Hello Everyone,

I have a 2020 QX80 and accidentally broke two of two louvers on the driver's A/C grille. I brought into the dealership and they said it would take an hour to fix. After their inspection they told me that the 2020 changed and it requires removal of the dash to remove the grille for replacement. They quoted 7 hours for the work, and I politely left with out fixing. Since then, I have researched looking through the FSM on this site (2014 and 2015) and both say to remove the dash as well. Looks to be nothing new.

My question to the community is has any one replaced an air grille in a QX80, and if so, can they be removed with the dash in place?

Thank you.

The new Altimas have the same setup, for some nutty reason they screwed the center grilles in from the back side. There's no shortcut, the dashpad has to come loose. Sadly, I don't think the dealer was lying.

Yeah, I assumed they were not lying only puzzled by them saying the 2020 changed and previously it was an hour job.
Thank you for the reply.

My other thought was if there is a way to "pop" in two replacement louvers that are broken without removal of the part. It is crazy to have a $1300.00 quote to fix the problem!! Maybe an independent body shop would be cheaper. I really don't want to tackle this and mess something else up!

It might well be possible to replace the horizontal slats if that's all that's broken. For the most part the louvers are all "snap together" pieces, even the plastic ladders that angle them. Since only the driver's side is broken, you might want to buy a new assembly and try to dissect the passenger vent. You're out the cost of the assembly if you break it, but you'll save a ton if it works.

Btw, assuming it's similar to the Altimas, the whole dashpad won't need to come out. It just needs to be lifted enough to get a shorty phillips back there. That means the steering wheel won't need to drop and the console can be pushed back, not removed. Since the screws are awkward to get back in with a partial removal (especially the driver's side), I leave them out and use a very strong glue like Permatex Ultra Gray when I reinstall. Still a big job, but I don't think 7 hours' worth, and probably not beyond the reach of a talented backyarder.