sc300seeya

jheath, gsobo and jbwineman I'm with you. I will be glad to be part of the class action suit. I will talk to a couple of corporate lawyers and let you know. Karma is a B...LOL... Financial experts are predicting Toyota will take a $2 - $20 billion hit for this one :-)...:

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

Based upon laboratory testing experience, I'd be VERY, VERY careful in choosing a product to put on any interior plastic piece, including dash boards. I used to run a business where we developed and supplied chemical cleaning products to the aerospace and defense industry. These chemical products had to be tested very carefully for compatibility with a variety of materials, including plastics and acrylics. One such test is Boeing D6-17487 which includes an acrylics (plastic) crazing (damage) test. Original ArmorAll will fail this test (damage the plastic test substrates) within a few hours of application. In fact, many/most shine/protectant products will fail, particularly tire shines. These products are well known to damage rubber such as tires, and this is why companies like Michelin do not approve of applying regular commercial tire shine products to their tires, and some companies (Dunlop for one, IIRC) reserve the right to void warranties if you apply these products.

Raid05

I think that was pretty fair. If they would do that for everyone else I think it would keep a lot of people happy. Squeaky wheel gets the grease, keep working corporate and try not to take it out too much on your dealer, his hands are tied.

wannaGX

I find it . . . ironic? no, sad. . . no, disturbing, that everyone bashes lawyers - especially class action suits UNTIL there's a problem they can't get help with. THEN they want to get in on a class action. It's too bad that Lexus is treating you all like this. Hopefully all this bad press will make them more responsive. Too bad sometimes it takes the sleezy media and lawyers t omake them act responsibly.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

I think the talk of a class action lawsuit is far-fetched. The part is not really safety related and if it's out of warranty Toyota has no legal obligation to replace it. It shouldn't have cracked if it's been treated properly (no damaging "protectants" applied to it), but IMO Toyota isn't "legally" obligated to replace parts that are out of warranty. Mine isn't cracked despite spending almost its entire life outside in Florida, but even if it were, I would not participate in any class action lawsuit. I might be mad, but I wouldn't participate in a lawsuit.

wannwodka2

This is about to become an explosive issue in Australia ... same ridiculous issue... same pathetic snub!

click here

All comments/input welcome.

charjones

My 2004 RX330 has over 100,000 miles on it now; however, I have been dealing with the local dealership for over 50,000 miles with this problem. My dash looks horrendous, like something has taken several bites out of it! When inquiring with the local dealership, the response was that they had never seen anything like this...(sound familiar?), and the replacement would cost $2,000! I looked into repairing it, but the authorized guy (that does all repairs for many dealerships in our area), said that it wouldn't work; it was "obviously a defective dashboard". Since then, I have been searching through salvage dealers for a new dash pad and cover. Haven't found one, probably due to the fact that if the car has been in an accident, the airbag blew out that side of the dash. I am ALL FOR A CLASS ACTION SUIT. This is not at all what I expected from a Lexus product!

redrocks

Lexus has been cutting corners to save money. Doesn't it show?

Skippy

In the beginning of February, I finally did get another offer from Lexus Corporate; total dash replacement for $1,000. I made them send me a letter with their offer, but it sits in the file cabinet because frankly, I'd rather eat dirt.

I think the offer sucks, even though it's better than nothing and it's better than their lousy 25% off.

My 2004 RX has never been touched by anyone but Lexus and they know it. I was always insistent they took meticulous notes as they inspected my car for even a spitball each time I brought it in for their overpriced oil changes. It's been garage kept at home and at the office, and to date there's not a scratch on her.

The more I even think about this offer the more pissed I get. I think someone (regional rep) thinks I'm a little old lady with hoards of money to give to Lexus continually. Well, not so.

For the record, I also sent my last reuqest to reopen my complaint and request to Southeastern Toyota (mothership for all the SE USA) and Craig Zinn Toytoa (owners of my Lexus dealership) and didn't hear a peep from either outfit.

I'm going to go back and try again for another offer. Why so much disparity in the replacement cost? Everyone I've talked to in the SE has had their dash fixed for nothing to $500.

gdiddy2688

I've been following this thread for quite some time hoping for a solution. I've lost count of how many cracks there are on the dashboard of our '03 GX470 and there are now 2 holes (I will post pictures). We bought ours CPO in Feb of '07 with only 25k miles on it, cracks began appearing after about 55k and Lexus of Kendall has refused to help us in any way what so ever from day one. I tried calling corporate and was informed that the CPO warranty does not cover any 'trim' inside the vehicle and there was no reason for them to offer me any discount or incentive to replace the dash. I think this is ridiculous but I'm not willing to pay 1000 + to replace the dash pad. To make things worse the car is now completely out of warranty. This is only one of the many issues I've had with this car and Lexus of Kendall, all in all I am very disappointed with Lexus and our dealership.

gatorrob91

We have an '05 GX 470 with 60K miles, we bought it new and have always kept it in the garage. We also have cracks in our dash. One from the passenger side air vent that goes across the glove compartment and a second one that goes across the instrument panel. We called Lexus customer service and then our local service rep. They are willing to furnish the parts, but we have to pay $750 for labor. This should be done at no cost, since it's clear it's a faulty design. Very frustrated. Might be our last Lexus.

GXLexDash

The cracks on my GX470 are of very similar pattern to previously reported cases on this thread. BTW, I collected a total of 25 published cases in this thread: 7 for unspecified model, 2 for RX330 and all others for GX470 from 03 to 06.

My car was well kept, most of the time parked with sun shields. The crack in the defective dashboard started at 83k miles.

I took it early in the am to my local dealer ("burl" this is also in Austin!) and the service rep (Mr Jason King) called me back late in the afternoon to tell me that it was not covered under my 6yr/100k/$0-deduct. platinum warranty and that they will not offer to share any of the costs involved in the repair or replacement.

Tomorrow I will ask my attorney's advice for the next course of action. I believe it is not difficult nor expensive to start a small claims case in my local court against the local dealer (who is the rep of Lexus in this county) for refusing to repair an obvious manufacturer defect (either poor material or workmanship).

However, first I will exhibit to my attorney the list of cases I collected from this thread. Would you guys be willing to share your details if needed? (particularly burl, TexGX and espieric who seem to be in my general area).

Thanks.

burl

Sure. I traded mine for a new Mercedes as you can see by reading the thread but I would certainly be happy to chime in for you. Jason was our service rep also. PM me if you like. I rarely read this forum any more.

volman3

I have an 05 gx470 with about 67k miles. Just noticed this exact same problem last week and appears to be moving quickly. I live in East Tennessee but car was originally from Florida. No problems other than the dash. I would be willing to pay around $400 labor to have it repaired but would rather pay nothing(since it IS a defect) Anyone have any suggestions on what is the best route to take??? Planning on calling the 1-800 number first thing tomorrow morning. Mine just started last week. Glad I saw this thread..

Skippy

OMG!

Since I've been off the board, the dash cracks are now everywhere. Vertical, horizontal, around my key ignition, glovebox, a/c vents, you name it. I'm glad I didn't pay the 1K to fix it because now I need that cash to make the damn car drive!

BOTH my master keys have broken off inside the ignition in less than a month. Effective today, I have to use the emergency key.

JC am I mad. I can't realistically (right now) connect the dash cracks around the ignition (can I?), but I find it odder than Hell that the keys are cracking off now.