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Cracked Dash..... Again!

ConnRadd

Full Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2008
Messages
32
Location
Houston, Tx (Willowbrook)
I had a 2008 LTZ, dash cracked just after 2 years and 50k+ miles. Went to the dealer, under a goodwill warranty, they took care of 100%. Knowing they were going to discontinue the Avy's, I traded my 2008 for a 2012. Now, about 2+ years and 55k miles, my dash is cracked... I called a couple of dealers and they both basically said "yep, it's a design flaw and Chevy will cover 70% of the cost." Having me pay $300 to replace a dash that is a known issue.

GM, really sad of you treating loyal customers this way...
 
Agree. Complete BS that they won't recall the faulty dashes on this vehicle.

You shouldn't have to pay a penny if it's under the bumper to bumper warranty
 
Xlr8n said:
Agree. Complete BS that they won't recall the faulty dashes on this vehicle.

You shouldn't have to pay a penny if it's under the bumper to bumper warranty




Especially when they admit a design flaw. NUTS!
 
stupid i asked about this and just today i noticed mine is starting by the airbag on the passengers side
 
Can you tell me what the names of the dealers are that told you they are replacing the dashboards for 300.00 dollars. I can't get GM customer support or the dealer to help at all with my Avalanche. I'm told it all boils down to the District Manager for GM. The dealership they refer you to has to get his approval. The one here is an not a very nice person.
 
its been a known issue for 8 years now.  Not sure why you thought the '12 would be any better.
 
My dealer replaced my dash in 2013 three years later replacement dash already cracking. GM says no help we already replaced it once.
 
My 2011 just cracked about 2"  starting away from the pad near the windshield coming back towards the steering wheel. Any known fix it solutions other than complete replacement?

(y)

Just repaired it!!!!!!  Tape off the sides of the crack. Drop gorilla glue onto crack and rub it back and for with your finger to assure smooth finish. Rub a tiny bit of baking soda on top till smooth. Let dry and touch up with matching paint and WHAMOO .......... can't tell from new.
 
bdatlanta said:
(y)

Just repaired it!!!!!!  Tape off the sides of the crack. Drop gorilla glue onto crack and rub it back and for with your finger to assure smooth finish. Rub a tiny bit of baking soda on top till smooth. Let dry and touch up with matching paint and WHAMOO .......... can't tell from new.

Pics?
 
I know this is resurrecting an already profusely beaten horse - but I think it's better than starting a new thread. The only reason I am is I have a 2013 with the cracked dash and I ordered the Dashskin yesterday that's supposedly guaranteed not to crack etc. We'll see. I am impressed with one thing though, I ordered yesterday evening and got a tracking email from Fed Ex this morning that it should arrive tomorrow. I realize OK to TN isn't super far but I ordered my Mtn Ops supplements from UT 1/16/22 and they're "supposed" to get here today.

I see threads on '02s all the way to the '13s and every thing in between with the broken door pulls (which I have driver and passenger) and the cracked dashes. Thing is I had an '02 Z71 when these came out (because it looked cooler than anything I'd ever seen LOL!) and the only problem I had was first year model the midgate would leak into the cab a bit and the rear carpet would smell. They wound up fixing that somehow and I cleaned my carpet and all was good. Other than that I put over 200k on it and traded into an '04.

The '04 was hunter green and had every option offered. I was in the bank and outside at the major intersection there was a massive wreck/collision that made it's way into the parking lot and totaled my '04 with 220k on the clock.

I parlay that into an '06 Z71 that I put 297k on. I swore I'd never buy an uncladded Av but when my '06 finally got tired I bought a Dodge and learned my lesson so now I have a 2013 Z71.

The reason I went thru that whole diatribe is I put over 200k (almost 300k on one) on three previous Avys and I never had a dash rattle, dash crack, door handle break, auto 4wd worked as it should, tonneau cover didn't leak, my blinker made a clicky noise so it didn't stay on forever, rear passengers could raise and lower their own window and the back seats didn't have this horrible rattle when they were empty.

