Is Your Nissan Dashboard Melting?

Center for Auto Safety Calls for Federal Action

The Center for Auto Safety (CAS)is calling for a federal government response to a melting dashboard issue occurring in a number of Nissan cars, particularly Altimas.

The CAS has notified the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) of a persistent melting dashboard issue and is asking for a coordinated response.

Specifically, complaints from consumers allege some “Nissan dashboards degrade over time in warmer environments resulting in a number of safety concerns, including a glare hazard frequently noted by drivers, the potential for interference with proper airbag deployment, or possible chemical exposure due to materials failure.”

“For a decade CAS has regularly received complaints on degraded Nissan dashboards creating issues including difficulty driving safely due to glare, interior stickiness, and foul odors,” said Jason Levine, Executive Director of the Center for Auto Safety. “Even a cursory look at NHTSA’s consumer complaints data raises significant concerns, as more than 1,000 complaints have been lodged with the agency, including over 700 complaints on 2007–2013 Nissan Altima vehicles alone.”

Nissan settled a class action lawsuit seeking replacement of defective 2008–2009 Nissan Altima vehicle dashboards in 2017, but only in Florida, only for a limited time, and only agreed to subsidize the consumer cost. Outside of court many owners report…