Cracked Dash Repair (1 Viewer)

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Following. I'd also like to see the Coverlay in action. Some description of the selected colors and how they match up would be great too. I looked into the coverlay but wasn't certain which color to grab for my tan/brown/soccer mom interior.
 
I bought one. Lexus Parts Now. After shipping and taxes it was under $800. Mine just missed the window by a few months when I bought it in late 17'. I made the assumption that it was by year but its 10yrs to the day it was off the lot. literally missed it by just a few months. I plan to do the swap in my driveway. Ill try to document as much as I can.
GXnewTires.jpg
 
Has anyone contacted an upholstery shop to have it wrapped in leather?
My experiences with leather dashes on German and Italian cars is that the leather shrinks over time. Badly. Vinyl would be a much better choice for a dash re-cover application.
 
I have the Coverlay. It's hard plastic compared to the softer feel of oem. Also it curled at air bag so the air bag piece and the main dash piece don't line up.

Coverlay replaced it and then it did the same thing again.

You have to lightly sand the air bag cover piece so it sits flush on the opening of the cover.

Also you need something to apply downward force on the Coverlay when first applied. Think like heavy bean bags and cardboard to wedge between windshield and dash.

It def looks better than a dried up lake bed oem dash but imo it isn't the gold medal of options.
PXL_20210308_183201000.jpg
 
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I have the Coverlay. It's hard plastic compared to the softer feel of oem. Also it curled at air bag so the air bag piece and the main dash piece don't line up.

Coverlay replaced it and then it did the same thing again.

You have to lightly sand the air bag cover piece so it sits flush on the opening of the cover.

Also you need something to apply downward force on the Coverlay when first applied. Think like heavy bean bags and cardboard to wedge between windshield and dash.

It def looks better than a dried up lake bed oem dash but imo it isn't the gold medal of options.
Thanks for the picture and review. I found another review on YouTube that was also not impressed with the fit and finish on the Coverlay. The cheapest I've seen the Coverlay is $412 shipped on Rock Auto. At that price it's not far from the price of an OEM dashboard (~$600 at some dealers).

Does anyone know if the new OEM dashes have the cracking issue addressed? Or are they still crack-prone?
 
Thanks for the review! @NorFla Nomad I saw Cructhfield Clan on youtube install a coverlay dash onto a GX recently, and quite frankly wasn't hugely impressed. I think I'll probably save up, pick up an OEM dash, and do the work at some point. 🤷‍♂️
 
I saw a few folks mention cracked dashes and figured living in the PNW I was good. And then today I noticed a crack running from the center console up along the edge of the cowl to near the door. 225k miles, love the vehicle and last week the rearview mirror fell off and my wife said "your car is falling apart". Damn - one mirror and she's ready to dump it - not sure what that says about my life expectancy! :)

So now this crack. And I was just getting ready to do a rather extensive Dobinson lift. So I Google this...end up here...and 1) fill crack? Apparently that's not good, 2) hard overlay also mixed, 3) factory new part and that's eye watering all-in price.

How about this Carhart soft cover?

 
I saw a few folks mention cracked dashes and figured living in the PNW I was good. And then today I noticed a crack running from the center console up along the edge of the cowl to near the door. 225k miles, love the vehicle and last week the rearview mirror fell off and my wife said "your car is falling apart". Damn - one mirror and she's ready to dump it - not sure what that says about my life expectancy! :)

So now this crack. And I was just getting ready to do a rather extensive Dobinson lift. So I Google this...end up here...and 1) fill crack? Apparently that's not good, 2) hard overlay also mixed, 3) factory new part and that's eye watering all-in price.

How about this Carhart soft cover?

I would like to know if anyone has experience with this option as well.
 
I remember seeing where someone trimmed the crack and filled it in with some sort of flexible putty/epoxy. Then covered the entire dash with some auto grade vinyl. Looked pretty good and there’s color options.
 
Coverying with vinyl may affect the airbag deployment on the passenger side. I think the basic cloth cover could be a decent option for more of a trail-rig GX. I am going to bite the $600 bullet for a new dash and just do it right - there isn't really much of a difference in cost when you compare it to crack filing, vinyl, etc, and the new dash should be good for another 15 years.
 
Coverying with vinyl may affect the airbag deployment on the passenger side. I think the basic cloth cover could be a decent option for more of a trail-rig GX. I am going to bite the $600 bullet for a new dash and just do it right - there isn't really much of a difference in cost when you compare it to crack filing, vinyl, etc, and the new dash should be good for another 15 years.
That’s definitely the way to do it.

You can also knock out a lot of other items with the dash off if they’re needed or may be needed soon:
  • Evaporator core
  • Various ac blend actuators / servo motors
  • Running wires for switch panel
  • Much easier access for non-nav conversion
  • Install head unit and new speakers
  • Run wires for accessories like dash cam or new backup camera
Most of that list doesn’t require dash out, but it will make them so much easier
 

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