Same problem here...my 2008 Altima Coupe's dash is melting. I bought the car used in Oklahoma two years ago while living in Arkansas...just moved to Kansas City in July and noticed the dash melting in August. I took into a dealership this week and they'd never seen it before and said sorry but its not covered under warranty. Wondering what to do now....

Cdelphon wrote:Same problem here...my 2008 Altima Coupe's dash is melting. I bought the car used in Oklahoma two years ago while living in Arkansas...just moved to Kansas City in July and noticed the dash melting in August. I took into a dealership this week and they'd never seen it before and said sorry but its not covered under warranty. Wondering what to do now....

Please file a complaint using the link posted:
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleCo ... ndex.xhtml

I filed my complaint today. How many people have to file for it to become a recall? The car is only 5 years old and garage kept except when Im at work. This really piss's me off.

I think it depends on the severity of the issue.

Like if the vehicle catches fire and kills people, then only 1 or 2 before it becomes a recall. Something like this is probably on the lower end of the "safety risk" scale.

So my car decided to join in on the melted dash craze. It was around 90 degrees yesterday (Saturday, Sept. 28) without a cloud in the sky in the morning - I started noticing that the dash was getting shiny after about half an hour of driving. The entire top of the dash is now shiny and greasy to the touch from one side of the car to the other.

My car spends most of its time in the shade (always parked in a garage at home or work and I use a sun shade on the front windshield when I have to park in the sun) so I can only imagine how bad it must be for cars that spend more time in the sunlight. I'll certainly be calling Nissan Consumer Affairs (1-800-647-7261) tomorrow to see what they have to say about it. As for collecting more info about the cars: mine was built in July 2007 and I purchased it new in November 2007 from Maroone Nissan of Kendall (now called AutoNation Nissan Kendall after a corporate name change).

Here's what it currently looks like. The area closest to the dimpled plastic surrounding the air vent on the right is the correct sheen but the rest of the rubbery material is getting shiny.

2008 Nissan Altima coupe, South Florida. Dealer told me "oh just use goo gone, or rubbing alcohol". Was a great car 39k miles runs great just can't see out the windshield with the glare...researched google for all sorts of remedies to no avail. Next step is figuring out the cost to replace the dash or replace the car.

My dash is past the point of no return but I was able to figure out a way to clean it. If you use a rag and ice cubes the stickiness subsides enough to get dirt/dust/whatever cleaned off the dashboard.

I noticed the dashboard on my 2008 Altima Coupe 3.5 was melting back in May. It was just a small patch at first but now it has gotten bigger over time. It is becoming increasingly difficult to drive my car during the day with the glare obscuring my view. I have already filed a complaint through this link: https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleCo ... ndex.xhtml and hope that this problem gets resolved soon. Also I am from TX.

I have seen that there is somewhat of a thread on Facebook that has become quite active due to this issue. I have already voiced my concerns by leaving a comment. From what I have seen 2 people that have posted received a 50% discount on their repairs. It might be worth checking it out/voicing your opinions.

https://www.facebook.com/nissanusa/post ... 8385130375

PapaSmurf2k3 wrote:Yeah if you post your VINs, we could check into that. Or if you're not comfortable posting them for the world to see, you could PM them to me.

I joined the forum just to join this convo and I don't have enough posts to PM anyone. Is there any other way for us to get in contact with you?

I had my car built and shipped to Texas and I'm curious if it was built in the same area of Florida that is having so many problems. I know it has something to do with the heat but I'm wondering if we all just got unlucky and have a bad batch of dashboards?

I actually can't check VINs like I thought I could have (someone I know thought they had unlimited carfax reports... they don't).

All Altima Coupes were built in Smyrna, TN.

New member! Hello all, and thanks for the 5 pages on this apparently common (ugh!) issue.

Here's my deal - we own an 08 Altima 2.5SL Sedan, love the car, and have only had it about a year. I was cleaning it today (it's been parked awhile in front of the house) and I notice the dashboard is having "issues". It's MELTING! Dust, etc from my microfiber towel was sticking to the dash! Needless to say, I web searched through bing and wound up here. Glad to see the site, and at least it isn't just me - but wth?!

