NHTSA Complaint #10889363 — 2006 ACURA TL

INITIALLY, DURING THE WARRANTY PERIOD, IN JUNE 2009, PORTION OF THE DASHBOARD ABOVE THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG FADED FROM BLACK TO A LIGHT GRAY INDICATING SOME SORT OF DECOMPOSITION. THE DEALER DYED THE PLASTIC BLACK AGAIN. LAST YEAR, A LONG CRACK APPEARRED IN THE DASHBOARD IN THE SAME AREA RUNNING FROM FRONT TO BACK. THIS SUMMER A LONG SECOND CRACK S APPEARED POSSIBLY OUTLINING THE CONTOUR OF THE PASSENGER AIRBAG COMPARTMENT. THIS WEEK, A THIRD CRACK HAS STARTED IN THE CENTER OF THE DASHBOARD. A QUICK SEARCH ON THE INTERNET REVEALS THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR OWNERS OF THIRD GENERATION ACURA TL VEHICLES AND MAY REPRESENT A MATERIAL OR QUALITY ISSUE. IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE THAT INCREASED BRITTLENEBRITR LOSS OF INTEGRITY OF THE DASHBOARD MAY ADVERSELY AFFECT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PASSENGER AIRBAG ALLOWING MATERIAL TO BE EJECTED WHEN THE AIRBAG DEPLOYS. I HAVE USED DASH "SHADES" TO PROTECT THE DASH FROM SUN EXPOSURE OVER THE YEARS AND HAVE NEVER HAD A PRIOR VEHICLE'S DASHBOARD DETERIORATE IN THIS MANNER. THIS COULD BE SIMILAR TO THE PROBLEMS OCCURRING IN TOYOTA DASHBOARDS AND THEIR RECALL AS THIS IS IN HIGH TEMPERATURE/HUMID ENVIRONMENT. ACURA DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THIS A PROBLEM BECAUSE MANY OF THE COMPLAINTS OUT CLAIMS ARE OUT OF WARRANTY.