I was driving to work today and happened to touch the top of instrument panel that moves with the steering wheel and it was very warm, almost hot. Is this normal? The car had been running for almost an hour and I had the lights on. Has anyone else noticed this on their car? I have an 03.5 Auto Sedan.

Thanks for any replies.

 

if you are referring to the dome above the instrument cluster then yes... when I first got my G I was concerned about it but its normal. It does get very hot! When I was doing temp reading of my plenum to determine Motordynes Iso Term kit I always had the digi thermometer with me in the car so I would check the temp of the dome... I can’t remember the exact reading but it was well over 100 degrees - 120-140 if I remember correctly… this was in summer months – I don’t think it gets that hot when it’s cooler outside, but definitely hotter than you would expect… just dissipated engine compartment heat. I have an ’04.5 – newer G’s might have this corrected. If not, Nissan should look at a fix (IMO).

 

So, is it also getting hot at night in the summer? I'll have to check my '05 to see if this happens.

 

Yep - it even gets warm (wouldn’t call it hot) at night in the winter... I don’t know about the 05 though - yours has the orange peel texture right?... mine has the smooth hard plastic. If you have orange peel it might not be as warm/hot… but you’ll probably notice it. It’s of no concern, it won’t cause problems. I asked the dealer a year or so ago when I was concerned – they said it’s normal.

 

OCG35 Thanks for this information. At least now I know this is normal. You would think that it would be insulated to prevent heat from the engine compartment from getting to the dome.

 

OTOH, if the heat is from the light bulbs in the IP, and not from the engine, you wouldn`t want insulation there. You`d want to dissipate the heat as quickly as possible. I don`t know how you`d be able to tell where the heat is coming from.

 

no shiit, i keep my food warm up there on a long trip.

Some heat from the dash lights and the dc power to light them--same with the center console--trasmission dome.