective dashboards with a good quality product since this is obviously a manufacturer defect.
The dashboard has cracked in 2 locations. The 1st runs into the corner of the passenger airbag compartment. The 2nd is over the instrument cluster and now I have a check engine light on. Not sure yet of the 2 are related. The first crack just seemed to appear. The 2nd crack (which is much worse now) I could hear it crack when I started the engine sitting still.
For no apparent reason, my dash started cracking next to the passenger airbag at around 48,000 miles. The large crack began to spread across the dash until, after a few months, it was all the way across to the steering wheel. Now small cracks are beginning to spider out. There seems to be no support underneath the dash and with every small bump in the road it becomes worse and worse. The dash must be made of an inferior material for it to crack so easily. If the air bag does inflate, the dashboard could burst into thousands of sharp pieces that could be a cause of serious injury or death. I have gotten a repair estimate to replace the dash for $1,500. However, some of the thousands of people that have this same problem say they have had the dash replaced, only to have it crack again. GM has offered to pay half of the replacement cost if I have it repaired within 60 days, but they should be responsible for fixing all of their defective dashboards with a good quality product at 100% since this is obviously a manufacturer defect.
Takata recall -- my dashboard is cracked, I fear for all of us that have cracked dashboards around our airbags. The speed at which these airbags deploy could easily turn these broken pieces into shrapnel.
My dash started cracking around the airbag and above the gauge cluster. Numerous other owners have had identical cracks which we believe could cause shrapnel in case of air bag deployment.
Recently the dashboard of my truck keeps cracking and everyday more cracks appear or the ones that are already visible, just keep getting worse. I am concerned for my passengers as well as my own safety because the cracks of the dashboard are right next to where the airbag would deploy. The cracks can affect the deployment of my airbag with the possibility of injury worse then if the airbag were to deploy correctly. I am also concerned that if I were to get into an accident, that these cracked pieces of the dashboard would be projected from the dash and can do further harm to my passengers and or myself.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Gowen, MI, USA