My 2005 Acura TL has developed multiple severe cracks across the dashboard. These began as small fissures near the passenger airbag seam and have since spread across the main console. This is a well-documented material failure in the 3G TL, but what makes this case notable is the level of preventative care the vehicle has received.

Preventative Measures Taken: Despite the common "heat and sun" excuses often given for this defect, this vehicle has been treated with extreme care to avoid this exact scenario:

Storage: Always garaged. The vehicle is rarely left exposed to direct sunlight for extended periods.

UV Protection: A custom-fit, high-quality sunshade has been used religiously during every summer season since ownership.

Maintenance: The dashboard has been routinely treated with 303 Aerospace Protectant to maintain the integrity of the vinyl and provide a UV barrier.

The dashboard is failing due to a defective substrate or vinyl formulation used during manufacturing. It is disappointing that even with "best-case scenario" maintenance and storage, the interior of this premium sedan is disintegrating. This is clearly a manufacturing flaw that Acura should have addressed via a formal recall or extended warranty, as it potentially compromises the deployment path of the passenger-side airbag.

With the number of complaints and issues with this Acura should step up and fix it. It's obviously a manufacturing defect and not something the owners have done to cause this. It causes the air bag light to be on and I don't want to get in an accident and find out the air bag doesn't deploy - or worse it does and it sends a bunch of dashboard shrapnel at the passengers and causes severe injuries due to the defect. I think that Acura needs to own it and not wait until there's a bunch of deaths or injuries before they fix it.

Also my battery goes dead if I don't drive my car everyday. I bought a brand new battery and it still happens. I live in Maine and in the winter time I have to boost it every morning even if I drive it everyday. I can park it at 10pm and it's dead by 6am in the morning. That needs to be a recall and fixed, too.

I've owned our 2005 Acura TL since it was new (March '05). It has always been well maintained, and still looks and runs great. It has always been garaged when not being driven, and when it is parked outside, I've always used one of those windshield sun screens, especially when it's sunny.

A couple of years or so ago, I came across complaints being posted online by other third generation TL owners going back several years about cracks forming in the dash, especially on the passenger side airbag area. Most of the complaints appeared to be from owners in the south and southeast parts of the country (Fla., Ga., La., etc.) , so my initial thought was that this could be a result of exposure to excessive heat and humidity over time, and that it would less likely be a problem here (Ca Bay Area). Was I wrong!!

About a year ago, as misfortune would have it, a crack finally did appear out of nowhere on the passenger side of the dash near the airbag, as so many others have reported. I researched the cost of the replacement part online (it is available) and saw that it's over $1000, and involves quite a bit of labor to install (probably a whole days worth by my estimation). Seeking a less expensive temporary fix, I purchased one of those custom dash covers to hide the crack and hopefully prevent others from developing. Aside from the esthetic issue, my only other concerns have to do with potentially lowering the value of the car, and whether or not it could affect proper functioning of the airbag. The latter being a potential safety issue, I did file a report with the NHTSA, but I don't know if that will lead to any solution in the long run.

I have not tried to contact anyone (yet) at Acura myself regarding this issue, primarily because of all the other posts I've read where people have, they've had no luck at all in getting Acura to even own up to the problem. So I'm not sure at this point, whether it's worth even contacting Acura about it or not. With the many common complaints I've read, I'm left with the impression that this is likely a problem resulting from the use of cheap materials, and/or a serious design flaw, because I've owned many other cars, and none have ever had any problem like this. Since so much time has passed since people first started posting about these problems, it seem unlikely that Acura/Honda will ever own up to it and issue any kind of recall. More likely they will just continue to ignore it until enough time has passed that are too few enough of these cars on the road anymore to even be of concern. If anyone out there with a similar problem has had any luck in getting it resolved with Acura, I'd sure like to know. Thanks.

Dash started cracking a few years back and still is. Seems to be more evident,the cracking, in cold weather. Not even going to bother with this issue with Acura cause it would be futile. How is it that a well made car has a major defect and not supported/covered by the manufacturer?!?!? Waiting for a crack to appear over the passenger airbag housing.Oh and it will!!

