I Refused to Believe I Would Be a Statistic
 

I developed, just today, the notorious dash crack by the passenger airbag. I took care of the dash. I parked in my garage every night. I put on sunshades. I was confident that the dash crack would not come to my doorstop. Well, it kicked in my front door, shot me, and then left. The value of my car just went down by an order of magnitude. I have 131K miles on the car now.

:whyme:

Now I have four options (in order of ascending cost):

1. Do nothing and drive the car as is. Dash crack will only get worse with time.
2. Get a fabric dash mat. Ugly as sin, and a band-aid fix.
3. Get a plastic dash cover. Not as bad as above, but still ugly. Will not use screws. :precious:
4. Ask Acura to see about covering a portion of the dash repair. I know the corporate ops manager at a local dealer (former Navy Captain and CO). If they say no, then I would either go with one of the above options or below.
5. Sell the car meow and get a newer car.

This makes me want to cry!

part it out..

I do have the old wheels and tires. I could sell the newer A-spec wheels for a pretty penny.

The other option would be to buy a new dash and have a local shop put it in.

Honestly pulling the dash isn't too hard, just time consuming and tedious. You just need to unbolt it from the car's frame and it pull it out as a whole. My only concern would be alignment afterwards. Its doable!!!

BTW once the crack started its a no stop to prevent it from cracking, my 07 Base 1st crack just like yours now, I park the car in the garage 98% of time and dose the dash with 303 and yet now i got like 5 different cracks. You will have to start the process with Acura relation line (most dealer don't want to file the paper work) and hopefully they provide some coverage for the dash replacement.

Id be interested in those wheels

Mine split on the driver's side before the airbag lines ever split. Now it is cracked all over the place.

Sorry to see it go. We have all theorized it is just a matter of time for any and all TLs. I have accepted the mess of a dash I have now as my car is the beater these days used for basic commuting duties.

This was recently updated - https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...ctures-971476/

I am leaning towards still rocking this car. At the very least, I'm most likely going to get a Coverlay dash coverup. Yes, that goes against all the OCD-ness that I have, but I can't justify spending tens of thousands on a newer car for a dash crack. I know perhaps there will be others, but right now, the Coverlay seems like the best option.

Although, the IS350 in Ultrsonic Blue Mica looks nice... :D

you mean the 2011 IS350 F Sport? lol even then you will be dealing with dash and door panel melting issue.

2017 possibly.

Id be interested too!🤣

I hate the exterior of the MMC but love the interior along with small power jump.

I thought I hated the exterior too, but for some odd reason, it catches my eye. Weird right?

I'm sorry to see that your dashboard cracked. Not sure if it was a debate with you or someone else here, but point being, everyone's dashboard will crack, no matter what you do and where you live. It's a manufacturing defect. When I worked for Acura, the two notorious weak spots were due to the way they completed the mold on the entire dash. One crack over the right side of the airbag opening and the other over the center speaker. I forget the exact molding procedure but it's just how they made it and how that area allows more expansion and contraction as we go through climate changes and use the A/C or Heat.

As I suggested once before, you can try to get a good will claim through one of the better dealerships in your area. You need to call Acura Corporate 1st and file a claim. Go to the dealership that you suggest to Corporate to look at the dashboard. You may or may not pay a diagnostic fee (It's common sense, you need a new dashboard) and have the service manager file a claim and see what Acura and the dealership are willing to do. Most of the power is in the hands of the dealership. There's a dealership in FL that is notorious for helping out many with this issue, not sure if you're local to them but it's been mentioned many times before in cracked dash threads. Keep in mind, if you have the dealership do this, you will once again be on borrowed time.

Option 2 is buying a in good but used condition dashboard and tackling the job with a friend or paying a shop to do the work. Keep in mind, you will once again be on borrowed time.

Option 3 is buying that overlay cover

Option 4 is living with it.

As I said, the designed never changed, the material never changed the mold never changed ect ect. So a new replacement will also crack with due time. It was a faulty design and Acura did nothing to correct it. Everyone will eventually get a crack. Some don't see it for MANY MANY years.

It's Trump's fault!!! Oops, wrong forum. (The OP gets it :biggrin: )

That sucks. I'm relieved and somewhat surprised that my dash is still crack free. I've always used a sun shade, garaged when at home and used 303 a few times. Spent 3 years in the Louisiana heat and 13 years in the ND ice box. I wish I knew what, if any, magic was involved in keeping the dash crack free. I'm not going to sweat it too much, if it happens, it happens.