We bought our car in Georgia, and now live in MIssouri - apparently this is a 5 year +/- dashboard?! Not cool at all, to say the least. I hope we can all get together and get something done about this, because honestly this is going to DESTROY the resale value of this year and model car in a hurry. Even replaced at $1,200 (?) someone stated before, what could we expect - another 5 years?!

I'm usually cooler than this, but I'm in shock, this is the first I've seen this and I'm not pleased at all. Nissan had better do something decent or it'll be no more Nissan's for us. I quit buying Toyota's thanks to a "we don't make mistakes" issue I had many years ago with them, and have been a faithful Honda customer. I stray to Nissan because their Altima ROCKS and now this?!

I'll help in any way I can, but there's no solution for plastic/rubber compounds that degrade other than replacement - and I have a distinct feeling that "they" don't think anything is wrong yet. Let's make some serious noise! I was proud to buy (used, as I don't buy new anymore - done with that) a car built in the US, and I could go on for days about the awesome perks to these cars, but let's get the melting interior parts handled. :-)

After submitting a claim to Nissan about my problem and waiting a week for a reply I was told that they were not going to fix it for free and that I will also not get a reduced/discounted price. I was quoted $3200 for parts and labor to get it replaced......

I don't know if it will do any good, but I brought up the melting dash as a concern when I filled out my survey from Nissan the other day.

I've seen older imports (02 Kia Sorrento, 2000 Nissan Maxima) with the rubbery coating disintergrating but it was always on lower interior trim and no big deal to wipe off and reveal shiny plastic. That's fine, I guess (?), on a 100,000+ mile car when it's on the door panels or around the stereo, not so fine on a stretch of trim that's going to reflect directly in the drivers eyes

ETA - I'm wondering if it's worth buying a dashmat to protect mine in case I end up keeping it down the line, or just to preserve it for the next owner.

Well.... I guess I should have done some research before purchasing yesterday.... Car had a dash mat on it, but was from FL so I figured they just installed it to protect from the sun as the rest of the car is very clean. Thought the adhesive was there to keep the dash mat from sliding around... Dealership is trying to clean it off as I type, and by the sounds of it I dont think they will be successful. NOPE looks like I bought a 08 to door coupe lemmon from the same batch as everyone else! Just great!

O yeah the car came from Deland Nissan originally from Deland, FL

Did you drive it off the lot before noticing? That sucks man!

The short answer is no... The car came with carpet on the dash. Took the carpet off in the lot, and the dealer and I noticed a small patch. We assumed they tried to use adhesive to keep the carpet from sliding off the dash to cover up the small patch. He(the dealer) agreed to have the goo/adhesive cleaned off when I take it back for the license plate bracket(OH sucks....) and to get the drivers seat tightened. I will see if they can clean it off, but if not it looks like the dash will need replaced.

Hello to all that is following this series. I have the same issue on an 07 Altima. I'm on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

Edit: I also kind of knew what was going on when I noticed the sticky goo. I read somewhere a long time ago about dashboards creating a film on the windshield from leaching or vaporizing chemicals; and my Altima's windshield would funk up like a smoker drove the car.

Does anyone know exactly how widespread the Altima dash problem is? Infiniti's FX and Q45 experience dash board bubbling and cracking. However, Infiniti issued an extended warranty to cover the replacement cost for FX35/45 that experienced dash bubbling/cracking. Q45(F50) owners were were not included in this warranty coverage, most likely due to the small number of Q45(F50) that were produced. I wonder if the Altima dash problem is related to folks using protectant such as Armor All on their Altimas.

Hi Guys!

I have been going thru the entire process with NISSAN USA. Had the car "inspected". Talked to a "specialist" on the phone at customer care. My file was reviewed after it was forwarded by the service department in town and reviewed by upper management at customer care.

