NHTSA Complaint #10644097 — 2004 LEXUS GX470

MY VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED FROM A LOCAL LEXUS DEALERSHIP IN JANUARY 2008 AND SINCE THEN HAS BEEN GARAGED DURING THE DAY AT MY OFFICE AND GARAGED OVERNIGHT IN MY BUILDING'S ENCLOSED PARKING STRUCTURE. THE VEHICLE RARELY SAT IN THE SUN FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME, BUT IN NOVEMBER 2012, CRACKS ON THE PASSENGER SIDE DASH BEGAN APPEARING. THEY WERE RAZOR THIN AND BY THE END OF 2013, THE ENTIRE PASSENGER SIDE DASH WAS COVERED IN CRACKS, DIRECTLY ABOVE THE AIR BAG. THE LEXUS DEALERSHIP EXPLAINED THAT SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND THERE WAS NO OPEN RECALL, ANY REPAIR WOULD BE AT MY EXPENSE, WHICH WOULD BE APPROXIMATELY $2,500. I SEARCHED MULTIPLE ONLINE FORUMS (CLUBLEXUS.COM, LEXUSOWNERSCLUB.COM) AND THIS SAME PREMATURE CRACKING OF THE GX470 DASH WAS BEING EXPERIENCED BY HUNDREDS OF OWNERS. I ALSO OWN A LEXUS LS430 AND I HAVE TREATED IT EXACTLY LIKE MY GX470, BUT THANKFULLY THE LS HAS NOT EXHIBITED ANY DASH CRACKING. I FEEL THAT THE GX470 DASH CRACKING ISSUE IS A SAFETY RISK, SINCE THE INTEGRITY OF THE DASH IS BEING COMPROMISED AND IT MAY NEGATIVELY EFFECT THE FUNCTIONING OF THE VEHICLE AIR BAGS. I FEEL THAT THIS PROBLEM IS DUE TO POOR QUALITY MATERIALS AND THAT LEXUS SHOULD PROVIDE A REPLACEMENT AT NO COST TO THE VEHICLE OWNER. *TR