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Call Kurtis Investigates: Cracks In Some GM Dashboards

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Before going for a drive in their three-year old Chevy Avalanche, Darlene Rennie always makes sure her seat is pushed all the way back.

"I'm protecting myself." She said.

She's worried about a hairline fracture in the dashboard right next to the passenger airbag.

"Is the dashboard compromised?" Darlene asked. "When it does engage does the dashboard explode into pieces?"

But she said GM it will only cover 75 percent of the cost of the dashboard crack repair, because their truck is out of warranty.

The Rennies don't think they should have to pay a dime for what they believe is a safety defect.

"They haven't given me any guarantees." She said. "How am I supposed to trust that?"

CBS13 found others posting videos of cracked GM dashboards, and dozens of crashed dashboard complaints online from across the country involving GM Avalanches, Suburbans, Tahoes, Yukons, Silverados and Sierras.

Consumer advocate Rosemary Shahan says this is clearly a manufacturer defect.

"It shouldn't be cracking," she said.

"What is the safety concern?" CBS13's Kurtis Ming asked Shanan.

"The safety concern is that if you're in crash, and the passenger airbag deploys, that parts of the dash could [turn into] shrapnel and injure people." She said.

We reached out to GM, a company under fire for not issuing recalls when it has known of defects. In a statement to CBS13, GM said: "Our engineers have investigated similar cracks in dashboards as described by CBS Sacramento and came to the conclusion that there was no affect to vehicle safety performance.  Based on the information available today, GM does not have evidence of the need for a recall. Should the facts change, GM will react promptly. Concerned customers should please contact their dealership."

Shanan thinks the burden is on GM to fix the issue.

"GM should step up and take care of it," she said.

After we got involved, the Rennies told CBS13 the company has "assigned" their "case" to someone at GM, and a "new part" was ordered and repaired for "free."

But they think more needs to be done.

"This needs to be recalled," Darlene said.

We did not find anyone who has been injured. However, Rosemary Shahan said that doesn't mean no one has been hurt.

If you're having an issue with a GM dashboard, contact your dealership and have it looked at to see if it needs to be replaced. You can also file a complaint online with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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