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warped dasboard research NHTSA

C

Cinder

CEG'er
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Messages
83
Location
SE, MI
I saw a thread about dashboard warping some time ago; it might have been on the old forums. It had a link to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and said that we could fill out the form to complain about the dashboard warp. I filled it out about 4 months ago and received a call on Friday. They wanted to come out and take a picture of my dash so that they could use mine and other contours as an example in their research. They arrived today driving all the way from Columbus Ohio, quite a ways I live in lower Michigan. After taking Pictures he said that they were trying to reinstate the recall if they could prove that it was a safety hazard, such as blocking your vision or affecting the airbag in any way. Unfortunately the recall would not happen for a while he said things go very slow especially when dealing with a older vehicle, so some or most of us may have moved on to other vehicles by the time this happens. I just wanted to give a heads up about the research. Has any one else participated in the research? If not maybe we can have more CEG members fill this form out to help push the recall. I will try to find the link I followed and post later, if somebody already has it please post it. Thanks

****** Link Added: ******

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/Consumer.cfm



*
 
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They called me last week as well after filling out the form. I ended up emailing them pictures of the dash warp before I fixed it.
 
IRingTwyce said:
Early 98 warp?? This is the first I've heard of it. I thought it didn't start until 98.5 MY. I've not seen any warpage in my car, and it sits outside in the HOT Texas summer.
Click to expand...

It's the warp on the front side above the instrument cluster.

Isn't nearly as bad, but still happens. Easy to fix too... remove the trim, take some short self tapping screws and screw it down tight!

You can barely make it out in the pic taken right after I got the car:
svt_dash.jpg


It got worse over the next 2 years, and no, it's no longer white!
 
Yeah, I had the 98-98.5 warp. Very easy fix and no need at all for a recall. Most people never even notice it's warped until you tell them about it.
 
The recall will never get reinstated. None of the warped dashes i've seen have come anywhere near triggering a safety recall.
 
Rara said:
The recall will never get reinstated. None of the warped dashes i've seen have come anywhere near triggering a safety recall.
Click to expand...
Would pressing against the windshield mean anything? That's what my friend's '00 SE was doing when she got rid of the car. The little black vent piece was sliding all over the dash too.
 
Rouar said:
Would pressing against the windshield mean anything? That's what my friend's '00 SE was doing when she got rid of the car. The little black vent piece was sliding all over the dash too.
Click to expand...

No, it would have to be so bad as to obstruct the driver's view, or prevent proper operation of the airbags.
 
Preventing the defroster from working properly has been one of the complaints. I was asked if that gave me a problem. It does affect the performance of the defroster. It will take a long time to clear almost as much as the top half of the windshiled. This is a complaint that i have read on the net from other contour owners experiencing the same problem.
 
Big Jim said:
But could it keep the defroster from properly clearing the windshield? That would be a visual obstruction.
Click to expand...
Yes, and in Virginia, if your front defroster doesn't work, you fail the safety inspection.
 
I had my dash "fixed" (not replaced) some time ago, but it's warping more and more w/ every passing day. I filled out the form when it was first discussed some time ago. Hope this goes through (time isn't an issue w/ me because I plan on keeping my car for a LONG time).
 
I've been very lucky that the dash on my 2000 hasn't warped. The car has been sitting for almost 2 years now and even with all the summer heat, it has not warped at all.
 
my warping is horrible the black plastic defroster insert is all popped out, ill take pics later today and post, where can i fill out a form? my nasty dash will win 1st place
 
before i got my csvt i test drove 6-8 of them...and on one the dash was so bad it looked like a huge wave curling...it was rediculous and this was back when the recall was still instated, i told them to fix the dash then i would consider the car, well the called me when they had the dash "fixed"...dumbass didtn even check with ford they attempted to do it themselves with some black caulking, it was awful...they also had a burn hole in the passenger seat and "fixed" that by patching the leather in with a piece of black leather.......the patch job was excellent, but it was BLACK haha, needless to say that poor svt didnt get bought by me
 
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