Consumer - There are already several complaints filed with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. The more complaints that are filed the more chances of a recall there will be.
Aftermarket Replacement Dash For 2003-2005 - This dash is advertised to never crack. This is the only full replacement dashboard that I have found for my 2003 Dodge 4x4 3/4 ton. They also have earlier models as well. You can also check out www.lmctruck.com and www.genosgarage.com and both of them have full replacement dashboards for the dodge pickup. Don't buy the one from Dodge, it will just crack again.
I had dash cracks in 2007 and went to dodge and they told me that this is a real money maker for the dealer, what kind of sick a-holes could the people at dodge be. i would love to file a class-act suite and if enough people contact me I would bet that a lawyer would love to make some money. This is a problem to all that own these trucks and that is the only way to make it known that makers need to fix defects, contact me at { kmf1977@gmail.com }. If I get a lot of names and contacts I will contact a lawyer, let's do something about it.
A friend of mine had a 1998 Ram 1500 and dodge would not do anything to help him out. Knowing this, when I was shopping for a truck and fell in Love with my 2003 Ram 1500 w/hemi I asked the salesperson, Carol Stroud, if Dodge had taken steps to correct the problem by using a different material or other means. I stated to her that this could be the difference between me buying the truck or not. She looked me square in the eye and promised that this problem had been addressed and I would not be having the cracked dash problem as my friend did. So I bought the truck. When the cracking first appeared around the first of 2009 I called the dealership and stated my case and they politely said that the cracked dash was my problem and they would be happy to install a new dash for the low price of $1200. Why in the world would I want to pay that much money to have another poor quality dash installed on my truck. Had I known up front that they had not addressed the problem with the cracking dash and I had still decided to purchase the truck, I would have bought a dash cover to place over it to at least prolong the life of the poorly designed/manufactured piece of doo doo.I still love my truck but it is embarrassing when people get in it and see what appears to be a poorly cared for vehicle. Dodge can look at the maintenance history on my truck and see that every scheduled maintenance has been performed and they did all the work. I do care for my truck and do not deserve to be ignored when I have a problem that was absolutely due to either the materials used to make the dash or the lack of support for the massive piece. In this time of troubling auto industry does it make sense to treat loyal owners this way or should Dodge step up and show the auto industry that they do care about their customers and take responsibility for honest mistakes. Again, I Love my Dodge, but I can't do business with a company that will not stand behind what they sell. By the way, this is a truck from and native to Texas.
Apparently I am not the only one with this issue. My dodge developed a crack on the dash just above the passenger side airbag. It has been well taken care of and never been in an accident. It is unsightly and annoying and I want Dodge to admit that they have a problem, based on everyone's complaints that I have read I DON'T see this happening. I will not buy a dodge again if they do not back up there product. Definitely disappointing!!!
- Scott H.,
Bixby, OK, US
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My problem is just like the others on here. My dash is cracked all over the defrost vents have fell out and one of the cracks pinched my kids arm a few weeks ago when he was getting in my truck. I have not fixed it and will not fix it until Dodge pays for it. The same problem was in my 02 Dodge ram 1500 that sold but it was not even this bad at 100,000 miles not impressed with Dodge on this one either.
Just like most other gripes on here, I have always taken perfect care of this truck, and the dash is cracked from the windshield all the way to the airbag panel. GRRRRR!! Crimpin my style! How do I come up with 1200 dollars to fix this and feed a family before christmas? Hope it doesn't affect my airbags. There are enough complaints on here about it. I know you know this is a problem.
Dashboard stated with small crack on passenger side. Now the whole thing has basically fallen apart. Looks like a broken jigsaw puzzle. This is completely unacceptable. The air vents are completely open and heaven forbid, my daughter accidently drops something down one of them. Dodge needs to take responsibility for this problem as is sound very common!
No reason for Dodge not to step up to the plate and fix the problem. With all that is going on with the car business auto makers should do all that they can to keep their customers happy.
Not sure what my next truck will be, right now Dodge isn't high on my list.
I kep the truck clean and serviced after we got it 2yrs ago had some prob with ac vents that was taken care of but just last week this crack showed up and is getting larger
tryed calling the 800 number and you can not talk to anyone they need to have a recall for this prob. as it could efect the passengers air bag and that happens they will have to pay someone
Over a year ago I noticed that the passenger side dashboard in my 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 began to crack. I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on because I take excellent care of my vehicles. Soon the crack began to look like the freakin Grand Canyon and now there are three more cracks appearing all over, moving towards the driver's side. This is freakin ridiculous. It makes the entire inside of the truck look like crap and I certainly don't have a spare $1200.00 lying around to get it fixed, not to mention the time lost for the repairs and having to find a ride to work. This is B.S. and it needs to be addressed by the Dodge Corporation. Hell, they've all taken the bail out money so now they need to do something about fixing the vehicles of loyal customers that thoroughly enjoy having our Dodge Trucks. Dodge needs to put out a recall for these defective dashboards and get them all repaired ASAP. This could potentially be a hazardous problem if for some reason these cracks cause a problem with the air bag deployment during an accident. So come on Dodge, get your execs on this and get the problem taken care of!
The problem is obvious. The manufacturing company who makes the dash boards have chosen a plastic for the product they are manufacturing.
I have never used any Armor All or any other after market product. I didn't want that "Shine" look on my dash board. I really liked the matte finish from the factory product.
That is until the damn think started falling apart.
My plan with this truck was to drive it forever. With the dash problem I probably won't. But I can say if Dodge doesn't fix it then I won't buy another one.
I take good care of my truck, don't use Armor-All, and have a big, nasty crack from front to back across the dash board!! Just like the others, I am also having a problem with the air conditioning. The automatic windows are not always working and I rarely use them, so its annoying to have them going out also.I love my truck, but I wouldn't recommend anyone else to buy one at the rate these things fall apart. I take really good care of it and am usually the only occupant,so its upsetting to see the parts where I don't even sit falling apart!
My dash has also been cracking, and getting worse as time goes by. First a small crack, then another. Waiting for the dash to someday just cave in I guess. This may have caused an air condition problem, as now air will not blow out of the vents. I can feel cold air from nooks and cranies in the dash, so the air condition is working. Was told that some door that controls the vents may have broken. Im thinking some of the plastic from dash fell and lodged on the vent mechanism. Hoping that the dash get recalled, my truck is in great condition except for cracked dash, and well now the air con problem!
I bought this truck second hand at a dealership in Baton Rouge. It was an awesome truck. I take very good care of my truck. I loved everything about it. I bought the vehicle in December of 2004. I noticed a rattle that no one at the dealership could figure out. I realized later on when my dashboard started to crack that this must be the rattle. I brought it to the dealership and they only tried to sell me a new one. They did not tell me that there were a lot of complaints about the same problem. I could deal with just one crack, but come on..... I asked my wife to google this problem and see if anyone else has this problem that maybe it is a defect from the factory. To my surprise, the internet is full of people with the same complaint. Please tell me what is Dodge going to do about this? They want us to bail them out but yet will not fix this problem. Don't you think we have paid enough!!! I am now having problems with my AC. I have to wonder if this is all because of the dashboard. Please let me know if anyone out there has any information about a recall or if the government is going to do something about this before someone gets killed.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Dodge should recall and fix cracked dashboards. I had a 2001 Nissan that never had a problem with cracking.
- Susan G., Wesley Chapel, FL, US