— After years of complaints and recent lawsuits, Toyota has agreed to replace about 3.5 million dashboards that get sticky, cracked, shiny and melt in heat and humidity. Calling it a "Customer Support Program" - ZE6 - Toyota will extend dashboard warranty coverage on the following Toyota and Lexus vehicles.
- 2003-2005 Toyota 4Runner
- 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon
- 2007-2011 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid
- 2004-2010 Toyota Sienna
- 2004-2008 Toyota Solara
- 2007-2008 Lexus ES 350
- 2003 -2008 Lexus GX 470
- 2006- 2008 Lexus IS 250/350
- 2007 Lexus LS 460
- 2004-2006 Lexus RX 330
- 2007- 2009 Lexus RX 350
- 2005- 2008 Lexus RX 400h
No doubt feeling heat from class-action lawsuits (here and here) about dashboards that melt and crack in the heat and humidity, Toyota is currently sending letters to affected owners about how the program will work.
Calling it both a "warranty enhancement" and "warranty extension," the automaker says it will be rolled out in two phases.
The first phase will be to contact Toyota owners who have already paid the approximate $1,500 to replace the dashboard. Those owners will be considered for reimbursement for the repairs paid out-of-pocket.
The second phase will occur when Toyota dealers have enough parts available, not expected to occur until May 2015. Toyota will send a second letter informing owners the dashboards will be replaced if heat or humidity has caused the dashboards to crack, melt or become sticky.
Toyota says the melting dashboard extended warranty will have two types of coverage.
Primary coverage will provide warranty extensions for all affected Toyota owners until May 31, 2017. Under primary coverage, it doesn't matter how many miles are on the vehicle or when the vehicle was first used.
Toyota says secondary coverage will work as a supplement to the primary coverage for some owners by providing an extended warranty for 10 years from the date the vehicle was first used. As with the primary coverage, the mileage of the vehicle isn't taken into consideration.
Toyota is offering the extended warranty on the dashboards only if they were damaged by heat and humidity, and you can bet dealers will verify the dashboards weren't damaged by other methods or means.
Owners of melting dashboards should contact their dealer after receiving the second notification letter in May 2015. All work must be performed by an authorized Toyota or Lexus dealer.
To find out if your vehicle is eligible for the dashboard warranty extension, contact Toyota at 800-331-4331 or Lexus at 800-255-3987.
Read complaints submitted about the vehicles named in the Toyota/Lexus dashboard warranty extension program: