So...2004 TL. Hot Florida sun...
Been reading about the horror stories and cracking dashes so I preemptively babied the dang thing...303 on it...and sunshade all day at work. So sure enough, yesterday FORGOT to put it up and there's a crack.

Cute.

Fiance got some ideas from an RL forum elsewhere on the web and I applied it. Worked well...
Sorry, thought to document after I had already started the fix.

taped off the area so only the cut shows (do yourself a favor and rub the surrounding areas with some rubbing alcohol so the tape will stay) and apply some silicone caulk:

then I worked it in with my finger...it retracts a little as it dries so leave the excess, I used a razor and lightly skimmed the excess. Had to come back and do it again. The black bathroom silicone from HD that I had actually matches pretty well. I used my finger motions to try and leave a little texture as the dash is obviously not totally smooth.


I missed a spot so after removing the tape I put a dab on my finger and filled it in...as it dries you can actually use your finger to kinda remove the excess in to little balls that you can blow off the dash.



From a distance, is there a crack, who knows...there's something but it's a LOT less obvious IMO.

 

Sorry, just realized I forgot to go into "problems and fixes" rather than the main 3G area.

 

Excellent work! I'm sure many will be pleased. I can't even tell where the crack is in the last picture.

 

Thanks man...well, on a micro level, if you're looking for it, you will see it, but at least it's not an empty void anymore. Last pic was to convey that you'd be able to look from a distance and not see it. Alternative is getting one of those suede dash covers from autoanything. But I'd rather not!

 

Not a bad fix! Granted it's probably just a Band-Aid for now, but it works until a more permanent solution is found.

 

I am impressed...

 

 

Excellent work, thankfully I do not have this problem, but if I ever do, I will know how to fix it!

BUT, this is what i got from your DIY...

Sorry, just had to add that in.

 

You have a FIANCEE that looked that up for you?

Damn, Jer...NOW I'm fawking jealous of you.

 

^ hehe @ Timb227

 

 

Nice job, J.
But the crack appeared after a only single day in the sun after all of the conditioning and caring for it you have done??? Man, thats scary.

 

Nice fix!

 

Thanks all...
Yeah, tell me about it. You don't even want to know how fast I was on the internet looking up other cars I want with better gas mileage etc. It was like treating a girl like a queen and then coming home to your best friend's balls on her chin. I swear, I baby this car but it is sooo friggin delicate. 1 friggin day...I do the 303 and armorall KNOWING this problem could arrise. The 1 hot day I forget!

Anyway, yeah fellas, I'm ONE lucky guy...she also found the solution to my auto tensioner whine...she's definitely a keeper. I usually could find it myself eventually, but during my pouting and bitching she usually will whip out her EVO phone and google a fix for me.

 

Figured this would suffice!

I HAD to share this information. So I started a thread about putting silicone in the gap of the dash. It works, kind of...then I noticed that when it's hot the cracks almost disappear. So I figured out the cracking comes from the expanding and contracting over time.

Anyway, had another issue with my HFL unit so figured I'd join Twitter (only way to write acuracare on line?) and twat (past tense) them. They responded immediately asking for my VIN etc. Anyway, after 2 days of missing the call from the dude...I get a call from my local service advisor.

1st off, he's confident he can get them to goodwill 50% of the entire install. UNFORTUNATELY the cost with labor is $1446 and I'll have to remove everything I've put behind the dash to not hinder their work. $700 is too much money to make this repair, to me. The car is now 8 years old and I have to be honest with myself about the fact that there will be imperfections (I'm more inclined to work out a deal to fix HFL since that's a useful item I love). I'll probably try the vinyl repair kits they sell at pep boys and if that doesn't work...here I come suede dash cover.


Anyway, what I wanted to share was:
I told my advisor that I put loads of aerospace303 on and armorall etc to keep it nice and supple...put up a sunshade every single day...park in a garage at home. He told me that the engineers at Acura that he spoke to after sending in all the dash's that were cracked for research told him that the dash is made of a breathable material and applying any and all vinyl protectant clogs the "pores" of the vinyl. On very hot days when the heat has nowhere to go, it eventually causes a crack. He told me to only wipe down the dash with water and maybe a dab of dishsoap if anything and that is it.

DO NOT USE PROTECTANT ON YOUR DASH.

I can tell you all I'm a skeptic by nature so I'd love to think he had an answer ready for why this happened after only 8 years but I swear...it adds up. Between the fact that the car spent the first 5 years under an awning, then tree. And since I've owned had sunshade and a garage...and it just happened from one day to the next and it happened to be a day when I forgot the sunshade and the ambient temperature in the car got WAY hotter than normal and the fact that I've observed the cracks changing size depending on temperature. I think he is absolutely telling the truth.


https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...1#post13124786

 

nice work. looks good.

 

Glad it worked out . i have to still get that air bag imprint thingy removed wt 303 . Good work !

 

did yall not read his update?



J, I've only applied a protectant once!
and I think it caused the airbag out line to show up.

Whats worse is I used leather cleaner.

 

so do not ever use any kind of protection wipe on it? my dash always looks a bit dry i've been wondering whats the best way to make it look more "refreshed"

 

protectant actually reflects the heat, doesn't make too much sense to me.

 

I know what you mean about dry, I think it's a dull grey/whiteish look to it so naturally you want to go moisten it with 303. Here's the thing though, I don't think 303 creates a hard shell, like imagine putting sunscreen on your body and it's still breathable. But his theory does sound legit.

 

Theory or not, a damp cloth isnt going to restore the ashy grey look to new. Surely something can be used on it.

