Dashboard Crack problems of the 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 - part 2

2003 Dodge Ram 2500. Dash has two large cracks in it. Truck only has 70,000 miles on it.

Dash board is cracked in several places,and is in the beginning stages of forming large holes in the dash. In the event of a crash these cracked pieces could easily become airborne "missiles" flying around the cab. When these pieces break off they are very sharp and leave very sharp edges on the dashthis is a well known issue that Dodge refuses to correct on the 03 model trucks. They had the same issue with earlier model trucks (98-02) and have sense started replacing those dashboards at no cost to owners.

The dash on my 2003 Dodge ram is cracked in several places. In the event of a collision this could be dangerous, having pieces of plastic flying around the cab of the truck.

Dodge dashes cracking popping flying across the truck hitting driver or passenger in vehicle while in motion or stopped at a simple red light. Very dangerous in my opinion and I have seen and read thousands of instances just like mine! on Dodge forum type in (dash/defective dash) you tell me! Dodge claims there's nothing wrong with them however they are willing to replace the problem dash with one of the same type(will crack again) for only 1000-1300 bucks. I had about a 4" by 3" piece of plastic fly up and hit my hand on the steering wheel, lucky I was stopped at a red light. There are no oem stock replacements for the do it yourself period they make caps which cause rattles in trucks we have all paid 30-50 thousand dollars for! I want to add as well when pieces fly off the dash it also exposes all your electrical system within the top of the dash as we all know in the texas sun could obviously cause damage or worse to vehicle or person/s in vehicle!.

The hard plastic dash of my 03 Dodge ram has cracked in the center. Hard plastic pieces flying in the cab resulting from a collision may cause additional injuries to driver and or passengers.

2003 Dodge Ram 2500. Dash is starting to crack in several places. I take very good care of my truck. It is always garaged when not in use.

Badly cracking dashboard on 2003 Dodge Ram 2500. I purchased the truck used in sept 2008 and it had a small hairline crack at that time. In July of 2009 I noticed that the crack has spread, as well as two others developing.

2003 Dodge Ram 2500 cracked dash.

My dashboard is very brittle, cracking bad and is continually getting worse. During our last cold weather, I turned on my heater and a piece of the plastic windshield defroster vent popped up and hit my windshield and fell into the vent. It does this when I turn on my a/c in hot weather when I can hear plastic pieces falling down into the dash. If that flying piece of plastic would have hit me or one of my family members, it could have caused an injury especially if it hit one of us in the eye. I have read in many online forums of other Dodge ram owners experiencing the same issue but Dodge will not fix the problem. One of the posts stated the dashboards are made of cheap plastic which is not uv rated. If my vehicle is involved in a traffic collision, the brittle dashboard could shatter like potato chips and fly through-out the cabin and cause injury to the occupants! I can hear the dash cracking often and more pieces falling down into the vents which could cause damage to the fans or other components. Even after cleaning the interior of my vehicle on a regular basis with uv protectants, the dashboard is still deteriorating each week and is recently getting worse. We the customers have paid a lot of money for these vehicles, yet Dodge wont even replace a dangerous, brittle dashboard to make it safer for us? poor quality plastic is being used inside the Dodge rams which cause the dashboards to become brittle and dangerous. It is also cracking bad around the passenger side airbag area which could also cause the dashboard to explode if the airbag deploys.

Defective dash plastic started cracking 4 years since new sharp edges safety hazard.

Cracked dash could be dangerous in accident fly debris or if air bag goes off this is potentially dangerous to me and my passengers.

