2007 Toyota Camry Dashboard is melting under Florida heat??

[Florida Guy]

Bizarre problem here, not sure if you guys have ever run into this.

I own a 2007 Toyota Camry, the interior of the vehicle has been kept in great condition, and my wife has been driving it for the past 18 months.

We recently noticed that the dash board on the vehicle has gouges in it (on the area that hangs over above the steering wheel) and we realized that merely accidentally touching the dash board with your fingernails (as one could do accidentally if you were driving and turning the wheel) is enough to cause the nails to "sink in" and cause a permanent scar in the dash board.

Here's where it gets weird, the entire dashboard, when you touch it, is "sticky", or "tacky", almost like drying paint or tar. It's so soft, that conceivably, you could take an ice cream scoop and scoop out entire chunks. I checked with my aunt who has a 2008 Toyota Camry, and she also has the same issue.

My first thought was that .. the dashboard is melting or suffering some kind of heat-related damage due to the Florida Heat, but this still should not be happening. I should note that my wife and I have never applied any cleaning chemicals or anything to the dash board, other than taking an ordinary dry rag and wiping down the dust.

Have you guys heard of this problem before?

Thanks in advance.

[TrailDust]

Your issue intrigued me so I did a search of TN and didn't find any relevant threads, but FWIW I did find this thread on a Lexus forum where members describe the same issue you're describing. Reply #18 is a member from Florida like yourself with the same issue. I didn't read the entire thread, but perhaps there's information in there for you that could be helpful.

[f22crewchief]

I live in panama city, but I don't have this problem (I have an 08). I do have a limo tint and regularly use windshield shades though.

[Toyota Camry Guy]

About 2 years ago this started. I can't even clean the dashboard anymore as everything sticks to the tacky dash. I bought a Toyota so I would not have to deal with these type issues?Hopefully there is a recall on these as when you turn the steering and a bit of nail catches the dash you take a nick out of the dash at the same time. Dought I will ever be able to sell the car with this issue.Pray for a fix.