NHTSA Complaint #10663424 — 2013 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE 1500

MY 2013 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE HAS DEVELOPED A CRACK IN THE DASHBOARD ON THE PASSENGER SIDE WHERE THE DASH SURROUNDS THE AIRBAG COVER. THIS ALSO HAPPENED TO MY PREVIOUS 2008 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE IN THE SAME EXACT AREA (BUT IN TWO PLACES INSTEAD OF JUST ONE). THIS APPEARS TO BE AN ISSUE WITH MANY OF THE 2007-2013 GM VEHICLES THAT HAVE A SIMILAR DASHBOARD AS EVIDENT BY THE HUNDREDS OF FORUM POSTS REGARDING THIS DEFECT. A GOOGLE SEARCH FOR "GM CRACKED DASH" WILL CONFIRM THIS. THE CRACKED AREA IN THE DASH COULD BECOME A SAFETY HAZARD AND POTENTIALLY LEAD TO INJURY DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF PLASTIC SHARDS BECOMING PROJECTILES DURING AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT. FAILURE OF THE AIRBAG DURING DEPLOYMENT ALSO SEEMS TO BE A POSSIBILITY IF THE AIRBAG WERE TO BE PUNCTURED BY THE SHARP EDGES OF THE CRACKED PLASTIC. GM HAS NOT ISSUED A VOLUNTARY RECALL AND BASED ON MANY OF THE FORUM POSTS, THE DEALERSHIPS ARE NOT WILLING TO REPLACE THE FAULTY DASHBOARDS AT THEIR EXPENSE, EVEN THOUGH THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT DESIGN CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE BY GM TO NEWER REPLACEMENT PARTS THAT WOULD HELP ALLEVIATE OR ELIMINATE THE CRACKING PROBLEM. SINCE THIS DEFECT IS A COSTLY REPAIR TO THE VEHICLE OWNER AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, SINCE IT IS POTENTIALLY A SAFETY HAZARD THAT COULD RESULT IN SEVERE INJURY, I AM HOPEFUL THAT SOMETHING CAN BE DONE TO URGE GM TO REPLACE THE DASHBOARDS OF AFFECTED VEHICLES AT THEIR EXPENSE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION IN THIS MATTER. *TR