Loose air vent!

[woofster]

I can't believe I'm posting this, but is anyone else suffering from a loose air vent? I have one center dashboard air vent which is loose at the swivel points, resulting in the diffuser vanes always directed upwards (I guess the weight is biased towards the front of the car). Is there a quick fix for something like this other than replacing the vent altogether?

[Maverick]

i am

[abradley]

i am

x2

[A4Avant02]

Yeah, I have the same issue.

The vent will 'stick' pointed down, but loosens up and ends up pointing toward the roof.

[woofster]

LOL, one of the few gripes I have about my car happens to be a measly air vent! I guess it can be worse. It's really strange because after I have my A/C on cooling for a few minutes, the vanes seem to "stiffen" up and hold in place for the duration of my drive. I haven't noticed whether this applies with heating too. It seems to be only loose after the HVAC system has been off for about half an hour or more. Wierdness...

[dirtybrd]

Mine is loose when it's hot, but as the air cools it off it stops moving. I'm sure all that is needed to fix it is to remove the vent and apply some heat to the side os it so it tightens up.

[A4_Mike]

How ironic... my air vent (left central) just started doing this as well. Lucky for me, it is set directly in the middle right now and stays that way as long as I don't touch it (which is usually the case).

[got boost.]

get a in vent boost guage and its all fixed

well at least thats what i am going to do.

[dolbnyc]

Mine too!

I am also going to get a vent boost gauge

[A4 in SC]

If they were available in grey/platinum, I would!

[grimlock]

I'm having the same problem on my vent. Check to see if all of the "fins" that run horizontally are still attached at the ends to the vent. The lowest one on mine has broken off, and what happens is that it "unbalances" the vent slats. Not sure if this makes sense, but I think the only thing you can really do is try to get a replacement, or the vent boost gauge as people suggested.

[demea]

My right center started doing this as well a few weeks ago

Gotta be a fix for this, right??

[04QuattroTurbo]

If they were available in grey/platinum, I would!

Paint it! LOL

[woofster]

Mine is loose when it's hot, but as the air cools it off it stops moving. I'm sure all that is needed to fix it is to remove the vent and apply some heat to the side os it so it tightens up.

I think this is exactly why mine is loose. Once the A/C is on, the vent stiffens up, but when it's hot, it becomes all flimsy and loose. It must be the plastic contracting in heat and expanding in cold. Silly science!

[woofster]

Recall!!!

[jonsaudi]

I got the same obnoxious problem. And yes it has something to do with the temp of the vent; cold constricts the plastics, heat loosens it up. I've thinking of something that I can wedge the darn thing with some kind of rubber or plastic but I haven't really put much thought into it lately. Anyone else got other practical ideas??

[OneBadAudi]

And here i was thinkin i was the only one with the damn left center vent cooling my headliner..apparently im not...ha

[Killerteve]

though I have had many minute yet annoying problems with my car, my vents are all still in working order. But thanks for the heads up on what to expect next lol.

[woofster]

Y'know here's a thought...

I have California shutters on the dining room windows of my house. A couple of columns are loose (similar to my Audi air vents) and what helps is wedging something thin (like folded paper, a piece of cardboard, or a toothpick) in between one of the vanes and the frame of the shutters. Now I'm not crazy about wedging something like a toothpick in my Audi air vent since it's going to look pretty ugly but perhaps someone can expand upon this idea and find some sort of common item that's small and inconspicuous enough that'll do the trick.



Just a thought guys, haha.

[A4 in SC]

Paint it! LOL

LOL! All I need is another part of my interior plastic 'flaking'...howerver, I bet if I painted it, I wouldn't have a problem with it being loose though!

[n7plus1]

x2

x's w/e were at now.

[n7plus1]

is there an easy way to take it out? I was going to come up with a way to 'tighten' things up.

[old guy]

is there an easy way to take it out? I was going to come up with a way to 'tighten' things up.

Here ya go: Clicky click First part is on removal.

[jessefrank]

Wow...so many posts and no resolution (I can't open Old guys link so I'm not sure if it has a fix or not).

Well I have a solution (it has worked for about 4-5 months for me now).

I first removed the vent and on the back side put some locktite; on all the little swivel hinges...that lasted like a day and one or two vent adjustments.

I said screw it and tried the super glue!!! (Some no name brand I picked up at Wal-Mart). I like never adjust mine so I figured what the heck at least they will point straight and not all the way up (I HATE THE WAY THAT LOOKS...when the vents are all misaligned [must be OCD]).

I again removed the vent and applied the glue to all the hinges of the little louvers of the vent. I didn't apply too much at first, but quite a bit came out on two of the vents as I was using a previously used tube that I really couldn't control the flow as well as I would have liked on. To my surprise the vents are NOT glued in place, but adjust as if new or slightly stiffer then new...BUT THEY STILL ADJUST! And no more vents popping up at will!

I didn't remove/clean off the locktite residue on it, so I'm not sure if the mixture of locktite and super glue made it stiffer and not totally unmovable or if it is just all the super glue. I suspect it is all the glue though, as my one vent I didn't apply the locktite to, but did apply the glue ...and it works fine. My wife always has to play with the vents when she's in the car (I applied the glue to all the vents to make sure no more unwanted movement) and the fix is still working like a charm.

Hope this will be as successful of a fix for someone else as it has for me.
-Jesse

[n7plus1]

thanks old guy, ill check the document out later.

[HeHateMe]

LOL, one of the few gripes I have about my car happens to be a measly air vent! I guess it can be worse. It's really strange because after I have my A/C on cooling for a few minutes, the vanes seem to "stiffen" up and hold in place for the duration of my drive. I haven't noticed whether this applies with heating too. It seems to be only loose after the HVAC system has been off for about half an hour or more. Wierdness...

