| Issue ID | 1145344 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10670019 |
| Manufacurer | Nissan North America, Inc. |
| Brand | NISSAN |
| Model | ALTIMA |
| Model Year | 2008 |
| File date | 22/09/14 |
| Component | STRUCTURE |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | Sometime in the fall of 2014 i noticed an area on the dashboard of my 2008 nissan altima was beginning to appear "sticky" looking. My first thought was that a drink may have been spilled on the dash when entering/exiting the vehicle and the lingering residue had formed a coating. When i got home i tried wiping the affected area of the dashboard with water on a rag. Quickly the rag became stuck to the dashboard material itself and couldn't be moved in a wiping motion any further. The rag took some effort to be separated from the dashboard, and sticking to it was a thick rubbery substance that was the same color black as the dashboard. It was then i realized that the dashboard itself was melting. Since then the problem has gotten worse and the area of melted dashboard has increased in size. Large spots on the driver and passenger sides' dash are now melted, as well as small areas above the a/c vents. The melted areas have a very shiny appearance that creates significant glare on the windshield. At certain angles with sunlight the glare creates a large visual distraction/obstruction and it is a dangerous safety hazard. The reflection from the dashboard onto the windshield can make it very hard to see pedestrians, other cars, traffic signs; anything that is in the area of windshield with the reflected glare becomes very difficult to see. In addition to the safety concerns, i cannot put anything on the dashboard now. Everything i've placed on it will stick to the dash, and will come off with a sticky black rubber coating on it when removed from the dash. It's awful. And i fear that the substance melting could possibly be carcinogenic and making the air in the car toxic. This is a serious problem and there needs to be a recall from the manufacturer to fix it. It is 100% a manufacturer defect. Please make nissan address this issue! Please help with this! Thank you |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 32000 |
| Number of Occurences | 1 |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | BOYNTON BEACH, FL |
| VIN pattern | 1N4AL21E08NXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | N |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | 0 |
| No. of fatalities | 0 |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | 4 |
| Drive train type | FWD |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 0 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |