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Cracked Dashboard on Late-model Chevy Cavalier



 
 
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  #1  
Old May 15th 05, 03:36 AM
Daniel J. Stern
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Default Cracked Dashboard on Late-model Chevy Cavalier

Gimme a break. Buy a cheaply-made piece of garbage like a Cadavalier and
then complain when it behaves like a cheaply-made piece of garbage? Only
the lawyers win in ass-claction lawsuits like this. The classmembers each
get a payout of $1.98.

DS

On Sat, 14 May 2005 wrote:

> For anyone with a late-model Chevy Cavalier with the front part of the
> dash crack, there is a guy trying to put together a class-action suit
> with a lawyer to get Chevy to replace this defective part at no charge.
> So far, he has had 136 people sign up. If you are interested, the
> details are below.
>
> Slotman
>
> "For all late model Chevrolet Cavalier car owners who have had their
> front part of their dash crack. This part of the dash is known as the
> "Lower Trim Panel" and is over $750.00 to replace from the dealer. I
> have created a site
http://www.xydon.com/apps/cavalier/ to record the
> number of people who have had this happen to them as well.
>
> I feel this is a manufacturer defect and Chevrolet to flip the bill for
> replacement. I have tried to negotiate with Chevrolet to replace my
> dash and the *******s told me "Go ahead and pay out of pocket for the
> repairs and then submit your receipt for possible consideration for
> reimbursement." This outraged me as I know this is a manufacturer
> defect. Join together and enter your information to this cavalier
> database. I will then after a few months of solicitation notify you of
> the status.
>
> I intend to obtain a lawyer and go toe to toe with Chevy for all of
> you. No money will be asked of you, just that you provide ligitimate
> information. Hopefully I can get Chevy to do a recall on this and get
> YOUR cracked dashes replaced, as well as mine."
>
>

Ads
  #2  
Old May 16th 05, 12:09 AM
James C. Reeves
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

And that award won't even buy a bottle of Armor-All, will it? (Which I bet
is what caused the cracks in the 1st place!)

"Daniel J. Stern" > wrote in message
n.umich.edu...
> Gimme a break. Buy a cheaply-made piece of garbage like a Cadavalier and
> then complain when it behaves like a cheaply-made piece of garbage? Only
> the lawyers win in ass-claction lawsuits like this. The classmembers each
> get a payout of $1.98.
>
> DS
>
> On Sat, 14 May 2005 wrote:
>
>> For anyone with a late-model Chevy Cavalier with the front part of the
>> dash crack, there is a guy trying to put together a class-action suit
>> with a lawyer to get Chevy to replace this defective part at no charge.
>> So far, he has had 136 people sign up. If you are interested, the
>> details are below.
>>
>> Slotman
>>
>> "For all late model Chevrolet Cavalier car owners who have had their
>> front part of their dash crack. This part of the dash is known as the
>> "Lower Trim Panel" and is over $750.00 to replace from the dealer. I
>> have created a site
http://www.xydon.com/apps/cavalier/ to record the
>> number of people who have had this happen to them as well.
>>
>> I feel this is a manufacturer defect and Chevrolet to flip the bill for
>> replacement. I have tried to negotiate with Chevrolet to replace my
>> dash and the *******s told me "Go ahead and pay out of pocket for the
>> repairs and then submit your receipt for possible consideration for
>> reimbursement." This outraged me as I know this is a manufacturer
>> defect. Join together and enter your information to this cavalier
>> database. I will then after a few months of solicitation notify you of
>> the status.
>>
>> I intend to obtain a lawyer and go toe to toe with Chevy for all of
>> you. No money will be asked of you, just that you provide ligitimate
>> information. Hopefully I can get Chevy to do a recall on this and get
>> YOUR cracked dashes replaced, as well as mine."
>>
>>



  #3  
Old May 16th 05, 03:20 PM
Magnulus
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Posts: n/a
Default


"James C. Reeves" > wrote in message
...
> And that award won't even buy a bottle of Armor-All, will it? (Which I

bet
> is what caused the cracks in the 1st place!)
>


Why would Armor All do that?

Anybody wants to see what a car looks like without ever having used Armor
All? It's for damn sure not "just like new".

I'm friggin' tired of the Armor All mythsinformation floating around.
From the talk of some idiots, you would think Saddam Hussein had a plant in
Iraq churning out the stuff for Osama bin Laden.


  #4  
Old May 16th 05, 08:51 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Magnulus" > wrote in message
. ..
> I'm friggin' tired of the Armor All mythsinformation floating around.
> From the talk of some idiots, you would think Saddam Hussein had a plant

in
> Iraq churning out the stuff for Osama bin Laden.


I'm with you on this one, Magnulus. Lots of people claim this, but I have
never personally
had a problem with Armor All. I have used it on rare occasion, but not
regularly.



  #5  
Old May 17th 05, 02:52 PM
Magnulus
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


> wrote in message
. ..
> I'm with you on this one, Magnulus. Lots of people claim this, but I have
> never personally
> had a problem with Armor All. I have used it on rare occasion, but not
> regularly.


I use it about once a month in the summer, and I've never noticed any
problems, though the cars weren't that old. I've got a 3 year old Logitech
Momo PC racing wheel that likewise gets some Armor All once in a while, and
it looks as good as new. I had to fix a broken shifer using some epoxy- but
Armor All didn't cause that.

My mom was all in a huff because a Ford "mechanic" told her that Armor All
sits on top of the dashbboard, heats up and "bakes" the plastic. I find
that hard to believe that Armor All would make vinyl hotter than it
otherwise would be, and since this guy does not have a degree in chemistry,
I take it with a big grain of salt. Alot of folks also go nuts because
Armor All contains silicone- but if that's the case they should never use a
car wax again, because almost all car waxes have some kind of silicone-based
sealers. You've never heard folks say "Don't use Turtle Wax because it
bakes the paint", have you? Case closed.


