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

 

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.

 

^what he said

 

Sucks!

 

I don't think that it was always in the garage when you were away. It takes heat with the windows up to crack the dash.

 

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.

 

The '04-'06 models are the oldest. Give it a year or so and we'll see if the '07-'08 models suffer from it.

 

Yeah a few complaints of 07/08s with cracked dashes in that massive cracked dash thread. I think marcos right, they haven't really been around long enough to experience the issue to the extent that the 04-06 has.

 

Unfortunately I believe it affects all the 3G's! My 08 KBP TL S suffered from the dashboard dilemma this summer. I couldn't live with it....contacted client services and went to my dealer down here in Miami and we worked it out...$400 brand new dash installed

 

Sun shades for the summer .

 

Anyone have a dash crack where it snows? Seems like its all florida and texas.

 

No dash issues here in Minnesota but I only have 78k on the odo and the TL gets garaged, even at work. I've used to live in SoCal and have owned my share of cars with cracked dashes over the years. The best thing to do is start using a cover when you drive and a reflective cover when you park. PITA but will keep your dash looking good for many years.

My 2c.

 

They will start cracking at some point in time as the dash pad has the same part no. '04-'08:
77120-SEP-A03ZA PANEL, INSTRUMENT *NH167L*
( GRAPHITE BLACK ) 04 - 08 TL 870.02 652.52

 

Here in New Jersey I've never seen a cracked dash on a 3G and there are MANY TL's out here, and its interesting because we have very hot summers and very cold winters.

 

im in new England and mines been fine, its an 08.

 

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.

 

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.

 

This is true, my 04 has no cracks and I'm in SoCal.

 

Yeah , iv decided to order a dash topper even tho I don't have any cracks, hopefully that will make it a non issue.

 

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!

 

Here in Minnesota - Have not seen any cracked dashes. I have an 07 and 05 .. no cracks. I also use 303 on my dash and the Covercraft Sunshade.

 

Got my FIRST nice big crack YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007 TL
89K
Florida

 

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.

 

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.

 

303 user here too. Treat it every 2 weeks. Car gets parked outside during work but in the garage at night. 04 TL so its had its time in the sun without issues so far. Hopefully stays that way!

 

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.

 

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.