2005 Acura Tl

MY 2005 ACURA TL IS DEVELOPING CRACKS IN THE DASHBOARD. ONE OF THE CRACKS OF MAJOR CONCERN IS THE ONE THAT IS FORMING ALONG THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE OF THE PASSENGER AIRBAG. I AM AFRAID THAT THE CRACK WILL CAUSE THE AIRBAG TO MALFUNCTION! THE BAG MAY DEPLOY SUDDENLY WHILE DRIVING, IT MAY DEPLOY UPWARDS RATHER THAN FORWARDS; IT MAY CAUSE THE DASH TO CRACK FURTHER AND SPRAY THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT WITH DASH SHRAPNEL, OR THE CRACKS THEMSELVES MY PUNCTURE THE AIRBAG - EACH CAUSING A GREAT SAFETY CONCERN INCLUDING DEATH OR SEVERE INJURY. THE AIRBAG LIGHT STARTED TO APPEAR INTERMITTENTLY AFTER THE CRACKED FORMED AROUND THE AIRBAG. I AM AFRAID TO FILL THE CRACK AS THAT MAY ALSO AFFECT THE AIRBAG AND SAFETY OF THE VEHICLE. THIS PROBLEM IS SO WIDESPREAD THAT SOCIAL MEDIA GROUPS HAVE BEEN FORMED - SUCH AS ON FACEBOOK ( HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ACURATLDEFECTIVEDASH/POSTS/219662424726766 ). IT SEEMS TO AFFECT MANY OF THE ACURA TL MODELS 2004-2008. THE COMPANY SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND CREATE A RECALL DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS FOR THEIR PASSENGERS.

MY 2005 ACURA TL HAS DEVELOPED A SIGNIFICANT DASHBOARD CRACK ALONG THE PERIMETER OF THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG LOCATION. THIS IS A WELL KNOWN ISSUE POSTED ON MANY INTERNET SITES INCLUDING MANY REPORTS ON FACEBOOK COMMUNITY: HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ACURATLDEFECTIVEDASH/POSTS/219662424726766? ADDITIONALLY, MANY OTHERS HAVE SUBMITTED COMPLAINTS TO NHTSA EXPRESSING THEIR SAFETY CONCERNS. SINCE THE TIME OF THE CRACK THE AIRBAG LIGHT WILL ALARM. THE DASHBOARD CRACK IS SHARP AND JAGGED EDGED. IF THE AIRBAG IS DEPLOYED THE CRACKED DASH WILL LIKELY INTERFERE IN THE AIRBAG'S TRAJECTORY AND/OR POSSIBLE GASH THE AIRBAG. IN ADDITION THE CRACKED DASH MAY SPRAY PIECES INTO THE OCCUPANCY AREA. I AM SURE ACURA HAS NOT TESTED AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT SAFETY WITH A CRACK DASHBOARD. THE NHTSA NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE THIS BROAD PROBLEM ON 3RD GENERATION ACURA TLS (2004-2008), AS ACURA WILL NOT ADDRESS OR EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE THIS SAFETY ISSUE. I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE THE NHTSA TO FOLLOW-THRU WITH AN INVESTIGATION. WE DO NOT NEED ANYONE BEING SERIOUSLY INJURED DUE TO THESE CRACK DASHBOARDS UNDERGOING FORCE OF AN AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT. I AM ATTACHING A PHOTO OF MY CRACKED DASH. ORIGINAL CRACK WAS ~3 INCHES, NOW THE CRACK IS 8-9". THE CRACK CONTINUES TO GROW WHICH AMPLIFIES THE SAFETY CONCERNS. ALSO ATTACHING A PHOTO COMPILED OF OTHER 3RD GENERATION ACURA TLS WITH SAME ISSUE. MANY PHOTOS ARE ON THE INTERNET.

TAKATA AIRBAGS? DASHBOARD ON PASSENGER SIDE IS CRACKED AND HAS BECOME TO INCREASE IN SIZE. FEAR THAT THIS MAY CAUSE AIRBAG "TAKATA" TO EXPLODE. AIRBAG LIGHT ON DRIVERSIDE RANDOMLY COMES ON AND WILL STAY ON WHILE DRIVING OR PARKED. FEAR THAT AIRBAG LIGHT MAY BE AN INDICATOR OF FRONT AIRBAGS MAY GO WRONG. OVER TIME THE DASHBOARD CRACKS HAVE INCREASED IN SIZE.

THE DASHBOARD DEVELOPED 2 LONG CRACKS IMMEDIATELY ON PASSENGER SIDE OVER AIRBAG WITHOUT ANY SIGN OF THEM APPEARING OVER TIME. CAR HAS BEEN GARAGE KEPT AND WELL MAINTAINED/CLEAN AND ALL LEATHER/DASH/PANELS ROUTINELY MOISTURIZED. CAR HAS NEVER BEEN WRECKED. GOOGLE 2005 ACURA TL DASHBOARD AND YOU GET NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS OCCURRING JUST OVER THE LAST 6 MONTHS FOR THE SAME MAKE/MODEL. NOT SURE IF THIS WILL AFFECT THE AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT OR WILL JUST BE AN EYESORE. REPLACEMENT PARTS COST APPROX. $730, NOT INCLUDING LABOR. CONTACTED ACURA BUT THEY REFUSE TO REPLACE THE DASH AT THEIR OWN COST DUE TO VEHICLE BEING OUT OF WARRANTY. THIS NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED TO ENSURE PASSENGERS WILL BE SAFE AND AIRBAG WILL DEPLOY PROPERLY IF IN AN ACCIDENT.

MAJOR CRACK ALL OVER DASH BOARD. SIX ARE ON THE PASSENGER SIDE OF DASH DIRECTLY WHERE AIR BAGS ARE HOUSED ABOVE GLOVE COMPARTMENT, SPANNING THE ENTIRE WIDTH TO THE DRIVERS SIDE. AIR BAG LIGHT IS ON AS WELL. DID SOME RESEARCH AND DISCOVERED IT WAS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL AND NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO FIX. THE CRACKS ARE GETTING WIDER WITH TIME AND HAVE PROGRESSED WITH TIME.