Update from Feb 8, 2019: Inexpensive fix...Coverlay 30-408LL-BLK Dash Cover Cap, Black, Black, ABS Plastic, Direct Fit

I bought this 2005 Acura TL Black Beauty -- brand new -- rolled off the truck at Sterling McCall in Sugar Land, TX in October 2004. Black exterior and Black Interior. This car has really been "babied" -- I always parked in the garage at the house, parked in a covered parking garage at work, used covered parking at the airport when I traveled, and when we moved to the Austin area for retirement, it has always been parked in the home garage, The car only has a little over 70,000 miles on it.

Recently I was sitting in the TL waiting while my wife returned a purchase and noticed one crack then 2 cracks then 3 cracks. The cracks go through the air bag area and the gauge cluster over the steering column. These cracks occurred within one week of it being parked in my garage. There were some temperature changes between 40 to 69 degrees but nothing that drastic in a closed garage. I have had 3 electric door lock actuators go out but that's it and Acura covered 2 of them although out of warranty.

My wife's Honda Pilot was at David McDavid Acura having the oil changed so when I took her to pick it up, the Service Director was nice enough to come out and take photos to send to his regional manager. From what I have read, I am not real hopeful but he said he would let me know, so I am hopeful this gets some coverage by Acura. It's only been Friday and the weekend so I'll call him Monday to see how things are going. I will update as things take place.

Update from Jan 12, 2019: David McDavid Acura of Austin's Service Director, Freddie Seaboch contacted Regional or HQ and Acura offered to pay 40% leaving me with $1,400+. While this was an unexpected expense on a "babied" car it is close to 15 years old and I agreed to the terms. Dash came in and they had missed the cover over the speedometer and gages but they discounted that as well. New dash looks great.

Now I need to find out what Acura recommends for the care and maintenance so it will last another 20 years :-)

I cashed out my long-saved stocks to buy my dream car, 2005 Acura TL, 6 speed manual. Initially it was a great car, fun to drive. Then all of a sudden my dashboard started cracked all over. Now, according to my mechanic, my air bags are disabled. I drive this car on the highway to get my infusions 100 miles for my MS. Luckily I can still drive a manual. I feel very nervous that if I get in a front impact accident, I am not going to survive or be critically hurt. Everything I have read online is that this is a serious issue with thousands of Acura TLs and other models affected. Acura needs to issue a recall and stand behind their products so that we as consumers have the confidence in their products. I want to be a loyal customer as I have been in the past. However, this situation might change my view if I cannot get this resolved by Acura.

I have heard of this happening before and thought I was lucky until January 2nd of 2018. Went out to go to work and noticed my dashboard had several large cracks over the entire dashboard. The temperature outside was around 15 degrees Fahrenheit. I have always maintained this car and kept it spotless. This looks terrible and is a complete eyesore. I was considering a new Acura TLX but after seeing this there is no way I will even consider it anymore.

Had transmission fail at 81,000 miles and at 70,000 started having battery drain from Hands free phone option module that went bad. That was not covered either and there are hundreds of complaints about that also with no MFG assistance. Stand behind your product and do not use inferior technology or parts.

This is an addition to my original complaint - now the passenger airbag light has been going off/on now for some months when seat is unoccupied. My original complaint was in "interior" section of complaints but I see that most people were posting here in miscellaneous. My local dealer would not fix back in 2014 and wanted $2000 to replace. Supposedly the service manager at the time was going to escalate the issue but we never heard back from him. Original complaint below...

Car has been garage-kept only - dealer wants a fortune to fix and the cracks started in the passenger airbag location of the dash and have spread from there. There has always been a faint line around passenger airbag since I bought the car but dealer said nothing to worry about - the car was bought in 2006 (it is a 2005 TL) and has only been parked in garage - In light of the latest airbag recalls announced, this issue is troubling since it is my wife's car (along with her service dog).

The began on the left side of the passenger air bag. A couple months later, another crack started on the opposite side of the same airbag. To date, the crack has extends from the glove box to the windshield.

I'm the original owner, garage kept, well maintained and follow preventative maintenance procedures.

It's been noted the crack does expand and contract per the change of seasons. IMO the manufacture should take responsibility and stand behind there product problem. This is no fault of the owner nor neglect of routine maintenance. This is our second consecutive purchase of a TL, the 2002 TLS hand no such problems as experience with the 2005 model. Sorry to inform Acura, but the quality of this presently owned 2005 TL is discouraging me to the point we are leaning towards not purchasing another Acura and possibly any Honda automobiles. Do not feel the product justifies the price.