Same disgusting cracked dashboard on my 2004 Toyota Solara SE as thousands of others have reported. This was a beautiful car, seemingly a great deal for me, from my neighborhood used car dealer. Bought it in 2008. Approx 3 months after purchase, and it was still SO cherry, a small crack appeared from A/C panel to gauge cluster. From that day forward, it seemed to worsen from minute to minute. If I had been able to stay in the car and stare at it, it probably would have happened before my eyes...that is how fast it progressed. It was scary how fast this gorgeous car was ruined, despite all of the care taken. The dealer was not a Toyota franchise, so they said they could do nothing for me, Toyota, as everyone knows, refused to consider it anything to do with them. Beside the unsightly ruin of the interior of the car, you can see by the picture I included of the glove box and passenger side of dash, that this is a safety issue as well. This is the cover of the air bag. Would you like THAT coming at you on top of the air bag? Would it cut the bag, making it useless? Would it cut your neck or face? How deep do the cracks go? Will it affect the air bag's deployment in the time of need?
Sure we can cover it up with a dash cover and hide most of the ugliness. But what about the reduced value of cars we bought in good faith?
Auto manufacturers have taken care of cosmetic defects less severe than this in the past. Why are we being ignored? While this is a big ticket fix for us, the consumer, it probably isn't very much at all for them to take care of. What about a credit at trade in if we use a Toyota dealer? Something could easily be done for all these loyal Toyota families if only someone at the company would just step up.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
click to see larger images
Same disgusting cracked dashboard on my 2004 Toyota Solara SE as thousands of others have reported. This was a beautiful car, seemingly a great deal for me, from my neighborhood used car dealer. Bought it in 2008. Approx 3 months after purchase, and it was still SO cherry, a small crack appeared from A/C panel to gauge cluster. From that day forward, it seemed to worsen from minute to minute. If I had been able to stay in the car and stare at it, it probably would have happened before my eyes...that is how fast it progressed. It was scary how fast this gorgeous car was ruined, despite all of the care taken. The dealer was not a Toyota franchise, so they said they could do nothing for me, Toyota, as everyone knows, refused to consider it anything to do with them. Beside the unsightly ruin of the interior of the car, you can see by the picture I included of the glove box and passenger side of dash, that this is a safety issue as well. This is the cover of the air bag. Would you like THAT coming at you on top of the air bag? Would it cut the bag, making it useless? Would it cut your neck or face? How deep do the cracks go? Will it affect the air bag's deployment in the time of need?
Sure we can cover it up with a dash cover and hide most of the ugliness. But what about the reduced value of cars we bought in good faith?
Auto manufacturers have taken care of cosmetic defects less severe than this in the past. Why are we being ignored? While this is a big ticket fix for us, the consumer, it probably isn't very much at all for them to take care of. What about a credit at trade in if we use a Toyota dealer? Something could easily be done for all these loyal Toyota families if only someone at the company would just step up.
- debfl, Fort Lauderdale, FL, US