Wth...
#1
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Wth...
Bought my 04 TL this past June with no cracks on the dash, drove around for a month still nothing. I figured this was one of the lucky ones. I come back from my four month deployment drive the car around and wifey asks me if this was always there..I said what, then she pointed at this long crack down the middle....
WTF! WTH was different from the time it got off the factory line, went through two owner and in the hands of my wife who said it was always in the garage...fuuuuuuk
WTF! WTH was different from the time it got off the factory line, went through two owner and in the hands of my wife who said it was always in the garage...fuuuuuuk
#2
Race Director
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: South Florida
Age: 31
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It's the heat.
I had my car for about a year and a half and it started cracking.
You can take it to the dealership and try to work something out but be prepared for them to tell you they won't cover it.
I've been told the full price is $1800.
I had my car for about a year and a half and it started cracking.
You can take it to the dealership and try to work something out but be prepared for them to tell you they won't cover it.
I've been told the full price is $1800.
#6
Safety Car
iTrader: (4)
Is the cracked dash only an 04-06 problem or does it effect all 3G TL's? I don't recall seeing 07 or 08 guys complaining about this problem. The 3G's I have owned have all had dashes that always look brand new. So do they look perfect then simply just split one day? or do they fade and peel then crack?
I assume most of the problem cars are ungaraged ones.
I assume most of the problem cars are ungaraged ones.
#7
KCCO
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#9
Is the cracked dash only an 04-06 problem or does it effect all 3G TL's? I don't recall seeing 07 or 08 guys complaining about this problem. The 3G's I have owned have all had dashes that always look brand new. So do they look perfect then simply just split one day? or do they fade and peel then crack?
I assume most of the problem cars are ungaraged ones.
I assume most of the problem cars are ungaraged ones.
#12
Instructor
My 2c.
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Sean S Thuok (11-12-2013)
#16
Burning Brakes
My car was orignally from Texas, when I moved back to Wisconsin my dash started to crack abou the time it started to get cold at night. When it was nice and hot out in WI the dash cracks would go away (heat expansion) and when it got cold they got really ugly. I have since put a dashboard cover to hide the ugliness.
#17
Racer
iTrader: (1)
My theory is that it's the combination of heat AND humidity that lead to the cracks. Most of the posters with cracked dashes are in the south, and significantly fewer in California or Arizona, which is why I don't think it's totally dependent on just heat.
#20
07 TL here. No crack...yet! I parks it out side during working hours. Garaged at home. Sun shade goes on when parked outside. No dash topper. No chemical treatment of the dash since leaving the dealership in 2007, just damp rag to clean weekly. Xing my fingers!
#23
Senior Moderator
If you guys don't have cracked dashboards yet, consider yourself lucky and invest in some 404 Protectant! Amazon was having a sale a few weeks back and I got a big bottle for $15.
#24
Suzuka Master
iTrader: (2)
2006 w/93k, not garaged, upstate NY and dash is still fine. I do treat it with the 303 maybe four times a year. I was walking by an '05 TL in the gym parking lot last weekend and casually glanced inside to see a nightmare of a dashboard. It must have had three dozen separate cracks. I then looked a little more closely at the interior and it was pretty neglected, so I wonder if keeping it treated plays a role in prolonging its life.
#25
Burning Brakes
iTrader: (1)
2006 w/93k, not garaged, upstate NY and dash is still fine. I do treat it with the 303 maybe four times a year. I was walking by an '05 TL in the gym parking lot last weekend and casually glanced inside to see a nightmare of a dashboard. It must have had three dozen separate cracks. I then looked a little more closely at the interior and it was pretty neglected, so I wonder if keeping it treated plays a role in prolonging its life.
#26
Burning Brakes
05 TL that sits in the sun like 90% of the time here in SOCAL. No garage cover or even a windshield cover.
I do treat it with 303 Aerospace Protectant (works really well) like once a month, but no cracks what so ever and I always forget to crack the windows down to let the heat escape as our cars are so well insulated/sealed that it gets hot fast in the summer.
I do treat it with 303 Aerospace Protectant (works really well) like once a month, but no cracks what so ever and I always forget to crack the windows down to let the heat escape as our cars are so well insulated/sealed that it gets hot fast in the summer.
#27
Team Owner
Same here. For the first 2-3 years of its life I had it in either Bakersfield, Phoenix, and Vegas and no cracks. From about '09 on it's been garaged at home and at work and it's very rare it sees direct sunlight except when driving. When I have to park it in the sun I use a good sunshade.
What I did see a few times one year when the sun hit the dash but only the passenger side because I parked too close to the edge of the covered parking was disturbing. I got in the car and there was a "dent" near the passenger airbag and the outline of the airbag punch out was visible for the first time. I didn't turn the AC on, I moved it to shade and cracked the windows and let it sit. I have a feeling it could be humidity but it could also be uneven heating/cooling of the dash. After it cooled the dent and the outline went away. It looked like it was under a ton of stress.
What I did see a few times one year when the sun hit the dash but only the passenger side because I parked too close to the edge of the covered parking was disturbing. I got in the car and there was a "dent" near the passenger airbag and the outline of the airbag punch out was visible for the first time. I didn't turn the AC on, I moved it to shade and cracked the windows and let it sit. I have a feeling it could be humidity but it could also be uneven heating/cooling of the dash. After it cooled the dent and the outline went away. It looked like it was under a ton of stress.
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