Hello. I bought an 87 Iroc. The dash pad has a chunk the size of a half dollar mussing from it on the part where it bends on an angle closest to the drivers door. I'll try to take a pic. I've seen a ton of cars with the same piece missing. Why is this? Thanks Chris

 

this is a pic I found in the gallery here but this spot on the left is the same as my car.

 

People aren't paying attention and hit it while getting in or out.

 

I can tell you on mine that the entire dash pad expanded in the sun so much that it was pressing on the doors hard. The upper trim in my passenger door is completely deformed from the dash hitting it and the driver side dash is also cracked in that area.

 

Never thought it would expand i'll look at mine. I kinda remember seeing a dimple in the door panel in the summer where it might be touching. The dash has no cracks except the chunk that's missing. They usually crack in the middle on the top on all the cars I see. Good info, thank you, Chris

 

the pads crack because the material becomes less pliable due to age and UV exposure. as the pad becomes more brittle with age, it generally cracks during cold temps when the pad tries to contract but is restrained by it's mounts. cracking at the corners is also caused by this change in properties as it is wedged against the door.

 

naf is 100% correct. Who knows how the chunk went missing, but that is what caused the cracking in the first place.


Mine had a large crack in the center (always in the desert), when cold the crack would be around a half inch wide, but on a sunny 100 degree day it would close completely. I have only hairline cracks on the outer corners, even where it pushes hard on the passenger door.

 

The bad part is that repro dashes may not fix the issue in the long haul either. I bought one for around 450 bucks and it looks great, but the mounting holes make the dash sit un-centered. There is a half inch space between the driver door panel trim, but no clearance at all on the passenger side. When I close the passenger door it ever so lightly bumps the dash pad. Its been in there for 6 months now with no issues, but we will see....