Simply put!!! My 2009 GMC Sierra Professional Grade, Expensive Crew-Cab pick-up, Dash-board panel cracked near the upper left corner of the airbag. This crack war very small (1/4 inch) for a long time and suddenly cracked the full 1 1/2 inch. I notice the full length of the crack in May 2015, after the warranty was over. According to some posts, I'm not sure the GM warranty or extended warranty are covering this incident of GM's crappy material defect.

I called GM Customer No-Service, and they want me to pay a whopping $400 to replace the dash...and GM will pay the rest... Wait a minute...? The part is $389. Doesn't sound like GM is working with the customer to resolve the issue to me. GM had this problem with the GM trucks in 2007 and issued a recall. Why not these trucks? The replacement part # has change, The local GM parts manager said the new part is made of better material and thicker.

I still have the crack and not sure how I will proceed to resolve this matter.

2 years ago I had a big crack in my dash. I took my truck to Beck and Masten dealership in Houston,tx. They said it was a recall and I paid the $150.00 for it to be replaced under my warranty. I have just now noticed 2 large cracks in my dash again. I called the dealership and they said there is no more recalls on the dashes. That I would have to pay $ 900.00 to have my dash replaced.

I truly believe that if the dashes were made out of better material that they wouldn't be cracking. I bet the 2014 new trucks dashes are not cracking like this. I am very disappointed and need to have this corrected and changed out please.

Apparently US Manufacturers can no longer make a Dashboard. It never use to be a problem but now they use cheap plastic for everything... Even with venting the windows and sunroof, using shade covers, and living in the mild climate of Northern California, this stuff just doesn't hold up. And it is EXPENSIVE to replace - super labor intensive to replace a dashboard. If they are going to use this cheap crap they should make it snap into a metal framework so it can just be popped out and replaced in 15 minutes when it inevitably crumbles.

My last US truck was a 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT+ which had a dashboard that essentially disintegrated. It had a litany of other problems (big ones) so I decided to try a GMC Sierra 1500 Denali. I should have bought the Toyota.

The Denali dash cracked at 45,000 miles at the corner of the passenger air bag cover (which I have seen has happened to others two -- thus it is a design issue.) Then over the next 10,0000 miles, that vibration and bearing the weight of the speaker in the center of the dash, a 5 inch crack has opened up just to the left of the instrument hump on the drivers side. Now it squeaks like a banshee.

Bought the GM Protection Plan extended warranty...what a joke. It never covers anything that breaks. Sure...if the engine falls out they will cover that. But the stuff that actually does break -- all excluded. And the dashboard, despite being the sole support of that center speaker, is called trim and excluded.

So don't waste your money on GMPP...this $1400 dashboard repair is not covered by the warranty at all. It didn't cover the battery that died about 40 months into its supposed 6 year life, didn't cover the headlights failing at 20K miles. Pretty disappointing as it was sold to me as being the same "bumper to bumper coverage" as the original 36K mile warranty. Of course I asked if it would cover the dashboard if it cracked and they said it would (because I had that problem on my prior vehicle) but it doesn't. I hear you can cancel GMPP for a prorated refund of the remaining part. I may look into that to help pay for the dashboard problems.

My dealer says they have had some luck getting GM Corporate to cover the cost of this repair before...we'll see...I'm waiting to hear back. I visited a couple other dealers and they didn't even offer to try but I went back to the place I bought the truck from and they were more helpful...potentially. Waiting to hear back. The fact that they have seen it before repeatedly tells me its a design flaw and under-reported here.

All you GMC Sierra owners...get ready for a cracked dash that costs $1400 to replace.

Meanwhile, I have been test driving Japanese vehicles as I have pretty much had it with the poor quality of american made cars.

Update from May 19, 2014: While the first 2 GM dealers I visited just said GMPP would not cover it and offered no assistance, I contacted the dealer I purchased the vehicle from and while they agreed GMPP would not cover it, they offered to work with GM corporate to try to get the repair done. They were able to get it covered other than $250 which I will pay. Not sure why the other dealers didn't offer that but at least I got some relief from GM on this.

