I'm sure this is a pretty common problem, but I couldn't find much on the boards about how people have dealt with this issue. It appears that my passenger side defrost vent is very warped, so much so that the vent itself has popped out and will not go back in. Does anyone have any suggestions for repair?

 

I did see a post from @mazdaverx713b where he took the dash out and did some repair with some clamps involved, maybe he can elaborate...

 

This was quite some time ago. The car came from Florida and because of the heat, the glue released tension and the dash pad began rising from the plastic frame.

I removed the dash, which takes about an hour and a half. Ive had several out over the years and felt confident that this was the way to go. I cleaned the area in between the pad and plastic frame as best as I was able to. I used an epoxy based product if I remember correctly. I used wood to distribute the clamp load and ensure I wouldn't have raised sections. It came out nice from what I can remember. I sold the car more than 12 years ago, so it's difficult to remember everything. I will be doing this repair again soon on a GSL-SE that I'm restoring. Unless I am able to find a nicer brown dash, which will be the goal. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

 

Thanks for the detail! Not sure if I am read to pull the dash out yet on mine... I'm also looking for a replacement dash, so we'll see what happens first.

 

I have a grey dash....i think it's in good shape other than the metal frame being rusted. Came from a car where the window was left open and it was essentially junked. It's in my storage shed across town. Next time I'm put that way I can take some pics of it and if you want it, you can have it. May be just as easy to glue yours.