2008 Nissan Altima

2008 NISSAN ALTIMA COUPE'S DASHBOARD IS MELTING. I LIVE IN FLORIDA AND APPARENTLY NISSAN DIDN'T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE WEATHER HERE WHEN USING MATERIAL FOR THEIR DASHBOARDS ON THIS YEAR AND MODEL. THE WHOLE TOP DASHBOARD IS STICKY AND LOOKS LIKE A WET SUBSTANCE. BECAUSE OF THIS IT CREATES AN INTENSE GLARE THAT IS A SEVER SAFETY HAZARD WHEN DRIVING. I CALLED 1800-NISSAN AND THEY DON'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING EVEN THOUGH THEY USED FAULTY MATERIAL. THIS IS A KNOWN CONCERN SINCE OTHERS HAVE HAD THE SAME ISSUE. IF U DO A GOOGLE SEARCH OF THIS ISSUE, YOU'LL FIND ITS A VERY COMMON PROBLEMS FOR NEARLY ALL NISSAN ALTIMA (2008) WHO LIVE IN SOUTHERN CLIMATES AND NISSAN WILL NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY OF THIS ISSUES, DOES SOMEONE HAS TO DIE IN A ACCIDENT OR GET DISMEMBERED ? THANK YOU *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS COASTED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WHERE THE ENGINE WAS TURNED OFF, AND AFTER RESTARTING THE VEHICLE RESUMED NORMALLY. THE FAILURE RECURRED THREE TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSIS WHERE THEY INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE CRANK SHAFT AND SPEED SENSORS WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000.

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

I HAVE A 2008 NISSAN ALTIMA WITH ONLY 25,000 MILES ON IT. GARAGE KEEP. VERY NICE CAR. I NOTICED LAST MONTH A SPOT THAT LOOKED LIKED MY DASH MELTED . NOW A MONTH LATER IT HAS SPREAD. I HAVE PUT NOTHING ON IT. IT LOOKS VERY SHINY AND STICKY WHEN TOUCHED. IT LOOKS LIKE THE MATERIAL IS BREAKING DOWN. I CAN NOT DRIVE THIS CAR ON A SUNNY DAY BECAUSE ALL I SEE IN MY FRONT WINDSHIELD IS THE REFLECTION OF MY DASH. I ALMOST HIT SOMEONE THE OTHER DAY HAVING TO SWERVE JUST IN TIME. I COULDN'T EVEN SEE THEM. JUST BLACK SHINY DASH. THIS HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH. I HAVE CALLED AND THEY JUST KINDA LAUGH SAYING " I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THAT" . YOU CAN CLEARLY TELL THE MATERIAL IS BREAKING DOWN . THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN AND NISSAN SHOULD FIX THIS BEFORE SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS. *TR

THERE IS A CONSISTENT ISSUE WITH THIS PARTICULAR MAKER, MODEL AND YEAR. THE "MELTING DASHBOARD". THE MATERIAL USED TO MAKE THE RUBBER-TYPE DASHBOARD BEGINS TO "MELT". THE SURFACE IS STICKY AND CAUSES VERY BAD WINDSHIELD SUN GLARE, WHICH CAN BE DANGEROUS. MY WIFE WILL NOT DRIVE CAR BECAUSE OF THIS. I HAVE DOCUMENTED PHOTOS AND COMMENTS FROM OTHER CAR OWNERS. *TR

I PURCHASED A BRAND NEW 08 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5S IN SEPTEMBER OF 2007. I LIVE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA, AND FOR MORE THAN A YEAR, MY DASHBOARD HAS TURNED SHINY, STICKY, AND IS QUITE LITERALLY MELTING. THE LAST 6 MONTHS TO A YEAR, I NOTICED THAT THE PART AROUND THE RADIO UNIT HAS BEEN CRACKING AND "SOFTENING". IN THE DAYTIME, THE SHINY MELTING PART OF THE DASH REFLECTS ONTO MY WINDSHIELD AND CREATES A BLINDING GLARE THAT MAKES IT DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS TO EVEN SEE THE ROAD. I HAVE TRIED VARIOUS CLEANING SOLUTIONS UNTIL I REALIZED THAT WASN'T THE PROBLEM. I HAVE COME ACROSS MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM, MOST IN FLORIDA, AND ALL 2008 ALTIMAS. I WILL ENCLOSE A LINK TO THE FORUM WHERE MANY ALTIMA OWNERS HAVE FOUND THANKS TO GOOGLE WITH THE ISSUE. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO SEND SOME PICTURES OF THE DASHBOARD IF NECESSARY. HTTP://FORUMS.NICOCLUB.COM/MY-DASHBOARD-IS-MELTING-T569582.HTML. *TR

IT APPEARS AS IF MY DASHBOARD IS "MELTING." THE FINISH ON THE DASHBOARD IS DISAPPEARING AND IT HAD BECAME VERY STICKY AND THERE IS A GLARE ON THE DASH THAT IS HINDERING VISIBILITY. I HAVE RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM AND IT APPEARS TO BE COMMON ON 2008 NISSAN ALTIMAS AND MY CONCERNS THAT IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE. I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THIS PROBLEM AWARE NOW BEFORE IT GETS WORSE. *TR