They basically said, "you are on their own". WRONG ANSWER! This is now my crusade. Yes, I filed a complaint with www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov

"Hello Michael,

I Hope you are well. Just wanted to touch base briefly and catch you up to speed as to my progress with NISSAN. I went ahead and sent the entire file to the Service manager
at your location. No response. I did get a call back from NISSAN USA and was told my case would be reviewed and that I would receive a call back in a couple of days. I did
receive the call yesterday. I was told simply that NISSAN USA would not, either replace my dash, nor would they help even in the smallest way. I take a couple things away from that decision;
The incidents of the defective dashboard ( the rubber composite, molded material was defective when created ) is of numbers not large enough to consider a recall. Without a recall
action is usually not taken because that would create a precedent for other sufferers to follow. For example, if I was assisted with $200.00 for repairs, then the other 2008 Altima
2 door coupe owners with the same dashboard issue would feel compelled to ask for the same help. Really, at this point, what I have an issue with is that NISSAN is not even
offering a token or small “olive branch” hand in this matter. It is a matter of fact “NO” and they will let the chips fall as they may as far as retaining a, less than valuable, NISSAN auto
owner.
So now I am taking up a crusade with the help of Social Media or anything else I can get my hands on to spread to “word”. Unfortunate. Poor customer relations effort. Disappointed."

John M

Hey everyone - just wanted to post a response to let you know I got my dash replaced for $250. The service manager and the GM both agreed that this was an issue that I couldn't control and it was a defect. The service manager told me he was from Tennessee and had seen several dashes in Tennessee do the same thing. He said the liquid was seeping out from the inside and had nothing to do with any type of cleaner I could've possibly used. Needless to say, I was VERY impressed with the dealership and the service manager's actions.

Also, I have a document that outlines all complaints related to the melting dash if any of you want it. It lists all references to the problem online, all usernames and forums that mention the problem, locations of complaints, facebook posts, NHSTA posts, etc. It's about 10 pages long but it seemed to do the trick for me when I forwarded it to Nissan. Message me and I can send it over.

Glad to hear that Nissan is covering nearly the entire cost of the dashboard replacement. Be sure to your steering wheel, center console, seats, headliner, etc do not get damaged during the dashboard swap. Also, be certain to ensure the new dash doesn't cause squeaks, rattles, and cracks. Keep us updated on the status of how things materialize. This dash melting/bubbling problem seems to be common across every brand these days. e.g., Lexus, Acura, Audi, BMW, Infiniti. It's likely related to the type of vinyl/plastics the dash is made of in addition to the chemical compound of the dash composite causing it to break down in humid/hot/cold temperatures. Due to its mediocre tolerances.

Would you kindly PM me the information you presented?

I'm a 5-year lurker compelled to post here.... I'm sorry I didn't see this thread earlier...

I live in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and I had this same problem with my 2008 Altima Coupe. At the time I had it, I came to these forums and searched and no one else had posted about it. In fact, I couldn't find a single word about it on Google...

I went on a trip in March of 2012, the car was parked for about 2 weeks. When I came home, patches of my dash were melted (I have pics if needed). I had never used Armor All on it, I know better. I lived with it for a few months and, in December of last year, I tweeted to @NissanSupport about the issue. They stated that they had heard of it before and the engineers had later changed the material of the dashboard sometime after 2008 to improve the performance.

They transferred me to Nissan Customer Support who set up with the local dealership. I had my dash changed in January of this year (about a year ago now) free of charge. I was told that the engineering team wanted it as a failure sample to study potential causes and solutions. Note: My car was well out of warranty at the time.

They know about this problem and they SHOULD fix it. Don't give up on this. This needs to become a recall. I am shocked to read that it is so widespread and almost all are in Florida. Now, I'm thinking its only a matter of time until my new one starts melting too...

The information you posted will be helpful to many people. Definitely post some pics of your dash when it was melting when you have a moment.

Here are some pics of my dashboard before it was fixed...

I live in Jacksonville fl and the same thing is happening to my 08 altima coupe. Only along the edges.

I just reported it to nhtsa.gov please do the same.

Everyone experiencing dash melting on their Altima should definitely file a notice with NHTSA along with Nissan USA notifying them of this problem and the safety hazard that results from it. Doing so will protect other owners who may experience this problem 3, 6, 8, of owning a Altima. If enough people experience dash board melting problems, Nissan USA will more than likely offer some sort of conditional good will/extended warranty to Altima owners.

Just throwing this out there. I have 2010 3.5 in Arizona. I've parked in the sun many times and have never seen any melting on the dash.

I believe this problem primarily affects the 08-09 Altimas. The dash on the 10-13 was supposed to address the melting issue. However, if enough people report this issue to the NHTSA and Nissan. It will increase the likelihood of Nissan providing extended warranty on the dash. Dash cracking/melting/bubbling is also common with Lexus, Infiniti, and Acura as well.