Hi,

Has anyone else experienced the passenger Air Bag cover splitting/tearing/ripping?



This happened in my Mum's FL2 18ish months ago and happened to mine, last week.

Any advice is appreciated

Thanks

Never seen or heard of that myself, what are you cleaning it with?

taz that is a typical customer services answer, not worth the keyboard time


usual spoken by a customer services manager who daily drives home in an fl2 with exactly the same problem At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

Sorry if I sound like 'Customer Services' but as far as I know (someone will surely prove me wrong) you could well be the first reported event on this forum. My three have always had the faint imprint in the dash material indicating where the airbag is, but never experienced a split.

Bad pint last night?

Typing on the phone while out isn't easy, so frugal with words.

Cleaning materials can have a detrimental effect on plastics, they dry out the 'plasticisers' in the material, which keep it supple, it will then crack if these are removed.
A possible suspect would be an alchohol based screen cleaner rather than something applied directly, as the product dries off it takes the plasticisers with it.

We see it all the time with dental chairs which are cleaned after each patient, often with 'Alcohol wipes'. Especially after farmers have been who have little regard for anyone else who may follow them.

As above. I recall back in the 80's, Ford had a major problem with the Escort Mk III dashboard cracking. It was found to be attributed in part to solvent-based cleaning materials doing exactly what has been mentioned - drying out the plasticisers and reacting with UV (read:sunlight). Foraging near Gaydon....
——————————————
MY13 HSE Lux SD4, Baltic Blue - current, 30,000> miles without fault
MY12 HSE 2.2 SD4, Sumatra Black - gone after 10 months/43,000 fault-free miles

Hi Mark,

Have exactly the same in my 57 reg SE. Thought it might have been something that my LR garage had done by accident when in for it's annual service last month so wasn't happy! However, they are following it up with LR (who will probably deny all possibility of it's existence…) but I do have confidence in the service manager at the garage to attempt to get to the bottom of the problem.

Like you, I did wonder whether extreme heat could be a factor - kept parked outside on the sunny south side in Cornwall - if so, how do those in hotter climates manage?

It's damned infuriating, I've - almost obsessively - kept the truck in top condition since acquiring her in 2011, it suits me in every regard and I really do like it. I was considering updating while there are still some low mileage, more recent ones around, however this could certainly have some impact on the trade in value. If/when I get a response from the garage, I'll let you know.

Should also mention; only ever been cleaned with Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber Care.

A mates girlfriend put a rip in the dash there with her high heel once, they can be a bit fragile and the sun UV affects them after a while too, Ive seen the steering wheel centre pad airbag cover doing the same before, splitting, not hight heel marks that is.
You cant really repair it as it could affect the deployment of the airbag?

Well, my LR garage has tried its best. Communications with LR received a predictable 'non' when a warranty repair / replacement was requested. "Age" (57 -plate and 61k miles) meant that warranty claim was not even considered. So, does that mean that I shouldn't go ahead and renew my Extended Warranty (at the coast of £795.00) before it expires on the 7th?. Will 'age' mean that any other 'flaw' / fault is automatically invalidated on the grounds of 'age'? Rapidly losing my confidence with LR's facility for considering some aspects under their "best" warranty. I guess, as the model is no longer in production…. Have had so many LRs in the past, guess it's time to change brand - if I can with a tear in the dashboard…and a delaminating screen which they also refused to consider in 2011 @ 38k miles. Hey ho.

Thank you for the assistance:

Yes I upset a lot of people, I have one of those jobs
Yes I locked it and it was still locked this morning
Yes they do look like cuts

The idea of installing a new dash is way out of me skill set, so it looks like I will be doing bit of a Blue Peter with glue and a skin

I am going to probably glue myself tho the dash, oh well at least they will be funny pics