Was working on car and put some stuff on the dash. While working, I accidently knocked some small plastic parts into the windshield vent. Yeah, what are the chances? Apparently, 100% if you are me!

Anyway, from the outside with a strong flashlight, I can see the pieces through the vent slats. Anyone know a clever way of getting them out without taking the dash apart? Tried using vacuum with a small plastic hose attached to it but that did not work. And it is almost impossible to get a long wire in there because windshield is in the way, plus you can't see what you are doing from the inside.

 

Some dum-dum, aka 3M strip caulk taped to a piece of bendable wire. Have a friend look down through the base of the windshield outside to guide you. T

 

Good idea, Or this approach with silicon gel which is even stickier... or some of that sticky stuff they use to hold credit cards to a letter. Silicone gel is sometimes used for cleaning stubborn junk out of crevices. Search for 'silicon gel cleaner' on Amazon.

I guess you just have to be careful not to drop anything more in there.

 

Do you have a leather dash? If so, did you drop them in the defroster vents? If so, those vents can be popped out with a trim tool. I'm still looking for more info on the other vent openings.

See the following:

 

Is there enough room between the vent slats to insert a flexible retrieval tool?

 

shop vacuum eg bag less type and try to suck it up ,,,you would have to make some sort of flexible end with half inch hose or flexible plastic pipe and duct tape to get in there ,,,,,,,,,,used this method many times to get to things that have dropped in places your finger will not fit ...

 

Raw chicken breast, pressed into the crevasse...

Doesn't work.

 

Chicken, cornish hens, pork tenderloin, and Porsche. Also for the Concours fanatics:

 

Lol. You guys are brutal

 

So, an update!

[QUOTE=StormRune;14495982]Do you have a leather dash? If so, did you drop them in the defroster vents? If so, those vents can be popped out with a trim tool. I'm still looking for more info on the other vent openings.

Thanks Storm. This was very helpful and I thought this would solve my problem for sure. However, I pulled, prodded, begged and cursed and I could not remove the vent. The clips on that thing must be like the hard to release clip on the dash speaker grill!


Yes, I have one of those tools but it is too big and hard to maneuver in the tight space.

Tried that too. Did not work, not enough suction power.


Since you seemed to have tried it and it didn't work, I did not attempt it.

If I had one of those contraptions, I would have used it.

When I first read this, I thought you were calling me a dum-dum (which I am for letting this happen) . Anyway, this worked (but I used sticky tape). I was able to move the piece from back of the vent to the front of the vent, then use my fingers between the vents slats to finally get it out. When I tried to capture the second piece, I lost it - could not see it anymore. I said to myself "Damn, now I've done it!" and was worried that the piece would block the defroster airflow. So I started the car, turned on the blower full force and happily the airflow was fine. I knew the piece was lost somewhere back there and no longer cared as long as the defroster was working correctly. Cleaned up the windshield and put everything away. Decided to look one more time and low and behold, the missing piece was sitting right there in the middle of the vent. The blower pushed the piece further in, and I was able to use my fingers between the slats to get that piece out too. Success!!

Moral of the story - don't put any small pieces on your dash if you don't want to lose them in your vents! Ever.

Thanks everyone for the help and the funny comments.

 

Good stuff mate glad you got it persistence and a cool head payed off .......I am certain most of use have done something similar working on cars ...

 

Great outcome. Did not have to resort to the chicken wing method.