And that dash overlay looks pretty damn good. I'd say it's the best option short of replacing the dash. Sub'd to hear if you have any luck getting Acura to help out with a dash replacement.

Gotta agree with here here, my car should by all rights have a cracked dash and yet it doesn't. I don't treat it, I don't clean it, I park outside year-round in the glaring sun and in the extreme cold, and also like you, I am relieved and surprised it is still crack free.

I'm actually toying with the idea of pre-buying a new dash and keeping it in storage until mine finally cracks, and then spending a long weekend doing a replacement.

The dash is never going to get better. For better or worse, I applied some black adhesive sealant to the crack (the kind that would be used to adhere the plastic Coverlay to the dash). So that pretty much means that the goodwill repair will be out because I tried to "fix" it myself. I can see the beginning of the end for my ownership of that car.

My son is 11, and most likely I will take care of it until he gets his driver's license and turns 16. So I hope to take care of it enough so that will be his first car.

Still sucks.

I'm expecting to have a craked dash if I get another TL... I love your car, Gatr! But if you don't want it, take my Kia, dash looks new still :)

I'm only a 6 hour drive west! :)

If you really love the car, you will accept the cracks that come with age... Do you plan on getting divorced once your wife starts to look older?


I know a car is different to most people, but to me, having a car for a few years or more means deep emotional attachment and excusing or completely dismissing any flaws that come up... Like an old dog or cat going gray... Love is love, and love is blind... Love your car man! Seriously, I love your car...


But I get why new and appealing things are nice! Get an S6 and be like :rice:

Very nice ride for a new driver - cracked dash or not. He just needs to be careful with the power the TL has for a new / inexperienced driver.

I don't know you but you sound like an idiot :)

Huh? :scratch:

An idiot, seriously... :bored:


I'll give you the benefit of the doubt because I don't know you... But this is how I think.

I'm a highly intelligent, socially awkward autistic 22 year old that has been going through a lot of complex life scenarios as of late...

The point I'm attempting to convay is that the longer a car is owned by one person, the more it's worth to that person, or atleast that's how it is for me :)

Not sure how Gatr is, he is "special" in his own way! :wave:

Love the lane watch you added, btw, Gatr!

This should make more less sence :rofl:


My Baby, My Baby!!!


2016 Mystery Meat at work here :) I'm usually not this incoherent anymore, but it's just how I am sometimes...

I contacted two companies to see what the cost would be to professionally repair the crack, new blending and paint and everything. I'll update once I get the cost.

Ok. Curious to find out myself...

Guys, let's be nice here

I have also thought of this as an option, so I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one. Of course, cost is the biggest factor, but it's definitely something to keep in the back of our minds.

I suppose cost is one factor, however, I look at it as the cost of keeping a car I really like on the road versus buying something currently on the market which I'd hate. All thing considered, given I have no car payment, I can effectively put four or five hundred per month into a maintenance fund (money I would otherwise spend on a car payment), and that buys a heck of a lot of repair and maintenance work.

My sentiments exactly. I really, REALLY like this car. I want to keep it for as long as I can, but also I'm battling my OCD.

I agree with you both 100%. Too many people finance the crap out of their vehicles and I'm here rocking a 2005 Acura TL and my wife has a 2007 Acura RDX. I baby them too much to let them go. $1,000 is just a lot to spend for a cosmetic fix if you buy new. Ugh, the dilemma...

I'm a CPA geek and am overly compulsive as well, so I know how you feel. Just recently, I noticed a rip in lower portion of the rubber seal around my wife's RDX door. I am debating on ordering a replacement, because ti's driving me nuts that dirt and debris are filtering inside the molding. She thinks I'm crazy.

Oh I'd easily spend the grand, probably at the same time as I'd order a new set of skins for the seats for another $1,400. Last year I PMed much of the mechanical stuff in the car, new clutch and flywheel, six new engine/transmission mounts, rear main seal, new stabilizer bar end links and bushings, new axles, and probably a few other goodies I'm forgetting about.

I was considering replacing the seats with new leather also until this crack appeared.

I've got an '06 with 102k miles and thankfully the dash hasn't cracked. With everything I've seen on this forum I've accepted the fact that it will eventually crack and have already decided to get a Coverlay when that day comes. I look forward to seeing updates from gatr regarding those quotes and eventual decision.