NHTSA Complaint #10682023 — 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA

I BEGAN TO NOTICE SOME STICKINESS ON MY DASHBOARD A FEW YEARS AGO. EVENTUALLY, SOME SECTIONS OF THE DASHBOARD MELTED SO MUCH THAT THEY BECAME WET AND SHINY. BECAUSE THE TEXTURE CHANGED, THE MELTED AREAS BEGAN TO CAUSE A GLARE ON THE GLASS OF THE WINDSHIELD. IT BECAME VERY DIFFICULT TO SEE STRAIGHT OUT WHEN ANY LIGHT REFLECTED OFF OF THE DASHBOARD AND CAUSED THE GLARE. I AM AFRAID BECAUSE THE GLARE CAN EASILY BLOCK THE VISIBILITY OF SOMETHING IN THE ROAD OR SOMEONE AHEAD OF ME. I OFFICIALLY BROUGHT THIS PROBLEM TO THE ATTENTION OF THE DEALERSHIP ON 10/17/13 EVEN THOUGH THE PROBLEM HAD BEGUN BEFORE THEN. ON THAT DATE, I WAS TAKING MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP DUE TO ANOTHER ISSUE THAT WAS COVERED BY MY WARRANTY. OUT OF CURIOSITY, I ASKED THE GREETER AT THE DEALERSHIP ABOUT IT AND SHE SAID THAT SHE HAD SEEN MANY OF THESE CASES BEFORE. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. ONE OF THE ATTENDANTS TOOK PICTURES AND SUBMITTED IT TO THE COMPANY FOR APPROVAL TO COVER REPAIRS UNDER WARRANTY. HE LEFT ME A VOICE MESSAGE A WEEK LATER INDICATING IT WAS NOT APPROVED. A YEAR LATER, I SAW THIS SAME SITUATION COVERED BY THE NEWS (NBC 6) AND IT IS OBVIOUSLY A DEFECT THAT MANY OF US ARE BEING IMPACTED BY. THIS IS NOT "WEAR AND TEAR" BUT A POORLY MANUFACTURED PLASTIC DASHBOARD. I AM PUTTING IN THIS OFFICIAL COMPLAINT BECAUSE I FEEL THAT THIS IS A DEFECT THAT CAUSES UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITIONS. I AM ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF THERE BEING TOXIC GASES FROM THE MELTING PLASTIC THAT MY FAMILY MAY BE BREATHING. I'VE NEVER SEEN DASHBOARDS MELT LIKE THIS BEFORE AND I BELIEVE IT NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION IN THIS MATTER. *TR UPDATED 4/12/2016*JS