I have noticed I have two cracks in the plastic piece on the dash up near the windshield. They seem to go all the way through front to back. Anyone else have this issue?

 

I have the exact same issue. I attribute the cracks to my STR starting her life in the south's heat.

 

Very common.
That is the demister panel.

 

There are dash crack repair kits on the market ranging from lousy to very good. You'll get the best results from a pro who does this type of repair on a regular basis, though. Auto upholstery and convertible top shops are your best bet. There's a guy here in Raleigh who has owned a shop like this for more than 30 years. His technicians can fix any dash crack to the point of it being completely invisible when they're done. Average cost is about $50, and somewhat more if there are multiple cracks. Well worth it if you plan to keep the vehicle for a long time....

 

The panel is usually broken being removed by somebody who does not understand the proper way. Both "A" pillar covers MUST be removed first. The bottom of these covers snap into slots in the ends of the demister panel. I live where it's very hot and sunny and have no cracks at all in my 2005 STR. But when I removed the demister panel I was very tempted to try and just bend the panel to remove it. DO NOT DO IT!! I would bet that is why you have broken panels. You can try to repair it but I have had poor results. I would just purchase a new one or try to find a unbroken used panel. If possible try to remove it from the car yourself. It should not be too hard to find it used as it is the same for all S Types 2003 thru 2008.

Also this is a known rattle point. This is why I removed mine. I install felt strips all around the outside underneath edge. You will notice the factory installed stick on foam but over time and heat the foam degrades and moves out of position. Mine is totally quiet now.
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Very imformative TBird. Thank you very much.

 

The sad thing is it wasn't broken when I first bought it. Over the last month it has broken

 

Guys I just ended up tinting the whole windshield 30% on my 01' s-type. It really helped and did preserve it and crack never extended. They also have that clear UV tint
Now I have 50% tint on my STR and its dark at all. Just some info on what I did but it did helped and did save money and time.

 

In my case the heat was what did it the panel hasn't been removed but it cracked in one hot day with the sunroof cracked and the reflective shade in place. Thinking of making a carbon fibre one.

 

Carbon fiber eh? Interesting...I'll trade the two hardly noticeable dashboard cracks for carbon fiber STR body panels?

 

I've got a cracked demister panel too. Cracked right in the middle last summer, now a new crack is appearing right in front of the driver.
I looks terrible. I was thinking of looking for a used one from a wreck, but they are hardly ever listed as a part.
I wish I lived closer to the $50 repair shop in North Carolina, that sounds like the way to go.

 

They make a UV protection spray for fabric, I wonder if that would help if applied to the demister panel.

 

This cracked on my car on one place last week and on another place 2 days ago? Has anybody fixed it? What's the part number of this? If somebody has got it replaced, how well it came out?

Does anybody have instructions to replace it?

Thanks,
Rizwan

 

Post #5 is a good start. JEPC likely another

 

Join the gang - and its a large one
mine cracked 2 year or so ago - first on the left then a couple of months later - the right. No reason other than I was told by a guy that worked in the factory in Essex that made some of these parts for Ford/Jaguar - that some of the lighter parts were made with reclaimed materials.

 

Thanks JagV8, Yes I read that but was confused on how to remove those pillars . I found the part in a website at around $250, I would explore the Workshop Manual for the whole process to remove and install it .

 

Mine was cracked in several places when I got the car. Taking it out is problematic because the metal retainer clips tend to want to stay in the slots rather than go with the demister. I bought a brand new demister from the dealer, which came with the retainer clips in place -- which meant digging out the old ones from the slots on the dash with some needle nosed pliers. A couple of them ended up falling down through the slot and so far do not seem to have caused any problems. New from the dealer, I think I paid about $400 for this part. I have a 2000 with two sensors in the dash, and so there are not many used ones available (Jaguar quickly went to one sensor). Since I literally just had to remove smaller pieces of plastic, I did not need to remove the pillars to take out the demister. I was also able to install the new one easily enough without removing them. But a used piece may be more brittle and not have enough flex.

 

To Jon89, any contact info for the guy in Raleigh?

 

Auto Interiors and Tops Inc. at 303 North West Street downtown, phone (919) 821-4425.

 

It looks like with age most if not all demister panels will eventually crack. The sun just tears this part up. Mine ended up cracking several years after I posted the repair above.

$380 from the dealer but all the used ones will have the same problem and the repairs I have seen are not the best visually but do work.
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