  #6  
Old May 19th 05, 06:32 AM
Ashton Crusher
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Mon, 16 May 2005 10:20:53 -0400, "Magnulus"
> wrote:

>
>"James C. Reeves" > wrote in message
...
>> And that award won't even buy a bottle of Armor-All, will it? (Which I

>bet
>> is what caused the cracks in the 1st place!)
>>

>
> Why would Armor All do that?
>
> Anybody wants to see what a car looks like without ever having used Armor
>All? It's for damn sure not "just like new".
>
> I'm friggin' tired of the Armor All mythsinformation floating around.
>From the talk of some idiots, you would think Saddam Hussein had a plant in
>Iraq churning out the stuff for Osama bin Laden.
>


I've had two vehicles where the dashboard promptly cracked right after
using armourall.

Here's some more info...

From Sun May 14 12:28:21 2000

Xref: news.primenet.com rec.autos.makers.ford.mustang:327594

patrick wrote:

>I've been searching usenet since I initially posted and their is a
>significant group of people who believe the product causes the
>dash to become 'addicted' to it, and that it will dry and crack if
>not used anymore.


OK, if you want a detailed chemical explanation, here goes.
Soft vinyl plastics (as opposed to things like PVC pipe)
contain a large amount of plasticizers. The one that is
almost universally used is dioctyl phthalate. It is a
relatively high molecular weight, water insoluble, nontoxic
compound. Over the course of time, the plasticizer will
vaporize and leach out of the vinyl causing it to become
stiff and brittle, which is when it cracks.

ArmorAll is an emulsion of dibutyl phthalate in water.
Dibutyl phthalate has a lower molecular weight than the
dioctyl phthalate in the factory soft vinyl. While it will
plump up and soften the plastic (good) the lower molecular
weight means that it is more volatile and more water soluble.
Therefore it will be lost more quickly to the environment
via vaporization and leaching. A nasty side effect is that
it will take the original plasticizer with it as it is lost.

What this means to the end user is that if you start using
ArmorAll you had better continue to do so, or your vinyl
will degrade much faster than if you had done nothing.

>This has caused me to decide not to use it and instead maybe get
>the maximum tint legally allowed on my windows to block UV rays
>and get some of those folding cardboard thingys to put in the
>windshield and rear window to block sunlight.


Ordinary glass blocks UV anyway. Ever try to get a suntan
through your windshield? Doesn't work. That is not to say
that maximum tint is a bad idea. UV damage is not the only
light-related way to destroy plastics. Your plan is a good one.
--
Andy Williams - real address andywlms at ct2 dot nai dot net


  #7  
Old May 19th 05, 12:20 PM
Magnulus
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Posts: n/a
Default


"Ashton Crusher" > wrote in message
...
>While it will
> plump up and soften the plastic (good) the lower molecular
> weight means that it is more volatile and more water soluble.
> Therefore it will be lost more quickly to the environment
> via vaporization and leaching. A nasty side effect is that
> it will take the original plasticizer with it as it is lost.
>


Even if it were true (carrying away the original plasticizer), the
dashboard will eventually lose most of the original plasticizer anyways. So
the dashboard will eventually crack even if you don't use Armor All.

Armor All specificly states that their product has to be re-applied about
once a month or so, just as car wax has to be re-applied every so often to
be effective. Similar products (Black Magic, etc.) work in a similar
fashion. The only downside I see is that almost all of them have some
level of shine or gloss, even the ones that are "low gloss".


  #8  
Old May 20th 05, 03:25 AM
James C. Reeves
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Magnulus" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Ashton Crusher" > wrote in message
> ...
>>While it will
>> plump up and soften the plastic (good) the lower molecular
>> weight means that it is more volatile and more water soluble.
>> Therefore it will be lost more quickly to the environment
>> via vaporization and leaching. A nasty side effect is that
>> it will take the original plasticizer with it as it is lost.
>>

>
> Even if it were true (carrying away the original plasticizer), the
> dashboard will eventually lose most of the original plasticizer anyways.
> So
> the dashboard will eventually crack even if you don't use Armor All.
>
> Armor All specificly states that their product has to be re-applied about
> once a month or so, just as car wax has to be re-applied every so often to
> be effective. Similar products (Black Magic, etc.) work in a similar
> fashion. The only downside I see is that almost all of them have some
> level of shine or gloss, even the ones that are "low gloss".
>
>


The gloss makes for a nasty reflection on the windshield during bright sunny
days..which reduces visibility.

My dashes seem to last much longer without Armor-all. The dash on my 1997
Caravan still looks new and has never had a drop of armor-all on it. Only
plain warm water (no soap).



  #9  
Old May 20th 05, 03:53 AM
L Sternn
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Posts: n/a
Default

On Thu, 19 May 2005 07:20:34 -0400, "Magnulus"
> wrote:

>
> Even if it were true (carrying away the original plasticizer), the
>dashboard will eventually lose most of the original plasticizer anyways. So
>the dashboard will eventually crack even if you don't use Armor All.


But it seems that if armor-all isn't applied monthly, it will crack
faster than if it is never applied at all.

The environment you're in might make a difference as to how
significant the process described in the earlier post will be.

Out in the desert, I expect it would be greater, but so is risk of
cracking without armor-all.

I guess it is anyway. Lots of people out here have carpet on their
dashboard, but that's kind of tacky I think.

If mine cracks, I guess I'll get the carpet like everyone else does
though.
 




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