NHTSA Complaint #10152522 — 1999 CHRYSLER 300M

MY 1999 CHRYSLER 300M HAS DEVELOPED 2 CRACKS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE DASHBOARD, ON EITHER SIDE OF THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG. I RESEARCHED THIS ONLINE AND IT IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM. THE CRACKS FORM ONLY ON THE PASSENGER SIDE AND ALWAYS ON EITHER SIDE OF THE AIR BAG. I TRIED TO GET THE CRACKS REPAIRED, BUT NO ONE IS WILLING TO DO THE WORK DUE TO THE PROXIMITY OF THE AIR BAG. I BELIEVE THIS IS MUCH MORE OF A SAFETY ISSUE THAN SIMPLY A COSMETIC ONE DUE TO THE FOLLOWING REASONS: THE AIR BAG IS DESIGNED TO DEPLOY WITH A GIVEN AMOUNT OF FORCE. IN MY CAR, THE AMOUNT OF FORCE NECESSARY TO BREAK THROUGH THE DASHBOARD MATERIAL IS FACTORED INTO THE FORCE OF AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT. THE DASH IS ALREADY CRACKED, THE AIR BAGS MAY (NOTE, I DID NOT SAY "WILL"--I'M NOT A CHRYSLER ENGINEER) DEPLOY TOO FORCEFULLY, THEREBY CAUSING GREATER INJURIES TO A PASSENGER-SIDE OCCUPANT. IT'S ALSO POSSIBLE THAT THE DASH WON'T BREAK AWAY PROPERLY, CAUSING AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF DASHBOARD FOAM OR OTHER MATERIAL TO BE PROJECTED TOWARD THE FACE AND BODY OF THE PASSENGER-SIDE OCCUPANT AND CAUSING LACERATIONS AND/OR EYE INJURIES THAT MIGHT NOT OTHERWISE BE ENCOUNTERED IN A MEDIUM-SPEED FRONT-END COLLISION. AND IT'S ALSO POSSIBLE THAT IF THE DASHBOARD IS COMPROMISED, IT MAY INTERFERE WITH AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT ALTOGETHER. PLEASE NOTE MY COMPLAINT AND TAKE ANY ACTION THAT YOUR OFFICE MAY FEEL IS NECESARY TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR TIME. PLEASE SEE THIS LINK FOR OTHERS WHO ARE HAVIGN THE EXACT PROBLEM THAT I AM HAVING. HTTP://300MCLUB.ORG/FORUMS/VIEWTOPIC.PHP?T=3903&START=0&POSTDAYS=0&POSTORDER=ASC&HIGHLIGHT=GARAGE+DOOR. *NM