On or about 10/25/2008 we noticed a crack in the dashboard of our 2003 Dodge ram pickup. The crack was approximately 8 inches long and was beginning to crack at different angles. On 10/28/2008 we contacted Chrysler customer assistance and were assigned a reference number: 18023982. We were advised to take our problem to a local dealer. We visited scott gould, service manager at venice Dodge in venice, florida. Scott did not even look at our problem. He informed us that he knew where the dashes were cracking ,was aware of the problem but could do nothing without approval from Chrysler. We called the customer assistance center 1-800-992-1997 and spoke to a suzy who refused to share her last name. Suzy talked to scott and then called us back and informed us that we could have our dash replaced for 250$. I asked her why we had to pay to replace the defective part. She informed us that there was no recall on the defective dashes because it was not considered a safety defect. On 11/18/2008 we had the defective dash replaced at venice Dodge. I have requested the old cracked dash but they have not yet honored that request. The dash material appears to be a hard plastic approximately 3/16 in thick. The visible cracks appeared jagged and sharp. Sharp enough that upon impact they could puncture an air bag or an individual causing injury, serious harm and/or death. The problem with the dashes is not an isolated one. It is extremely widespread. Let this not be the protective netting at the hockey arena. It's time for Chrysler to own up and recall their defective part before something bad really happens if it hasn't already.

The dashboard is cracking and caving in on itself as a result the lights go on and off while driving. Several other electrical problems are hapening.

On 9/20/2008 I noticed some small cracks in my dash. After about a week the dash had several cracks and the small ones were now large cracks going from the front of the dash all the way to the windshield. I feel this is a safety hazard as the dash gets worse pieces can fall in to the electronics in the dash and effect the operation of the vehicle. I have seen this same thing happen to the 2nd generation Dodge rams from 94-02. Dodge has accepted liability for those dashes cracking, well this is the very same plastic used in those trucks. I don't think Dodge wants to have to replace all of these dashes for the reason of reputation and cost to the company. I don't think you can really put a price of safety. These car makers need to take responsibility for the vehicles they make, not just until the warranty runs out. That kind of thinking tells me that the car maker does no care about how long their vehicles last just that they can't wait for the warranty runs out so they can tell the customer. . . . Sorry, wish we could help. I am really disgusted in the fact that the us car makers have no pride in what they build. They wonder why the foreign cars and trucks basically sell themselves. I really hope we can resolve this issue. If Chrysler does not step up to the plate and fix these problems I will never buy another Chrysler product.

Dash just cracked forward to aft in the center. One day it was not there and the next day there was a crack.

Cracked dashboard on my 2003 Dodge ram pick-up. Began one year ago, 2008 and now have two cracks on top from windshield towards the middle of the vehicle and passenger side. Per the complaint forums the cracks are from defective plastic material during the manufacturing process and will get worse to the point there will be jagged edges and a safety concern to passenger and driver.

Cracked dash board in my 2003 Dodge Ram 2500, coming apart in pieces, can see through the dash Dodge will not cover the defect and seems like a safety issue to me? thanks [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Dashboard cracking.

Overnight a crack appeared in my dashboard from the windshield all the way to the front of the dash right behind the steering wheel. The crack is on the driver side of the truck. I have been told that Dodge is not responsible. My vehicle is a 2003 and has been garage kept. I have not yet completed paying for the vehicle. Its a Ram 2500 4x4 cummings diesel and my 4th and final ram truck.

Dash is cracking.

2003 Dodge Ram 2500 cracked dash.

I have an 03 Dodge 2500 48000 miles . The main dashboard is cracked front to back over the passenger airbag, when the dashboard falls in im afraid its going set off the air bag.

Dash has excessive cracks. Could cause safety issue if the truck was ever wrecked.

The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500. The contact stated that the dashboard was cracked and separating, creating sharp exposed edges. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and no solution was offered. The failure mileage was 60,000.

The dashboard on my 2003 Dodge ram2500 is cracked all over the place. I count 12 cracks in both upper dash boards. If I ever do have an accident any one in the vehicle could be injured badly just with flying dashboard. I called Dodge and they are willing to replace it for $800 with the same evidently inferior plastic that is already proven to be defective. The truck has never been in an accident and nothing else has happened that should have caused any of these cracks.

