So after 1000 miles of ownership of my (new to me) X-Type, the only problem I've come across is that the passenger side dash vent (the vent on top of the dash by the windshield, not the vents on the face of the dash that blow air on the occupants) occasionally pops out.

There's a round plastic clip on the corner of the vent that doesn't seem to be holding - I seem to recall popping dash vents is a fairly common nuisance on the X, but didn't know if that was the top vent or the face vents. Is there a recommended fix?

Should I just go get a new clip from my local dealership, or is that a waste of time? Would it be a big deal to just crazy glue the sucker down? In any car I've owned, I've never had to remove the dash vent, so I wonder if it's a big deal to just glue it down permanently, and be done with it.

Thanks for any advice!

 

Yes, this is an extremely common occurence in the X-Type - it even happened while I was test driving the car!

I just keep pushing it down with my finger. It happens only occasionally, so it doesn't really bother me. But you can definitely glue it down or see if the dealership has the new clip.

 

Silly question with the dash vents. When I bought my car just shy of a year ago, it was missing both of the clips (1 on each side). No big deal. That wasn't a deal breaker. My question is this: what holds the other end of the vents in place (ie, at the center of the vehicle). I don't see anything there that would hold that end down. Maybe I am being blind. I know I need to get in and do something about the vent as the cover is starting to separate from the under parts of the dash, so, it is lifting up the vent and allowing it to slide all over the place.

Thanks.

 

Thanks guys. If there's an updated clip design, I'll try that first. My backup plan involves crazy glue. Gluing might be better in the long run, since it'll be one less thing to rattle as the car ages. I don't think I'll ever need to remove the vent for repairs.

Thermo, I was playing around with the vent yesterday. I think it's just a notch in the mating surface that holds the cover down towards the center of the dash. It seems to be pretty effective - that side of the vent has never pops up on my car - it always seems to be end of the vent by the passenger windshield pillar where the round clip isn't holding securely enough. Given that your round clips are missing, I'm surprised your vents haven't popped off everytime you use the defroster. The cover is made of light plastic, and it seems like the blast of air that comes out in defrost mode is strong enough to lift it right up.

 

I think more people have used crazy glue vs. anything else.

 

Matt, I don't have a problem with the vents lifting up when I use the defrosters. Granted, when I attach them to the dash, I am going to paint the vents before hand to make them blend in with the dash better than they do. Right now mine are more of a tan color with the dash being a chocolate brown. I am going to whip up some paint to match the dash and then paint the vents and the retaining clips.

I do notice the vents move around a little bit with bumps in the road, but another bump will set them back down into their correct spot. So, no loss there. Not like I am having to constantly put the vents back into their respective holes.

 

I have the same problem, a rattling defroster vent on the passenger side (driver's side is FINE!). Press the round button (about size of a quarter) and its ok! I don't want to have to pay a fortune at the dealer when, according to a number of posts, super glue appears to work. Actually I'm afraid to use it as I don't want to "muck" it up!

I read somewhere that the manufacturer made the vent connection a bit to smail. I've had the car since December 2001 and the noisy vent problem only started about 9 months ago. Please HELP me any advise would be appreciated. Again, I don't want to spend a fortune on it. It seems to me that super glue may work. Is there any glue in particular that you'd recommend? I look forward to hearing from you at YOUR earliest convenience. Please email me at: kmil123@msn.com

Thanks!!!

 

BTW, I forgot to add this question: Can the noisy rattling side in the passenger side vent be fixed WITHOUT the expense of taking the entire dashboard off? I hope its as easy as popping out the round button that holds the defroster vent down. If you know......please tell me step by step what to do. Again......thanks!!!