My instinct is to say this is a Gen 2 issue since I never had an issue with three Gen 1s but I guess I'm wrong in that assumption. Don't know if I got lucky with the first three and 700k or what the deal is. I do know that this 2013 has every single one of those "common" issues.
 
I know this is resurrecting an already profusely beaten horse - but I think it's better than starting a new thread. The only reason I am is I have a 2013 with the cracked dash and I ordered the Dashskin yesterday that's supposedly guaranteed not to crack etc. We'll see. I am impressed with one thing though, I ordered yesterday evening and got a tracking email from Fed Ex this morning that it should arrive tomorrow. I realize OK to TN isn't super far but I ordered my Mtn Ops supplements from UT 1/16/22 and they're "supposed" to get here today.

I see threads on '02s all the way to the '13s and every thing in between with the broken door pulls (which I have driver and passenger) and the cracked dashes. Thing is I had an '02 Z71 when these came out (because it looked cooler than anything I'd ever seen LOL!) and the only problem I had was first year model the midgate would leak into the cab a bit and the rear carpet would smell. They wound up fixing that somehow and I cleaned my carpet and all was good. Other than that I put over 200k on it and traded into an '04.

The '04 was hunter green and had every option offered. I was in the bank and outside at the major intersection there was a massive wreck/collision that made it's way into the parking lot and totaled my '04 with 220k on the clock.

I parlay that into an '06 Z71 that I put 297k on. I swore I'd never buy an uncladded Av but when my '06 finally got tired I bought a Dodge and learned my lesson so now I have a 2013 Z71.

The reason I went thru that whole diatribe is I put over 200k (almost 300k on one) on three previous Avys and I never had a dash rattle, dash crack, door handle break, auto 4wd worked as it should, tonneau cover didn't leak, my blinker made a clicky noise so it didn't stay on forever, rear passengers could raise and lower their own window and the back seats didn't have this horrible rattle when they were empty.

My instinct is to say this is a Gen 2 issue since I never had an issue with three Gen 1s but I guess I'm wrong in that assumption. Don't know if I got lucky with the first three and 700k or what the deal is. I do know that this 2013 has every single one of those "common" issues.
You are right in that the cracked dash is more of a second gen issue. Probably due to the curvier design. compared to first gen dashes. Not sure if you bought your 2013 new or used but if used maybe the other owners were rough on the AV? Other older threads will address your other issues and help you find solutions.
Good luck with your repairs.
 
You are right in that the cracked dash is more of a second gen issue. Probably due to the curvier design. compared to first gen dashes. Not sure if you bought your 2013 new or used but if used maybe the other owners were rough on the AV? Other older threads will address your other issues and help you find solutions.
Good luck with your repairs.
My '04 and '02 were bought new and my '06 was driven by the dealer owner for a year when I bought it and the dealership kept it top notch, it only had 18k on it when I bought it and I was the first guy it was titled to. The '13 is the first used one I've bought used and it is very evident he didn't take care of things like I do.

When I buy a vehicle new or used I get ext warranty on top of new warranty or I get and ext warranty on a used vehicle with no warranty left. As a CPA a big part of me has a problem with throwing big money at a new depreciable asset, but sometimes buying new isn't as detrimental down the road in the big picture.

If I buy a vehicle and I add the ext warranty when little things go wrong I get them fixed 'cause I paid for that warranty. If I get close to the end of the warranty and think I want to keep it I extend the warranty again before the current runs out. It's a lot cheaper that way and companies are more apt to do one on high mileage if you already have one that's not expired. I also tend to buy a used Chevy at a new Chevy dealership and get my warranty thru them. It just seems to work better for me that way. With limited availability in an Avy I bought this one at a new Dodge dealership. I prefer getting warranty thru a dealership but I've already seen where a Dodge dealership replaced my O2 sensor with a cheap non GM aftermarket and it failed 2 miles down the road.

