I just got upset at my wife this morning because she adjusted one of the dash air vent louvers and broke it out. When we got home she said for me to try because she thought they were welded in place by the heat...Ha HA right! What could she know. So I promply broke off another with very little force. I checked the others and they were all stuck. I managed to VERY gently get them unstuck. The heat was on Hottest and the blower on low for a long time but the vents were all open. BE CAREFUL if you run your heat on high. She was right. The little stubs where the louver rotated are welded firmly in place and will not move. Has anyone ever removed these louvers?If I could remove the chrome trim ring and assembly I could repair these. I asume the dealer would baulk at replacing something that was obviously broken by me.

 

The air vents are held in by 3 screws each from behind. You would need to remove the "waterfall" from around the radio to get to them.

Here's what you can expect to see ..........


(image taken from Sindy's gallery)

 

Nice touch!!!

 

Unless they are the vents on the far left or far right....Then you have to remove the whole dash pad to get to those.....

 

Thanks jx3. I thought maby that thing came off. After looking at your picture I removed the panel with my fingernails and was able to remove the vents. I had to use a small drill bit to remove one of the broken plastic pins. It was really welded in there. I used some similar sized aluminum rod in its place with epoxy to attach it to the flap. I'll let you know how (if) it worked.

 

Good luck

 

all done!. Everything worked out great. I just hope it never happens to the side vents. THose look like a bear. Any way....Thanks for the help.

 

Sounds sorta strange that the vents got hot enough to weld .
Could you have used some product, while cleaning your dash or something, that could`ve had a dissolving affect on the plastic parts?

 

I was thinking the same thing. I even painted the two vents above the radio, and they have gotten a little sticky at times, but I never had any problems moving them (I hope I did not just jinx myself).

 

People might want to think about using some graphite lubricant to lube their vents. Graphite lube is a powder not liquid and will not affect plastic. It can be found at locksmiths; it's what locksmiths recommend to lube locks because it will not get gummy/sticky and will not freeze in cold weather.