Has anyone ever had the housing on a dial-type tire pressure gauge crack for no reason?

I have a Longacre Magnum 0-60 psig gauge like this one:



When I went to check my tire pressures a few days ago, I noticed it was giving really weird readings (17 psig, then 34 psig, then 25 psig). When I looked closer at the gauge, I found three or four cracks on the back of the housing. The weird thing is that they don't look like impact damage, since they don't radiate outward from a single point. Also, not only does the gauge have a rubber cushion around the dial, I always keep it in a padded hard-shell case in my trunk.

It's not my only tire gauge, so it's been a few months since the last time I used it, but it worked fine then.

The only thing I can think of is that I drive from California to Texas fairly often, and the altitude changes from sea level to 8,000 feet or so during the trip. Could the ambient pressure changes have cracked the case?

I'll take some pictures of the broken gauge tomorrow and add them to the thread. I really like the big 4" dial face and the little pushbutton to release excess pressure without having to remove the gauge from the tire, but I don't want to buy another identical gauge if it's just going to do the same thing.

 

Seems odd that a device that's supposed to handle large rapid pressure changes in regular use would get damaged due to the pressure changes due to altitude. Also, seems the crack in the (cosmetic?) housing shouldn't affect its operation.