When I bought this vehicle everything looked fine. 28 miles later to my driveway I had a check engine light P015B. I had a warranty so I take it back. Replaced twice with an Autozone one that failed 2 miles down the road before they bought one from a Chevy dealer that has lasted over a year now with no problems. However, as soon as they got P015B fixed, P015D on the other side went out and we're dealing with that now.

Not all but a lot of people let the warranty run out without re-upping and when something small goes wrong they let it go and get "used" to it since it's minor and coming out of their pocket. Little things turn into big things and then they trade it and guy #2 bought a set of problems.

Not sure what I'm going to do. For what I do (hunt and fish) there is no better vehicle than an Avy. Finding another one will be like pulling hen's teeth but I can already see this one is on a downward spiral. I put 4260 miles on it in 10 days driving from TN to AZ and back. It did great but now that I'm back my tranny is acting up, etc. I had to get new tires in Amarillo, TX because I woke up to three flats and my new dash will be here tomorrow.

Two days before I left on this trip I had the Chevy dealer change oil and drain tranny and refill. The morning I was to drive from AZ back to TN I found a Chevy dealer there that changed my oil for the trip back. I always do things that way and I guess others don't.
 
My 2011 just cracked about 2" starting away from the pad near the windshield coming back towards the steering wheel. Any known fix it solutions other than complete replacement?

(y)

Just repaired it!!!!!! Tape off the sides of the crack. Drop gorilla glue onto crack and rub it back and for with your finger to assure smooth finish. Rub a tiny bit of baking soda on top till smooth. Let dry and touch up with matching paint and WHAMOO .......... can't tell from new.
I may just try that - thanks…and I truly appreciate your quote!
 
My Dashskin actually did show up yesterday - I'm extremely impressed with that turn around time between ordering/paying and receiving. I didn't really have the time here in tax season but just couldn't wait and went ahead and installed it. I removed the A pillars to remove the section of dash nearest the windshield and it was so brittle it cracked in a new place. After removing I saw where the internal frame the dash clips into was broken internally and just vibrating and hitting other stuff driving me crazy.

I used basically pool noodle but it's actually copper pipe insulation to secure loose rattling things and buttoned it back up best I could. I had the crack off the corner of the passenger side airbag and the crack that came all the way back to the top of the instrument cluster. I had a new crack now at the bottom of the A pillar on drivers side close to windshield.

I cleaned the old dash with alcohol and acetone (my wife's fingernail polish remover) and the underside of the new dash with alcohol. Liberally filled the cracks in old dash with adhesive and followed the instructions on how much and where to put adhesive on new dash. It helps to put steering wheel all the way down and start the truck and put the gear shift in Neutral to get the new dash in.

After placing the new dash I placed a LOT of old tax manuals and two old laptops on the dash, used the four wedges supplied plus cut new ones from pool noodle and placed about 8 total wedged between the dash and windshield. Cut out two more so I could roll down the windows and place between the door and dash. Also used heavy duty packing tape to pull the dash down more.

It says to let cure 4 hours. I went back to taxes and removed the weight after about 6 hours. It looks great, I'm impressed. I drove around on roads that I knew caused horrible rattle and it was silent. Only draw back was it was about 21* outside and I had to open the moonroof because the adhesive stunk so bad.

I did this in my basement garage that we keep at 60* and left my windows and roof open all night, it still stunk a little in there this morning. As long as the adhesive holds I'll be an extremely happy camper. If it comes up in spots it would be trouble removing, getting rid of old adhesive and reinstalling.

The dealer used one of those repair kits above at time of purchase and it lasted maybe three months and the crack over the instrument cluster even grew. The one by the passenger airbag didn't grow but broke loose and it still rattled internally. I ordered an extra tube of adhesive to redo the strips on my bed panels but one tube did my whole dash and I have enough left over to do the bed panels without opening the other tube.
 
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