DIY: Inside Air Vent Tightening

[evil_twin]

I thought you had to spin them downwards?

[NC325iC]

i did this but with fuzzy velcro across the top about 9 years ago

[JGood]

I thought you had to spin them downwards?

The OP said to spin them down, then use a screwdriver to push the tabs in and it will come out. My problem with that is, once one side is out, the gap on the other side is completely closed, so you can't get a screwdriver in and pry on it without marring the shit out of the outer frame.

Another person responded saying you can spin it all the way up and push the underside, it will unclip. I couldn't get this to work. I was pushing very hard, I'm surprised it didn't break.

I just pulled my m20 out of my track car the other night, it took my less time to do that, then it did to do this. And they are all jacked up now.

[e30nub]

For some reason, I thought everyone knew about this. This was the first thing I did to my E30 when I got it. Good right up! And yes, you don't need a screwdriver.

[u3b3rg33k]

Just did this. Works great. I'm amazed the vents don't crumble with that much force applied to them after 23 years.

If they could make vents that hold up this well, why not the dash?

[quikveedb2]

i used 1 thin screwdriver on each side at the same time. popped both tabs out at once, and pulled the vent out all at once. i rotated them all the way down & pried from near the top of the vent. it went quick, i'm gonna try & get some rubber washers from lowes or something so they're all the same thickness, since cutting rubber hose with scissors did not meet my expectations for uniformity. they're better now though, no matter how you look at it, at least i can point 'em where i want and not just straight down.

[TrentW]

I found some thin white nylon washers at Home Depot (couldn't find black ones), painted them black, cut a slot in one side so they look like a "C", inserted them on one side of the vent with the slot cutout fitting over the pivot pin and it has worked great for three years. No need to remove the vents at all and you can't even see the washer.

[Alameer]

THANK YOU :D you just saved me a quite bit of money <3

[mcskibadee1]

Just did this and have to say that I am so pleased with such a cheap fix that is un noticeable. Thanks for the write up!

Off to get my key light to start working again.

[CrusherCurtis]

I thought it was just me with this problem.

[cncmastr]

I too suffered from limp HVAC vents, but not any more, thanks to this wonderful DIY!

[mcskibadee1]

Bump this up for the people that havent seen this yet. Just did it to another car and worked great. The trick is to turn the vents all the way down and get your finger tips in the top and just pull down and towards you. You will feel like you will break it but you wont.

[Prost]

Great write up!

[Best_name_available]

It's nice to be stiff after being floppy for so long

[15Michaeljoseph]

I just rolled up some electrical tape and used a screwdriver to shove it between the cylinder and the duct opening... I hardly ever adjust my vents, and this did the job the same way :b

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