NHTSA Complaint #10364989 — 1999 DODGE RAM 1500

1999 DODGE RAM 1500 QUAD PICK-UP. CRACKING-FRACTURED DASHBOARD AND BEZEL. THE DASHBOARD PANEL HAS HAD SEVERAL LONG CRACKS COMPLETELY TRANSVERSING AND TRANSECTING THE DECK IN MANY AREAS AND MANY NEWER ONES. WHAT STARTED AS A FEW THIN CRACKS HAVE CONTINUED TO MULTIPLY AND WIDEN. NOW, THE ENTIRE DASH HAS FRACTURES. PIECES HAVE FALLEN INTO THE INTERIOR OF THE DASH AMONG THE WIRING AND DUCTS LEAVING LARGE HOLES ON TOP. THE BRITTLE PLASTIC EDGES ARE VERY SHARP AND LEAVE THE SURFACE UNEVEN AND WEAKENED. AN AFTERMARKET FABRIC OVERLAY WAS APPLIED ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO AT FIRST TO CONCEAL CRACKS, BUT RECENT INSPECTION REVEALED CURRENT STRUCTURAL FAILURE CONDITION. THE INSTRUMENT BEZEL IS ALSO CRACKED IN SIMILAR AREA TO DASH CRACKS. THESE WEAKENED COMPONENTS AND THE STATE OF FRACTURE PROGRESSING THROUGHOUT PANEL CONCERNS ME AS TO THE SAFETY AND FUNCTION OF THIS VEHICLE IN THE EVENT OF A COLLISION. WHAT AFFECT COULD IT HAVE ON THE AIRBAG DEPLOYING OR THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY AND FUNCTION OF COMPONENTS ATTACHED TO THE DASH PANEL? LOOSE PLASTIC PIECES COULD BECOME DANGEROUS TO OCCUPANTS AND SAFETY EQUIPMENT OR BECOME LODGED FUNCTIONALLY IMPAIRING DRIVEABILITY. INTERNET RESEARCH HAS INFORMED ME THAT THIS IN NOT AN ISOLATED CASE. AFTERMARKET VENDORS HAVE FULL DASHBOARD REPLACEMENT PART FOR ~$400., PRESUMABLY BETTER ABS QUALITY THAN OEM PART. THE DODGE DEALER QUOTED ABOUT $900. FOR LABOR ONLY! THESE VENDORS ALSO CARRY A MOULDED ABS PLASTIC "DASH CAP AND BEZEL" OVERLAYS TO BE GLUED OVER DAMAGED DASHES TO "IMPROVE APPEARANCE", (~$300.), A QUICK DYI JOB, BUT WILL NOT SOLVE STRUCTURAL WEAKNESS NOR CONTINUED BREAKAGE OF ORIGINAL DASH FROM BELOW CAP, ADDITIONALLY THESE OVERLAY "CAPS" DO NOT HAVE THE ATTACHMENT TABS FOR AIRBAG OR INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, ETC., SO THE ORIGINAL TABS WOULD HAVE TO DO THE JOB BUT MAY BE STRUCTURALLY COMPROMISED FROM CRACKING ALSO. I HAVE YET TO DECIDE WHICH IS THE BEST OPTION TO TAKE. IN ANY CASE, THE OLD PART IS STILL AVAILABLE FOR THE TIME BEING. *TR