2002 Dodge RAM 1500

HI, I READ AN ARTICLE BY CHANNEL 6 NEWS PROBLEM SOLVERS IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA. THAT DID A REPORT ON DASHBOARDS COLLAPSING IN 2002 DODGE RAM AND OTHER MODELS. IN THE ARTICLE, IT SHOWED THAT DODGE WAS REPLACING THE DASHBOARDS AT A COST OF $100 TO THE CUSTOMER. 2 YEARS AFTER I BOUGHT MY TRUCK, MY DASH STARTED CRACKING. A FRIEND OF MINE HAD A 2003 QUAD CAB AND HE WAS EXPERIENCING CRACKS IN HIS DASH IN THE EXACT SAME SPOTS. A YEAR LATER HE TRADED HIS TRUCK IN AND I STILL HAVE MINE. MY DASH IS STILL CONTINUING TO CRACK TO THIS DAY. SINCE MY DASH STARTED CRACKING, I HAVE HAD OTHER PROBLEMS WITH MY TRUCK. MY STEREO IS MESSING UP. MY A/C AND BLOWER MOTOR DON'T WORK RIGHT. MY HEATER CORE LEAKS. IN SUMMER TIME I HAVE NO A/C. IN WINTER I HAVE NO HEAT AND NO WINDOW DEFROSTER. WHEN IT RAINS, I HAVE NO DEFROSTER. THESE ARE A SAFETY ISSUE IF I CANT SEE WHERE IM DRIVING. FOR THE PAST 2 YEARS, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET DODGE TO REPLACE MY DASH. THEY WILL REPLACE IT ONLY AT FULL COST TO ME! WILL YOU FINALLY FORCE DODGE INTO RECALLING THESE 01-04 DODGE RAM, DAKOTA AND DURANGO DASHBOARDS???????????????????????. *TR

MAIN DASH BEGAN CRACKING IN MULTIPLE PLACES. FORWARD DASH PANEL HAS NOW CRACKED AND SPLIT INTO MANY SEPARATE PIECES CREATING LOOSE, SHARP, PLASTIC MATERIALS WHICH POSE A SAFETY HAZARD IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH. SOME OF THE PIECES HAVE CRACKED AWAY AND HAVE FALLEN BEHIND THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND SOME HAVE FALLEN INTO THE DUCT WORK AS WELL. HAVING OCCURRED ON MANY DODGE RAMS, THIS CREATES A WIDE-SPREAD SAFETY ISSUE AND NOT JUST AN ISOLATED INCIDENT. I STRONGLY FEEL THAT A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED ON THE AFFECTED YEARS AND THE FAULTY DASH PANELS SHOULD BE REPLACED BY THE MANUFACTURER TO PREVENT ANY UNNECESSARY INJURIES OR SAFETY CONCERNS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 DODGE RAM 1500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH A PIECE OF THE DASHBOARD FRACTURED AND BEGAN TO CRACK IN FOUR DIFFERENT PLACES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO SEVERAL INDEPENDENT MECHANICS FOR DIAGNOSIS AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THERE WERE NO REPAIRS BUT INSTEAD, THE ENTIRE DASHBOARD WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED BUT OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 94,000. ...UPDATED 10/17/12 *BF UPDATED 10/17/12

I WAS REAR ENDED AT A RED LIGHT AND MY DASH BOARD SUSTAINED MULTIPLE FRACTURES. PART OF THE DASH BOARD FRACTURED AND BECAME AIRBORNE IN THE VEHICLE. IT WAS THE SIZE OF AN IPHONE. THERE WAS ALSO ANOTHER PART OF THE DASHBOARD WHERE A HOLE IS PRESENT AND THE DASH BOARD IS SUNKEN IN. VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE QUALITY AND SAFETY ISSUES. PHOTOS WERE FORWARDED TO MY ATTORNEY. *TR

