Air vent tab

Hey y'all. One of the tabs for the vents came off when I was detailing my dash not too long ago. Nothing is broken so to say with the tab or air vents fyi. Is there a trick or special way to get this thing attached, or do I need to pull apart my dash and access the vents directly? Here are a couple of photos showing what I am dealing with. Thanks for your help!
Leland

 

Is the back end of the tab open ended? Meaning, is it notched so that it slides right over the vent. If so, just put a dab of Gorilla glue on it, then slide it back on and let it sit for a few minutes. WaLa. You should be all set.

 

From looking at the two photos, it would appear that the back of the tab not only is open, but might also have grooves on the top and bottom that those two small tabs on the fin slide into. Can you slide that adjuster tab on to the fin on either side, then slide it sideways over those two fin tabs? That might be why it came off, it just got knocked out of the normal position.



@TheColonelJLK - got any photos of the back and sides of that adjuster tab that came off?

 

My apologies for not giving enough details. Here are some more photos of what I am working with. As y'all can see, the tab is clasped to another piece. This unique piece goes inside the vents themselves, while the tab piece slides thru the slats and clasps to the other piece. I've been trying to use needlepoint pliers to attach the two pieces back together within the air vents, but having no luck. Thanks for your replies/help!

Sorry for the shitty photos, my 4runner is parked in the basement of a parking garage with little light

 

Gotcha. So the fins are pretty much sandwiched between the front tab and the rear clip. It seems removing the dash section those vents are in might be your only option. Thanks for the additional photos.

 

I did find this site upon searching. It has one-piece replacement tabs that install without having to remove the vents at all:

https://www.venttabs.com/venttabs-toyota-4runner-2014-2019-to-repair-a-c-side-air-vents/

If they look similar to the oem tabs, it might be an option.

Video of the installation, albeit on the DS window side vent, which is supposed to be the same as the PS window side vent:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P-yPdxXPqI

The middle two vents use a separate part. I think. They say it differently in two places. You specify which vent tab you need in the checkout process, but if you are considering this, I would call them to verify which is needed.

 

Removing the dash takes no more than 5 mins tops. Just 4 10mm screws and the whole head unit slides out.

 

That's slick!

 

Right! Who'd've thunk someone would have made aftermarket vent tabs...