I'm a 3 time Dodge owner currently have a 2003 Ram 2500 slt hemi, 2004 ram 1500 short bed, 2005 durango hemi. Each one has problems. What I don't understand is how the NHTSA and Dodge don't see the safety danger involved. The 2003 has the most serious safety issues. A dash that is cracking so bad that pieces are now starting to fall out. If an accident were to occur this is a projectile hazard . I have taken pictures of the dash. I hope know one gets injured from projectile fragments of the dash. The more serious issue with the 2003 is the flapper door on the actuator motor that changes the air flow from vent to floor or defrost. Dodge does not see this as a safety issue. I don't see the difference between the defrost to the windshield not working and a windshield wiper recall; they both affect your view. We don't drive the pickup if ice and snow are in the forecast. I could not believe all the complaints about this issue and nothing is being done. Lets wait until one of these 2 issues injuries someone seriously or even sadder yet someone is killed!!!!! there is always a lawyer waiting. I would think any problem that affects your site or view for driving would be most dangerous.

I own a 2003, Dodge, ram, 2500, quad cab, with an extremely badly cracked dashboard.

2003 Dodge ram dashboard cracking since the vehicle was 2 years old and Dodge has continued to ignore the fact that they have an issue with the dashboards cracking. How many do we need to get this issue resolved.

I have a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 and I am concerned that after 3 years the plastic dash is cracking and getting worse. The replacement cost is way too much and probably won't last. I think this is a safety issue that should be addressed for the simple reason, if I was in an accident with a passenger and the person put there hands on the dash out of reaction it could possibly lead to some deep lacerations to the hands and forearms. From reading on the internet, Dodge is well aware of the problem but will not address it. Thank you for your consideration on a recall for this item.

The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500. The contact stated that the dashboard was cracked and objects were falling into the interior of the vehicle. Additionally, the plastic on the dashboard was warped. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 32000.

2003 Dodge Ram 2500hd - dash is cracking all over, could lead to future electrical problems if not fixed in time.

Cracked dash that may be safety issue during airbag deployment.

My dash board is cracking and coming apart. It is the first truck that I have had this to happen to. I put a cover over it to help to protect it from further damage. Is there a recall on this.

I purchased a new 2003 Dodge ram in early 2003. Within a year, the dash top cracked and started to cave in. I found out from the dealership that the dash was made from an inferior plastic material and even if I allowed them to do a warranty replacement, the dash would likely crack again and that it would be better for me to wait until Chrysler came out with a better oem dash replacement. I have done a lot of research since this time and have discovered that this is a very widespread problem that Chrysler has refused to do anything about until recently. I see where some people (on the www) are now reporting that they are getting some offers from Chrysler to replace their dashes with a newly improved dash at no cost to the customer. I have recently contacted my local Dodge dealership (big o Dodge of greenville , SC, 864 288 5000) as well as Chrysler (800 992 1997) and was told that the only dash issue that Chrysler would acknowledge was on the 98-02 model year trucks. After I made references to all of the internet research as well as to my initial discussion with the dealership regarding their recommendation for me to wait for a better dash to be manufactured (while the vehicle was still in the warranty period) I was placed on hold and the Chrysler rep contacted the local dealership and arranged for me to have my dash replaced at a discount, but not at Chrysler expense as it should be since this problem with the cracked dash stems from an acknowledged manufacturing flaw from day 1 as I reported to the dealer while the vehicle was still "new". My research has also led me to believe this is also a safety issue due to electrical component damage caused by the falling dash pieces cutting into electrical components causing people to loose their lighting at night, causing shorts and even smoke from melting wires which cause smoke to temporarily blind drivers as they try to pull over for safety. I want the dealership / Chrysler to acknowledge this as a recall or TSB and agree.

Hello, I own a 2003 ram and my dashboard is also falling apart. I saw pictures of other Dodge trucks broken dashboards and my dashboard looks a lot worst than most of them. I called the Dodge dealer where I bought my truck and they told me that the dashboard was not covered under warranty. If it only had 1 crack I would not be as upset but my dashboard has 8 cracks on it and its looking terrible. I believe I might start having problems with the electric under the dashboard if I don't get the problem fixed. I am starting to think about the overall quality of the truck. My sister, brother and I have all bought brand new trucks from the same dealer at sanford, florida. If the dealer does not help me replace the dashboard, I assure you they will loose our family business. Thank you :(.