A Florida man says his melting Nissan dashboard is a safety problem that the company should pay to fix.
Plaintiff Neil Heuer says the dashboard in his Nissan GT-R melts and takes on a shiny appearance, creating glare that makes driving the car unsafe.
He accused defendant Nissan North America Inc. of knowingly selling vehicles with this defect and refusing to replace the Nissan dashboard at its own expense.
As Heuer describes the problem, the affected dashboards are made of a material that doesn’t stand up to intense heat and sunlight. Under those conditions, these dashboards “melt, emit a noxious chemical smell, and take on a reflective quality,” Heuer claims.
He further alleges that the reflective surface leads to safety problems. Bright sunlight reflecting off the dashboard casts an image of the dashboard on the windshield that Heuer says is hard to see through. Glare from the dashboard can also reflect directly into the driver’s eyes, he claims.
Heuer alleges the defendant has been aware of this Nissan dashboard problem for years. As far back as 2006, Nissan offered warranty extensions to owners of Nissan-produced Infiniti vehicles that suffered from a similar problem, he says.
But despite being aware of this potential problem, Nissan continues to install defective Nissan dashboards in its vehicles and fails to put drivers on notice about the problem, Heuer alleges. Purchasers would not have bought the affected vehicles or would have paid less for them if they had known about this defect, he claims.
Furthermore, Nissan has refused to cover the cost of replacement in GT-R vehicles like Heuer’s. Owners are forced to choose between driving an unsafe vehicle or shelling out around $2,000 for a replacement dashboard, he says.
Heuer bought his own 2009 Nissan GT-R from a Florida dealership in 2008. He says that in June 2016, the car’s dashboard began to melt, creating a shiny surface that threw glare all over the windshield and obstructed his vision while driving.
A Nissan dealership declined to replace his dashboard free of charge, he says. The dealership quoted him a replacement price of $2,000.
Heuer notes that a settlement has been reached in another Nissan dashboard class action lawsuit that raised similar allegations about the dashboards in Nissan Altima vehicles from model years 2008 and 2009.
That settlement will allow owners and lessees of affected Nissan Altimas to have their dashboards replaced for $250, far lower than what replacement would have cost otherwise. The court has already granted preliminary approval to that settlement, and final approval is expected to arrive this month.
In his own Nissan dashboard class action lawsuit, Heuer proposes to represent a plaintiff Class that would include all persons who purchased or leased a Nissan GT-R from model years 2008 through the present in the state of Florida.
He seeks a court order that would require Nissan to adequately disclose and repair the alleged dashboard defect. He also seeks an award of damages, restitution, court costs and attorneys’ fees, all with pre- and post-judgment interest.
Heuer is represented by attorneys Ross Appel and Emily Komlossy of Komlossy Law PA, Oren Giskan and Catherine E. Anderson of Giskan Solotaroff & Anderson LLP, and Cory L. Zajdel of Z Law LLC.
The Nissan GT-R Melting Dashboard Class Action Lawsuit is Neil Heuer v. Nissan North America Inc., Case No. 0:17-cv-60018, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
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6 thoughts onNissan Class Action Says Dashboard Defect Makes GT-R Vehicles Unsafe
It’s not just Nissan GTR’s or Nissan Altima’s, but also Infiniti’s. The earlier lawsuit stopped at the year 2008, but all the cars from Nissan and Infiniti made after 2008 and onward are still experiencing dashboard melting followed by cracking or will if they are not yet showing it. Case in point, I have a 2010 Infiniti G37s garage kept in the suburbs or Atlanta, GA. My dashboard started showing signs of melting about 2 years ago and told that it was my problem with the only solution is to replace it for a cost of $2300. Despite constantly cleaning and treating the melting dashboard to keep the glare down, it’s now developing small cracks which I’m told is the next stage of the dashboard defect. The glare in the summer day can be blinding if not constantly addressed and even then, it’s only temporary. There should be a recall as this is a huge safety issue that they acknowledged in the past and is still ongoing. Another potential recall is the passenger occupancy sensor which is built into their $5000 seat and not a separate part that can be replaced or fixed. Ultimately this sensor will fail and not only do you get an annoying light on your dashboard telling you about the failure, but your passenger’s airbag will not deploy in case of an accident! I have given up on Nissan and Infiniti and don’t recommend any consumer purchase their products because they do not stand behind them.
I’m having the same problem with the dashboard on a 2011 Nissan Altima. Shiny, sticky and cracking
I have this same issue with my 2012 Nissan Altima is there anything they can do for that year?
Same problem with my 2008 Nissan Altima Coupe.
Mobile Alabama
I have a 2012 Nissan Altima, 68K miles, I purchased my car September 30th 2012 from a local dealership in my town, I live in Florida. My dashboard is melting, giving off some kind of toxic fumes, the dashboard a very shiny, reflects on the windshield and has reflected into my eyes while driving.
I am appalled that Nissan continues to make dashboards for these vehicles out of the same material knowing the dangers it causes.
My car is 6 years old. I do not have the money to pay for a new dashboard not even a partial payment. I do not have the money to get rid of the car and buy something safer.
It’s my opinion that Nissan should replace all of the melting dashboards free of charge no matter what year the car is. I won’t hold my breath.
As a side note, when I first bought the Altima it was a very smooth quiet ride. Approximately 2 to 3 years ago I began noticing that my car vibrates when I’m stopped and the car is in gear. Stop the vibration I have to put the car in park. The vibration has been getting a little bit worse as time goes on. I fear my transmission will be a huge issue in the future.
I have owned Nissan vehicles for the last 20 years, this Altima will be the last Nissan I own.
I used to trust Nissan
I have the exact same problem with my 2009 Nissan Altima’s dashboard. Melting and splitting in the seams around stereo, ac outlets, etc. I have done so much research in regards to this and it all comes up that class action lawsuit have been settled.
NOT ONLY HAS THERE BEEN SEVERAL LAWSUITS WITH SAME PROBLEM, BUT MANY OTHER RECALLS ON MY PARTICULAR CAR.
I have several of the same problems tht have been recalled since 2009, year of my car, but the VIN # is not listed. How can any auto company tell that maybe the car before and/or after mine has a recall, but mine doesn’t?
A couple years ago, my car would not start. (Push button) I had to pay for it to be towed from downtown Gatlinburg to Knoxville dealership. They said my VIN # was not on recall, after $1300 out of my own pocket and 2 months later, I received a recall notice from NISSAN. Thankfully, they reimbursed me.
So this as an example explains that the VIN# DOESN’T MAKE A DIFFERENCE……rather a car is or is not effected by recalls.
ALSO, WE ARE NOT NOTIFIED, AS PER LAW, OF RECALLS ETC……
I WANT SOMETHING DONE ABOUT MY MELTING DASHBOARD AS WELL AS SEVERAL OTHER RECALLS……..
WHO IS IN THE SAME SITUATION AS ME???