NHTSA Complaint #10598506 — 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY

MELTING SHINY DASHBOARD. PURCHASED VEHICLE IN OCTOBER 2007, AND HAS BEEN GARAGED AND DRIVEN MINIMALLY EVER SINCE. IT'S ABOUT TO GO FOR ITS 30,000 MILE SERVICE. ABOUT A YEAR AGO, WHENEVER DRIVING DURING THE DAYTIME, THE DASHBOARD SEEMS TO "LIQUEFY". IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S SLATHERED IN COOKING GREASE AND IS BLINDINGLY REFLECTIVE. ON TOP OF THE GLARING VISIBILITY ISSUES, THE DASHBOARD IS BECOMING SOFT & STICKY AND WHO KNOWS WHAT KINDS OF TOXINS IT'S RELEASING. THE DEALERSHIP SAYS TOYOTA DOESN'T ACKNOWLEDGE THERE'S A PROBLEM, AND IT WILL COST $2100 TO REPLACE. TOYOTA CORPORATE HUNG UP ON ME. BY SEARCHING ONLINE, I'VE FOUND HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS OF CASES OF THIS, PRIMARILY IN HOT WEATHER CLIMATES, MAINLY WITH TOYOTA, LEXUS & NISSAN VEHICLES. THIS IS AN OBVIOUS MANUFACTURING DEFECT. A VEHICLE IS A MAJOR PURCHASE, AND YOUR CAR SHOULD NOT "MELT". EVER. I DON'T CARE HOW OLD IT IS, OUR HOW MUCH IT'S BEEN DRIVEN. THERE ARE MANY ACCOUNTS OF DEALERSHIPS QUIETLY REPLACING DASHBOARDS FOR SOME CUSTOMERS, OR DOING SO AFTER THE PRESS HAS BEEN CONTACTED. THOUGH THE MAJORITY REPORT BEING STONEWALLED, AND BEING QUOTED EXTREMELY DIVERSE RATES FOR REPLACING THE DEFECTIVE DASHBOARD. I'VE SEEN NEWS REPORTS THAT [XXX], A WEST PALM BEACH DEALERSHIP OWNER HAS SEEN SO MANY OF THESE, HE'S GONE TO THE MEDIA, AND ADMITTED THAT THIS IS CLEARLY A MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND A SAFETY HAZARD, AND TOYOTA & OTHER CAR MAKERS ARE WELL AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, AND NEED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR