GMT 900 GMC, Chevy Vehicles Subject To Frequently Cracking Dashboards
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This won’t be the first time we have pointed out the fact that the hard plastic dashboards in GM’s GMT900 vehicles, including the Chevy Silverado, Avalanche, Tahoe and Suburban as well as the GMC Sierra and Yukon, simply suck. There’s no getting around it. And recently, we’ve received a mounting amount of tips about these dashboards cracking.
The hairline cracks seem to be occurring on 2007 model-year trucks and SUVs, on either the driver- or passenger-sides. Like so:
According to most of the letters received by GM Authority from readers, the driver-side cracks most commonly occur to the left of the instrument cluster, while those on the passenger side take place in the area surrounding the airbag, closer to the middle of the dash. Some of the customers experiencing this problem have had their dashboards replaced free of charge, while others have not been as fortunate. General Motors hasn’t returned our request for comment.
Meanwhile, users have created a Facebook group to discuss the cracked dashes and the YouTube video above has generated over 43,000 views as of this writing.
Do you have a cracked dash in your Chevy or GMC? Sound off in the comments below.
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GMT900…. I simply NEVER liked those trucks.
I have same issue, cracked dash right above the airbag. My truck is a 2012 gmc sierra 1500 texas edition. My coworker has the same truck but a 2010 with the same exact crack
Same problem, crack on passenger side dashboard above airbag. 2007 Suburban, 68k miles. Also had front door pulls replaced under recall due to sharp edges. Note: I have had to replace both 2nd row power window switches.
I have a 2011 Silverado Crew LT with 11,000 miles and three months left on the warranty…just found a crack above the passenger side dash by the airbag!! I have found numerous photos and it is scary how they all look almost exactly the same!! I’m taking it in to the dealer tomorrow so I’ll post if they honor my warranty. I’ve had some issues with warranty work…one dealer told me that GM has really put pressure on them to keep warranty work to a minimum and often back-charges which leads the dealerships to being shy about problem solving. Go figure!
Ok-I took my 2011 Silverado Crew LT noted in my original post to my dealership late Feb. ’14. They inspected it and without a lot of fanfare promptly replaced the whole dash. No question, comments, etc. They did acknowledge right off that they have seen this problem on both the driver/passenger sides frequently.
My 2009 silverado Lt has cracking behind the instrument cluster and by the passenger airbag, hoping that the dealership im working with will help me get it fixed by Gm have had the truck 3 months
Cracked dash 20011 Tahoe anyone find a replacement or has this issue ever been addressed? ??
I have the sane thing on my 2012 seirra
I have a 2013 Avalanche that cracked a week or two ago. I was at a stop light, minding my own business. We have an extended bumper to bumper warranty and the company is telling me it won’t be covered. Bumper to bumper means crap I guess?
I also have an extended warranty that will not cover my cracked dash and passenger side air bag sticking out of dash. It seems like the GM standard warranty should cover a cracked dash on a truck still under warranty.
I have a 13 gmc sierra and i have a crack on the left corner of the passenger side airbag. These dashes are cheap made. Dont know why they went from vinyl to plastic. Also this active fuel management is a poor design as well. Motor is using oil dealership said it’s because of the afm. Its also fouling spark plugs out because of the afm.
2012 Chevy Silverado the dash just cracked in middle of dash above passenger airbag. I can believe this truck is already falling apart. The rear fold up seat on driver side rear will not fold up right now the dash. I am so disappointed in this truck.
Hi just wanted to add my 07 Chevy Tahoe LS to the list have owned it for over 2 years and the cracks have always been there same spots as mentioned by all others had no idea before i stumbled across this site…Is GM responsible for the cost of replacing…send replys to [email protected] ty
I have a 2007 GMC 3500 HD SLT with multiple cracks at the instrument cluster as well as passenger air bag. Looks terrible for such a $70,000 truck!
Multiple cracks in the dash of my 2007 Yukon Denali.
Mine too, took it to dlr thinking it was, or should be covered from an accident I had not too long ago and just noticed it, however the svc writer shot me down and said no, because of this. GM is a Brand….and with economy still struggling, I understand the need to protect GMs monetary interest, but if this is an ongoing problem across the board it needs to be covered.
I too am a victim of the “Cracked Dash” saga. Truly disappointing!! I haven’t had my Suburban for even a year.
I have a 2008 Suburban with huge crack over the instrument panel and one at the upper left corner of the passenger air bag.
So the dash boards crack on 07 Tahoes, good to know.
And they wonder why people think of American cars as inferior…
You said it. These failures are unacceptable after you paid $35K for one of these things- this ain’t a cheap Yaris (yet a Yaris doesn’t have this failure). You can’t Amorall the dash? Do you have to drive it on eggshells too?
Hah! 94-97 Land Rover Discoveries has dashes that warped in the sun until you got a wave!
Im chevy cruze owner but one thing clear-interior is cheap…
Actually you drive a cheap (affordable we’ll say) car with interior materials that exceed the Corolla and Civic, probably the Elantra too.
There is nothing cheap about the Cruze’s interior. First off, the materials are just fine for what the car is supposed to be. Want a soft-touch dash? Why and what for?
The Cruze’s materials are of a high quality, even though they are not soft. In addition, they are well put-together (thanks to processes at Lordstown) and don’t rattle or squeak, which is more than what can be said for the Cruze’s main competitors. So again, why and how is the Cruze’s interior cheap?
Look I respect that youre chevy fan,and I didnt want to argue Im cruze owner and waited for my cruze 6months and my dashboard creaks when driving and gets worst when hot or cold,even my seat belt and side panels creaks too-yes nothing that wrong but without this it would be perfect just want to say that there is a lot of room for improvement,I like this car,even my wife has bought a brand new aveo(sonic) but I wanted to be critical because cruze has had a potential to be very successful even here in europe… bye
Lucas — thanks for the reply. What you’re describing shouldn’t be happening and is not something that I have experienced with over 10 Cruzen (my own, friends, and various dealer units). Have you contacted Chevrolet customer service about this? If not, I would really encourage you to do so.
How is interior cheap on your Cruze, elaborate…
I have an 07 Silverado LTZ. 139,000 miles and I haven’t had one of these problems except the door handle wearing away a little like in this video. They are sharp let me tell you. Climate control buttons? Idk why people don’t just use the auto feature. I don’t fuss with any controls… Just push auto and it pretty much does what you want it to
People like to complain….
I had no problems with my 07 Silverado. Maybe I has to do with the type of cleaners used on the dash. Many of these can damage (weaken) the material, or make it less flexible and prone to cracking.
I have this Tahoe and have the exact same cracks shown in the video…everyone who has this problem should contact GM at 1-866-790-5600
I have same problem with crack near air bag and above instrument cluster just over the hump. 2007 tahoe owner. I am and have always been a Chevy man but Chevrolet needs to do something about this defect!
2007 Silverado LTZ 70,000 miles and always garaged or protected with a sunshade, same cracks as video, never used any type of cleaner simply wiped it down with a dust cloth. For what I paid for this Truck this is unacceptable.
The wife’s Denali has the crack on the left side of instrument cluster. She loves the vehicle but the dash is cheap. If the interior is up to speed we will buy the next generation. If the dash is cheap we will look to Cadillac or outside manufactors.
GM’s problems with dashboards are nothing new, in my experience. Chevy replaced the dash in my mid-80’s truck after two years use in N. Virginia. My ’94 Caddy has had its dash replaced – after nearly a year wait for parts. Now it is warping again! Out of warranty now. So far my ’03 Avalanche 2500 is Ok. GM needs to rethink the materials used for dashs; the failure rate is simply too great. My two-bits! Jack in San Antonio.
So we have a 2007 chevy tahoe. We have not had this problem but have known others who have. We found true what the chevrolet dealer told us when we asked if our dash needed to be replaced before any cracks occurred. The dealer said people who have used any type of polish or armor on the dash to give it a shiny look cause the sides of the dash to crack because they’re not made to be shiny, they’re suppose to mimic or look like leather. So answer FOUND!
Same with our 2008 Silverado, no problems either cause we didn’t use any polish or armor And there’s still no cracks. Hope this helps!
sorry but your information is incorrect…never used anything on dash and have the cracks and why are they all in the very same places…hmmmm seems suspicious to me
used nothing on my car so not true and still have cracks…is it a coincidence that every vehicle cracked it the exact same places..
I was thinking the same thing… We should file a class action suit.
09 Sierra SLT Loaded, retailed for 52 grand large crack creeping up behind instruments and one around air bag.Wrote to GM they replied sorry about your luck….
I’m wondering if these owners used windshield shades? Heat is hell on plastic, and if they used plastic cleaner and didn’t clean it up very well it could be a contributing factor.
Question is, is the cracking the result of heat/sun damage or is it from long term vibration damage?
Regardless, that’s uncool, I thought we were past that days of cracked dashboards. Hope my CTS continues to hold up, I’m probably gonna start using a sunshade though.lol
Completely agree that heat is plastic’s worst enemy… But these components should be engineered with this in mind. Given the extremely cheap tactile feel of these units, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone didn’t test for heat.
On a somewhat related note, it’s interesting that there are several degrees of hard plastic dashboards. On the one end is the unit such as that found in the GMT900s, but on the other end is the unit found in the Cruze (as well as Equinox and Terrain). Both are hard to the touch, but the dash in the Cruze seems of higher quality… Completely my perception and not scientific.
I don’t believe applying any products or use/don’t use sunshades has anything to do with it. I am getting mine replaced today on a 2009 Denali with 35,000 miles. Have maybe used armorall 3 times and use a sunshade religiously when it is not in the garage. I believe there is a bracket under the dash that breaks, given what I heard from a service tech. Once that happens you now have a speaker with a relatively heavy magnet hanging right in the middle of your dash. Once the bracket goes away the weight of the speaker causes the dash to flex up and down, eventually cuasing the plastic to crack. I was recently watching my dash on a highway trip bouncing up and down llike a trampoline, so to me it is obvious that this movement over time simply causes fatigue in the plastic and it breaks. I am getting GM to foot half my bill, after numerous calls and complaints, but even at that costs me $400 out of pocket. I believe the only reason I got that is low miles and the fact that it is my 4th Yukon. Still not happy that this happens on a $60,000 vehicle – obvious there are design issues here. Do you not find it interesting that the dealerships carry dash replacements in stock??? When I asked if I would have to wait to order the parts the answer was no wait, we have them avialable…. What does that tell you?
how many of these have been produced? between the trucks and SUVs over a million right? i’m not saying this isn’t something GM should have caught while the GMT900s were being developed, just that with the modern media outlets of the day; what used to be a minor issue can look like a very big issue very quickly without a little perspective.
i have friends who own these trucks and i have driven plenty variants myself. whether new, used, or a high mileage rental – i’ve never experienced any of these problems.
I just traded my 07 Avalanche and it had no cracks. Still drive an 07 Tahoe and it shows no cracks. I live in AZ where the dash gets really hot and haven’t seen any cracks in any of the other Tahoes at work either.
just bought a 2012 silverado w/t i’ll keep you posted on the dash like ryan i never use cleaner or shiner on the dash
My 07 Suburban LTZ dash has two cracks, one on the passenger side near the air bag and the other on the driver side, just over the hump. Both cracks just appeared in July.
I have same problem…contact GM at 1-866-790-5600 to put in a complaint…maybe if they get enough complaints they will do something for us..
Yeah Mine cracked in two places one by air bag other just left of the hump by speedo. Nice I thought. I hope no one ever gets hurt from this. The edge on mine was very sharp too.
So after 2 weeks of being on the phone with my gm dealer and after taking it to the dealership. Kilan the gm rep for my area in south texas says I have to fork up 1/2 the cost keep in mind my tahoe is 2010 3rys old with 56,000 miles ,and Iam the second owner just brought this truck 2 months ago in aug ,but this is unacceptable I buy American made,we all bail out GM ,and I get this kind of workmen ship redicules This will be the last GM truck I buy Thats For sure I may be one but im sure there will be more ,sad this has to be this way buying american is not the way to go anymore Built with pride what a joke……
2010 Suburban 49k miles with a huge crack above instrument cluster. Dealer said $300 to replace. I’ll never buy another Chevrolet