Update from May 6, 2016: UPDATE: May 2016 - The main dashboard pad is still intact, but the panel that covers from the windshield past the defroster vent, has broken AGAIN and has a 2" diameter HOLE at the point where the pad attaches with a clip.

Apparently there is a 2 year lifespan on GM dashboards. This part was quoted to me at $313 from one dealer plus $65 to install it so basically $400 for a cheap plastic panel that lasts 2 years. Hopefully the dealer I bought it from can help me out again. They are checking into getting it covered or partially covered by GM....we'll see.

It's very disappointing when you spend big bucks on the Denali package that's supposed to have the top of the line trim, features and accessories -- and it's the same junk as everything else.

After tens of decades, you'd think GM could make a dashboard.

Update from May 18, 2016: GM declined to do anything about the second occurance of cracked dashboard. Citing that it was "too long." Apparently 2 years is too long for their products to last. Very disappointing quality.

With that decision, GM has ruled themselves out of consideration for my next vehicle, which I'll be buying soon. I'm so tired of weak american quality. Since the dealer also lied about warranty coverage of this specific item, I'll take it up with them next to cover it locally, but we'll see. Barring that they're off my list of places I'll do business with as well.

Do yourself a favor...don't buy american cars. They stink.

Update from Sep 20, 2016: August 2016- It took quite a while but I did get the original dealer to provide the part free. I installed it myself as it was easy to do. The color of the panel was a little bit off...I had tried to purchase one elsewhere and had the same issue. They must have changed suppliers. I decided to add a carpeted Dashboard cover to help protect the dash further from UV light. I don't like it but it beats paying $1400 to replace the dash (if it ends up preventing further cracking.) While overall I've been pleased with the GMC Sierra Denali and it has been mostly a good vehicle through 80K miles, this dashboard issue makes me nuts. I did have some repairs under warranty...a computer chip, a sunroof frame, a couple other things. I expect I'll buy a Japanese or European car next time.

I own 4 GM vehicles, live in Florida and have to complain about major quality issues that GM fails to acknowledge. Here is a list of ongoing issues for each vehicle.

My 2009 GMC Sierra SLE 4x4 Crew - Dash cracked left side of passenger side air bag. GM replaced it under warranty. After the warranty expired it cracked at the same exact location and GM would not fix it. My dealer informs me that this is a common issue and they change many. - My power sliding window has broken twice and per the dealer, this is another common issue with the vehicle. GM will not fix. - The 5.3L engine uses excessive oil and GM says this is normal. - The stereo went from 4 speakers working to 3, then 2 and now one. GM will not do anything. The dealer informed me that these are cheap stereos and a common issue. The stereo needs replacing. This is a $45000.00 truck, cheap stereo???

2004 Cadillac CTS 3.6L Sport Luxury (Wifes Car) - Rear differential replaced - Bose 6-disk Stereo replaced - Headlights Replaced - Rear differential stabilizer rubber mount replaced 3 times - Engine coils replaced @ 60k miles - Rear trunk panel replaced twice - Catylatic convertors replaced 4 times - Front suspension replaced 3 times due to constant clunking noises, which still clunks and always has (should have used the Florida Lemon Laws) - Soft touch interior is peeling off the dash - Transmission shifting linkage worn out at 60k miles

2008 Chevrolet Cobalt LT - Electric steering replaced - Both headlights replaced due to leaking - Radiator replaced due to leaking - Catylatic converter replaced - Ignition replaced - Stereo went from 4 speakers working to 3, then 2 and now one. GM will not do anything. The dealer informed me that these are cheap stereos and a common issue. The stereo needs replacing. Same issue as my truck. - Etc, etc.

1985 Buick Lesabre Collectors Edition (This was my Mother's car that is now my son's) - No issues

I have always had GM vehicles and have been driving them for 35 years. Hoping some GM executive will read this and do something about the constant poor quality issues that seem to be getting worse. I am sure I just wasted more of my time writing this because it's all about the Bean Counters and Stock holders that they are worried about.

I guess it's time to start shopping for more reliable brands.