CRACKS BEGIN TO APPEAR IN THE DASHBOARD IN APRIL 2009 JUST BELOW THE WINDSHIELD AND HAVE NOW BEGAN TO SHOW UP IN THE MAIN DASHBOARD CAP. A LARGE GAPING SLIT NEAR THE INSTRUMENT DISPLAY APPEAR ON JULY 5, 2012. ON JULY 11, 2012 POWER WAS LOST TO THE GAUGES ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WHICH ALSO INCLUDED THE HAZARDS, TURNING SIGNALS, BRAKE LIGHTS AND ONE HEAD LIGHT. REQUESTED ELECTRONICALLY THROUGH THE CHRYSLER/DODGE, OFFICIAL WEBSITE POSSIBLE RECALLS AND I WAS CONTACTED VIA PHONE 24 HOURS LATER WITH A CONFIRMATION THAT NO PENDING OR MISSED RECALLS WERE IN PLACE FOR THE TRUCK. WHEN ASKED IF THERE WERE ANY SOLUTIONS TO THE COMPLAINTS OF CRACKED DASHBOARDS IN THE DODGE RAM 1500 MADE IN 2002, THE REPRESENTATIVE INDICATED THAT THERE WERE NO KNOWN COMPLAINTS LISTED FOR THE DASHBOARD AND PROVIDED NO RESOURCE IN BETTER REPLACEMENT PART. SCHEDULED TO HAVE VEHICLE CHECK THE WEEK OF JULY 16,2012. *TR

THE DASHBOARD IN THE 2002 DODGE RAM 1500 HAS MULTIPLE HAIRLINE CRACKS AND PIECES ARE BEGINNING TO FALL BEHIND THE DASH. I'M AFRAID THAT THESE PIECES COULD NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE FUNCTION OF THE AIRBAGS, HEATING / COOLING SYSTEM, OR OTHER ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS OF THE VEHICLE. IF THERE IS AN ACCIDENT THERE COULD BE FRAGMENTS THAT BREAK APART AND COULD POTENTIALLY CAUSE EYE DAMAGE OR SEVERE LACERATIONS. I HAVE FOUND MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS FROM NUMEROUS OWNERS CONCERNING THIS ISSUE. *TR

THE DASH CAP IN MY DODGE RAM 1500 HAS CRACKED IN SEVERAL PLACES. THIS HAS CAUSED MANY VERY SHARP SHARDS OF PLASTIC THAT WOULD BE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS IN A COLLISION RESULTING IN UNNECESSARY INJURY TO ANY PASSENGERS IN THE VEHICLE. I FIRMLY BELIEVE THIS SHOULD TRIGGER A FULL RECALL OF ALL TRUCKS AFFECTED. CHRYSLER IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND WILL NOT VOLUNTARILY START A RECALL. I MYSELF HAVE CUT MY FINGERS AND HANDS JUST WIPING OFF THE DASH BOARD WHILE CLEANING. I BEG OF YOU TO START AN INVESTIGATION BEFORE SOMEONE IS INJURED VERY BADLY IN AN ACCIDENT BY THESE SHARDS BECOMING PROJECTILES. THIS PROBLEM AFFECTS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF THESE TRUCKS. PLEASE TAKE THIS VERY SERIOUSLY! *TR

NOTICED WHILE DRIVING THAT THE RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE UPPER DASHBOARD PIECE NEXT TO THE WINDOW WAS RATTLING. UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION FOUND THAT TWO OF THE ATTACHMENT POST FOR THE PANEL WERE COMPLETELY SEPARATED FROM THE UPPER DASH PANEL ON THE UNDER SIDE OF THE PANEL WHICH MATE TO A FRICTION CLAMP UNDER THE PANEL.ALSO NOTICED THAT THE SPEAKER GRILL WAS CRACKED AND COMING APART IN THE SAME AREA. NOTE: THE DASH AREA HAS NEVER BEEN DISTURBED SINCE NEW OR HAS BEEN IN A WRECK OR HAS THE DASH HAD ANY KIND OF IMPACT. PERHAPS IF DODGE HAD PUT MORE EMPHASIS ON QUALITY THAN PROFIT ,THEY WOULD BE IN BETTER SHAPE. *TT