LOL, this happens to me as well. Same weird ass thing.

[HeHateMe]

Wow...so many posts and no resolution (I can't open Old guys link so I'm not sure if it has a fix or not).

Well I have a solution (it has worked for about 4-5 months for me now).

I first removed the vent and on the back side put some locktite; on all the little swivel hinges...that lasted like a day and one or two vent adjustments.

I said screw it and tried the super glue!!! (Some no name brand I picked up at Wal-Mart). I like never adjust mine so I figured what the heck at least they will point straight and not all the way up (I HATE THE WAY THAT LOOKS...when the vents are all misaligned [must be OCD]).

I again removed the vent and applied the glue to all the hinges of the little louvers of the vent. I didn't apply too much at first, but quite a bit came out on two of the vents as I was using a previously used tube that I really couldn't control the flow as well as I would have liked on. To my surprise the vents are NOT glued in place, but adjust as if new or slightly stiffer then new...BUT THEY STILL ADJUST! And no more vents popping up at will!

I didn't remove/clean off the locktite residue on it, so I'm not sure if the mixture of locktite and super glue made it stiffer and not totally unmovable or if it is just all the super glue. I suspect it is all the glue though, as my one vent I didn't apply the locktite to, but did apply the glue ...and it works fine. My wife always has to play with the vents when she's in the car (I applied the glue to all the vents to make sure no more unwanted movement) and the fix is still working like a charm.

Hope this will be as successful of a fix for someone else as it has for me.
-Jesse

so take the vent out and apply super glue to the hinges? Can you see the glue when the vents are back in place?

Also, does anyone know what new vents cost? I live in Vegas, Air con is is on 6 months out of the year and I like the air to be right on me or I'm burning up. Might give Jesse's solution a try.

[A4 in SC]

From what I read, the hinge on the BACK side is glued, not the front side. I think I'll be taking my vent out today and trying some sort of variation of the 'solution' above.

I just glued mine with 'goop', a craft glue that dries 'semi-solid'. What I'm hoping is that it will allow me to adjust the vents but provide resistance. We'll see how that works.

[Maverick]

anyone has part # of the black leather dash board?

[woofster]

From what I read, the hinge on the BACK side is glued, not the front side. I think I'll be taking my vent out today and trying some sort of variation of the 'solution' above.

I just glued mine with 'goop', a craft glue that dries 'semi-solid'. What I'm hoping is that it will allow me to adjust the vents but provide resistance. We'll see how that works.

After reading Jessefrank's fix, this was exactly what I was thinking about too. I have automotive 'goop' which is like a sealant. It's black so it's inconspicuous and after it dries, it's still very pliable. When I get a chance, I think I'm going to try this 'solution'!

[A4 in SC]

I'll reply in a couple of days. Hopefully, this will be a solution we all can live with!

[jessefrank]

As to where I put the glue...
1. remove the vent completely from the dash
2. Put the glue (or whatever you wish to try) on the very ends of the louvers of the vent on the part that is facing the vent housing (not the part that is visable when installed, the part that is behind the vent molding).

I know this is a crappy pic, but maybe it will help explain:
http://www.audizine.com/gallery/show...hp?photo=35124
Put the glue where the red circles are at on the underneath side; on each vent.

[B6 Dude]

Mine holds up well, and of course the left center has no chance of coming loose :) ...



I recently took mine apart for a little project, and took some photos for an upcoming writeup. The louvers are not glued in place, and I would avoid using super glue/cyanoacrylates for something like this. You'll see in the photos below that the louvers have "pins" molded into the sides, and all you need is a little more friction. Perhaps stick some putty in the holes, or use a hot pin to very lightly deform the "pins" so that they're not exactly round anymore, to add some friction. Haven't done this, but I would think it would do the job.

Cheers,
-Neil.

[drumnjuny]

anyone else try this? probably gonna do this sometime soon its starting to drive me crazy

[n7plus1]

whered the pics go?

[Barryo2002]

I know this is an old thread, but I'm sure that as time goes on this problem is going to affect more and more Audi drivers. Thankfully, I have found a quick and easy solution! Ill explain as best I can my thoughts on the reason for the looseness and also my solution.
If you pull the centre air vents out you will be able to take of the front facia, prying the tabs up (with care, they do snap), you will see that there is a separation between the two vents, a small gap around 6mm in width. I believe that over the years, this gap buckles or weakens slightly causing the slats to loosen. My solution, while not being worthy of the Bentley manual, does work and quite well. take a piece of tissue paper and fold it repeatedly until it is just a bit bigger than the gap, wedge it in there with a screwdriver or whatever tool you have at hand that will fit. The pressure of the tissue tightens up the slats on both sides and should last for years without loosening. Of course, those of us with more advanced materials, like say a popsicle stick, could cut it to size and wedge enough pieces side by side in order to obtain the necessary pressure. A small piece of wood shaped and cut to size would also do the trick. Its just a matter of getting something in there to pressure the vent and you're back in business!! When you put the facia back on, the paper will be completely hidden from view.
Be careful not to put too much pressure though as I did at first, It will cause the slats not to move as intended.

[b6Hate4]

I thought I was the only one with this! Glad to see im not

[Maniorta]

My central left vent is mest up to.

[pa4ul]

put me on the list! ITs so annoying when you hit a bump and it flips up!

[Barryo2002]

I thought I was the only one with this! Glad to see im not

Check out my solution, it does work, trust me and anyone can do it, definately not rocket science and well worth the effort!