i got a 97 ram 1500 and its my first dodge ever i decided to change from gm since they are moving to china and good people are loosing there jobs . i just bought a ram 1500 and its in great shape with only 213000 kms on her well maintained accept a death wobble from a worn out track bar . just so you know don't get oem dodge replacement track bar unless you like wasting money , they don't last just get a moog brand its twice the price but life time warranty and way stronger . my truck also has the dash crack problem and seems many people have this problem . i think if dodge isn't going to help the original owners with this we should get together and find out where the owner of dodge lives and mail him all the broken dashes and when he see's the pile at his door step maybe he will realize how big the problem is . i never had a chevy dash ever break and i beat the snot out of them from spills to punches and i even crashed one at 110kms into concrete wall just recently and dash is still mint , truck is a rite off thou . lol i walked away with no injuries thank the lord . i hope i didn't make a mistake buying my dodge i do love this truck it feels real solid and i always loved the look , but the more i research the more nervous i get , its not good to know that a company wont back there product and word of mouth is more important the stupid ads ..

I WOULD SAY DODGE SHOULD RECALL THIS PROBLEM AS THERE HAS BEEN ALOT OF THESE DASHES THAT ARE BUSTED ,I MYSELF HAVE A 1994 RAM 1500 AND A 1997 RAM 1500 AND THEY ARE BOTH CRACKED. THE 97 WAS CRACKED SO BAD THE VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION TAG (VIN) IS MISSING. AS FEDERAL LAW STATES AS WELL AS STATE LAW THAT ITS ILLEGAL TO TAMPER WITH SO TO ME THIS WOULD BE TAMPERING WITH BY DODGE ITSELF. BECAUSE THEY HAVE GOT IT RIVETTED ON A JUNK DASH SO THE FEDERAL SHOULD GET INVOLVED AND MAKE THEM RECALL THEM JUNK DASHES.

I know Dodge has a problem with the dashes cracking and being unsafe. I have talked to Dodge for years about recalls and never nothing, I was in Florida and happened to see a news cast about the Ram truck dashes and have heard that they were going to finally recall them so I called Dodge and talked to Eric badge #EC693 and they have no recall yet and he had the guts to tell me that he only gets one or two complaints a year about the dashboards in Ram trucks and that America is what is wrong that is why Imports are kicking our butts. The craftsmanship is slack and then they LIE about it instead of fixing it. Had it been a Toyota, Honda, etc... the problem would have been fixed. I will never buy another Dodge!!!!!

IT'S A PITY THAT DODGE TREATS THERE BUYERS IN THIS MANNER, NEED TO BOYCOTT ALL DODGE COMPANIES UNTIL THEY MAKE RIGHT THE WRONG THAT THEY KNOW WAS DONE TO THEIR BUYER . THIS WILL MAKE THEM LOOK AT WHERE THEY MAKE THEIR MONEY FROM AND WHO GIVE THEM A GOOD ARE A BAD RATING. THE CONSUMERS CAN MAKE OR BREAK A COMPANY JUST BY LETTING OTHER KNOW HOW THEY WAS TREATED DURING THE SALE AND AFTER THE SALE.

IF EVERYONE STANDS TOGETHER, DODGE WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO MAKE IT RIGHT ARE SUFFER THE WRATH OF THE BUYERS. THEY CAN NOT MAKE IT WITHOUT US THE BUYER THINK ABOUT IT ,HOW DID THEY GET WHERE THEY ARE TODAY IF NOT FOR THE BUYERS. ONE PERSON CAN'T DO ANYTHING BUT NUMBER CAN MAKE A CHANGE .

THANKS

First 10 years, I knew we could buy an American made Truck that is Tuff! My biggest #1 issue is this dash issue... I cant see why anyone would be proud of its creation. Look most Dodge truck drivers have driven them hard. I do not know why Dodge still has not resolved this issue... People are driving trucks with dashes shattered and if rolled down at highway speeds, run the risk of having a chunk flying off and hitting a passenger or worse the driver... At least start making available to us Dodge truck owners some financial help with designing and installing a new dash.. Change the composite material!!! Clearly Dodge has know of this defect for at least 15years and has not provided customer support to our satisfaction.... Customer's make a company!! Lose them by simply ignoring the issue and you will eventually loose the company.. You need to care, because there will be no more government bailouts!!!! Your customers, a.k.a. (Government) that you are not work toward an agreeable solution with,, will help you no further.. Don't run the risk of sending your customers and their money to competition...

Customer? or not

i too had the infamous shattering Dodge Ram 1500 dash. Heard that the issue was the dashboard being tightened by the windsheild. Apparently they should float on a rubber spacer. Anyway, the thing cracked all to hell, so I bought some fiberglass bondo filler, and filled all the cracks. Applied some brown paper bags over the filler, and rubbed it smooth. After it dried, I pulled the paper off, and covered the whole thing with a dashmat.

I am so against manufacturers using plastic to simulate a padded dash...

1The dash (plastic) cracked top to bottom.It crackles and pops driving. Looks terrible.I purchased the Truck used and contacted the original owner,He provided the dash was cracked when he traded truck. 2: The ignition at times fails to start truck. the switch turns normal. the lights on dash are on but something from switch to starter fails at times.3 The paint on hood and cab top oxidized, obvious no clear coat applied when factory painted.seen several same model has oxidized 4.headlamps the plastic housing clear lens tarnished lighting is a danger have no width or forward view. 4The overhead interior split.I love this model style but dodge really did faulty assembly on these model year.the prior owner said the outside finish he contacted dodge for repairs which time warranty was in affect. he was denied.I think these issues should had been resolved it is assemble issues.that they refused to correct.

I just wanted to submit this on behalf of my Father whose dash is cracked and caving in on a 1997 Dodge Ram. It started doing it years ago and is only getting worse. The only saving grace is that he's applied duct tape to keep pieces from further collapsing and damaging the wiring under the dash. There won't be much dash left in order to put a cap on it. Dodge, at the very least, needs to make available a replacement dash that is of better quality and offer it at cost to original owners. Preferably Dodge should replace them for no charge as a safety recall but that's just not going to happen.

I see I'm in good company in here!! This problem has been going on for sooo long now it's absurd!! I would love to see Dodge go under!! EVERY attempt to get a replacement dash (not one of the damn covers that are RTV'd on) has met with a big $ sign!! I CANNOT BELIEVE SOMEONE HAS NOT SUED THEM BY NOW!!!

Update from Jun 18, 2010: All these forums are good for putting the issue out there, but we should all hit this site and log the complaints:

http://www.nhtsa.gov/

These are the people that can investigate and do something about it!! Make sure you have your VIN ready, they do request that. If EVERYONE that posted on this site went there...there would definately be in investigation on this!!