Is it the heat inside the car or is it sitting in the direct sun light or both? I've been using Armorall on my dash pad since I got the car but the damn thing cracked anyway. I recently started using a sun shade to keep the sun from baking it and I haven't noticed any more cracks. I don't want to spend $100+ on a new dash pad and have it crack again.

probably the heat from the sun making the car extremely hot inside

Some say Armor All is a terrible product that actually damages surfaces over time.

The dashes crack from sun and heat, which dries them out over time. As they dry out, they shrink, and this shrinking causes them to tear/crack.

They can also crack in very cold temperatures, if accidentally pressed too hard.

shrinking yes

crack is due to spearation, shrinking pulls, tightens the material= crack

cold weather in winter time for months on end and then hot in summer for a few months back and forth for 20+ years isnt a good thing at all

this stuff is old, dried up

its bound to happen to them all eventually

Armor All and most products like it contain silicone, a no no for your dash pad.

Armorall doesn't have silicone in it any more.

use babyoil on your dash.. it keeps it clean and well lubricated. I can easily press a thumb or finger into my dash pad without worry of it cracking.

an old detailers trick/product.

EDIT: PS - get the non-sented pure variety, unless you want your dashpad to smell like a baby's bottom!

a knee to the dashpad in 40* weather will crack a dash!

I am retarded.

My head, was repalcing the power windows on my old RS, which I sold to my friend, and i was doing them for him, and smashed my head right into the corner, he didn't notice, and I didnt say anything lol

I wish someone would just make a reproduction dash pad, they'd make a killing too. I'd sure buy one.

They are making a killing:


Classic Industries

search some junkyards, half the cars like mine ive seen in junkyards have intact dash pads

I guess if it lasts 10+ years it'll be worth that.

every time a dash pad cracks an angel gets its wings.

heh..... i heard using armoral can make them brittle.

i WATCHED my dashpad crack. it was a cold january morning as i was cutting the console to do my t-5 swap. i didnt hit it or bump it or anything. i just heard this splitting sound and to my horror i turned and watched a small crack start at the front by the a/c vent and meander to the defrost vent.

i watched it happen and i was helpless!

dude thats friggen crazy man. only a select few have been at the right place and the right time to watch their dash crack. i would take that as a sign of the world ending

i watched mine crack too in january, it was freezing out and i got in my car to start it and do some car rearanging in my driveway and garage and i knowticed one crack on there then i saw the other one next to it form. i cried.

mine looked crummy too when I got it. why it was so bad I dont know since the guy before me rawhided it. But yeah, I went with a pad cover I have been using armorall on the cover itself. Cant really say if its a bad or good thing because it is made out of something besides the original dash and its "guaranteed".
My supervisor at UPS has a 98 Z and he said he watched his 4th gen dash crack right before his eyes. This is clearly a problem 4th and 3rd gen owners must deal with.

I guess. Mine isn't even brittle or anything, it just cracked. It's still soft and I can even push down on the corners and they won't crack. I guess the material they used wasn't up to the test of time. My dad's 94 Sierra 1500 has 281,000 miles on it and bakes in the sun all day and the top of the dash is perfect.

I would really love to get that reproduction pad, but there's no way I could bring myself to pay $300 for that!

Well then just go to a fabric store, get some strong vynil or something and recover it. If done right, you can make it look really nice.

Or there is allways ebay.

Armourall contains petroleum by-products and over time will degrade any vinyl or plastic surfaces it is applied to. I used to use it, years back. Sure, it looks great, but have you ever noticed (especially on tires) that if you use it often, when it wears out, it tends to make your tire sidewalls turn brown??

I use a strictly silicone only protective spray on my dash and all other plastic / rubber / vinyl parts on the inside and outside of the car.

A reflective sunshade over the pad during the summer is a no-brainer investment. Rolling down the windows a crack (if possible) to help with circulation and keeping the interior temp down also helps.

I've had my car for 15 years now, no replacements, no cracks (knock on wood)!

I always put a windshield shade on my car to protect it from the sun rays..

forget vinyl wraps at a interior shop and a 300 dollar repro pad, get a dash pad cover from like hawks or anywhere. i got my headliner recovered, and the new pad cover INSTALLED for 100 bucks. you would never know its there.

as far as armorall goes, ill test my luck, if i have to get another pad in 4 years, fine, i just know my pad looks sweet when bathed in armorall, as well as my tires. but i am going to try that babyoil trick posted earlier.

As mentioned by someone else... they crack due to the sun drying up the oil. You can make it last pretty much forever if you oil it a few times a year. You need to cover it in oil (no silicone products) and leave it long enough to be absorbed.