Dish soap I'd advise against..that stuff is pretty harsh and you shouldnt even use it on the outside of your car.

 

Awesome work Jeremy!

So what should I use on my dash? It looks like shit, all dry and stuff.

 

In this thread I read about the airbag imprint 303 was the stuff to get it off

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/imprint-dashboard-818657/

I was just gonna use it to just even it out . But I understand what rocks saying . Protectant could worsen it . Could be but that imprint has been bugging me for awhile

 

Rats!
My dash developed two cracks yesterday-- and they are on the dimpled part of the dash that extends over the instruments instead of on the pebbled part of the dash. Now I have to try caulk, see if it isn't too obvious over the dimpling and hope no further cracks develop.

 

Well, honestly, it doesn't make much sense to me either...in theory, anything you add to protect should be fine.

BUT, I am facing the facts.

I:
Parked in shade whole life of car or put up sun shield
applied 303 constantly for fear of cracks

WOUND UP WITH A CRACKED DASH.

The alternative is what this dude is telling me...I'd be glad to hear from someone that has never put on anything and has an 04 in a hot climate.

I don't spew gospel...I merely repeat what I'm hearing and use my logic filter to sort it out.

And rather than caulk, I'm trying cock next. Wish me luck.

On a serious note...I'm going with the $15 fix with a vinyl/dash repair kit. That doesn't work, I'm doing the suede thing. No fkin way am I spending a grand on THAT on an almost 8 year old car when it ain't paid off yet.

 

i live in a hot climate Clearwater Beach Florida. i don't put anything on the dash but i do park the car in the garage at home but when my car is at work and i work from 6:00a-6:00p m-f my car is parked outside with no shade. i do use one of those cheap sun shades that folds up to about the size of a frisbee.

all i ever use on the dash is a damp microfiber cloth and the dash looks brand new still.

Technically i do live in a hot climate but it does not get as hot down here as the northern states. We rarely see over 90 or 91 degrees. It has never been 100 degrees here EVER .... maybe not ever but since they started recording temperatures it has never hit 100 degrees.

i don't know any truth behind this but it makes sense. A buddy told me that dashes don't tend to crack as much down here as up north due to the constant high humidity levels. He said one of the main reasons a dash cracks is due to drying out in dry climates.

 

Wow. For a minute I thought that said, "rockstar pimpslaps a dashing crack...".




I've been spending too much time in Ramblings.

 

...indeed

 

I understand what the dealer said about the concept of the breathing material..

But I look at this way:

Physically it's similar to how our skin is when we use sunblock. It's like if you use tanning oil or nothing at all, then sit in the sun for 6 hrs, chances are you're gonna burn. If you apply a thin layer of sunblock, it'll dry with the addition of better protectection. The formulas in most sunblocks are designed to allow the skin to breathe once the sunblock dries.

In theory, a thin coat of 303 should still be able to protect from the sun without hindering the breathing material. I've always applied mine about 3-4 times a year. If you really think about it, unless you wiped it all off, there's still going to be a coat of the protectant for a few months at least, it doesn't evaporate.

That be said, I think most people's problem may be the armor-all itself, or over-usage of any products. I say armor-all since I found it to be insanely greasy when I used it on my last car. I found many bad reviews about armor-all dash/vinyl protectors (at the time). Naturally since its highly greasy/glossy its gonna fry in the sun. From what I've seen, their formula is most likely the same today. Unless you plan on cooking eggs and bacon on your dash, I'd stay away from armor-all.

 

I agree and feel that 303 is definitely much better.
But I did mostly 303 and did everything right and my end result was a cracked dash. I am only relaying what a service advisor (who was not pushy about me getting it fixed after he looked into it for me) told me that the engineer he spoke to at Acura told him about the dash's they analyzed. I know him personally and he is an enthusiast. He had a pristine 06 aspec and now has a 4th gen.

If I could go back, I'd not have put anything on it. I keep the sun off it anyway so keeping it moist wouldn't have mattered.

 

I've read the exact opposite..the majority of the cracked dashes are coming from the east coast, a lot of them in FL..

 

I read on a couple of other threads that using a mixture of woolite and water to clean the dash is a great option. I think I'm going to try that instead of dish soap.

 

Totally agree. Dishsoap will strip of any wax or protectants you've applied. Inside or outside.



You'll be much better of, I think, with the Woolite/water mix. I've used it since day one and it cleans very well throughout the interior (leather & vinyl). Then a good protectant.


I just hope ( ) my dash doesn't crack a few years down the road.

 

I live in Indiana which may not be as hot as down south but it gets pretty damn hot here during the summer. Its usually 85+ and it frequently his 90+ here. I have an 04 and it still has the original dash, it has never cracked. I bought the car used at the local acura dealer and the salesman that sold it to me knew the original owners pretty well. They supposedly never used any products on the dash. I have not put anything on the dash or used a sun screen. So far so good, we'll see.

 

seems like the cracks only happen in hot climates. Never see any cracked dashes up north. I did see one guy from NY but it used to be a Florida car.

 

^^^true story...
hot climates make the dashes expand and contract much much worse and it's every day. eventually...crack!

 

up north....well living by the wisconsin border almost here in the northwest suburbs of Chicago its 90 degrees....god damn global warming!!!

 

I was going to suggest leather wipes as an alternative, but that doesn't sound good either after reading everything. How much woolite? Is it a 1:1 mixture, or less woolite?

 

but for real, I'd say 90% of the time its people down south or a hot climate. That's why I'm not overly worried about it. If it does I'll just buy a dash carpet...whatever.