Heater blower vents on dash

[Steve McF]

Just wondering, are the heater blower vents on the dash (left, right and centre) interchangeable between pre and post facelift dash cars?

Or can one change the twiddly knobs for the later silvery ones?

[Steve McF]

Well I'm still contemplating what to do about the facelift dash vents I have. The centre one won't fit the prefacelift dash as the shape is slightly different.

I might have a look at the passenger and driver's side vents and see if they appear the same. If they do, I might look to just fit them (rather than risk breaking them to swap the silvery knobs over.

However, I can't find any info on how to remove them. All YouTube and forum stuff seems to relate to the centre vent only.

Are there any pictures / diagrams instructions in the WIS ? Or anywhere else?

[sgould]

The side vents are held in by exactly the same type of clip as the centre ones. Just four of them round the edge.  Look inside with a torch.  I can't check the parts list because the silver knobbed vents will have a different part number anyway.

[Steve McF]

I think the good news is that unlike the centre vent, the side vents look like they ought to be interchangeable with facelift dash parts.

The passenger side one looks fine, but the driver's side one has an added complication.....

I can't see how the Parrot display is attached and how to get it off. Even then, if I wanted to relocate the display, where is the best place to put it? On the centre console?

[Steve McF]

Just saw this on Facebook...…

Looks like a good alternative to where I have the Parrot display now.

[sgould]

When I had the Parrot in the 9-5, I had it down there.  It was a bit out of the way, but I never made calls with it on the move.  I only received calls when driving, and it was set to auto answer.  So I never needed to look at it or touch the buttons while driving.  But a quick glance at the screen would tell you who was calling.

[Steve McF]

I had a quote from a Parrott supplier/service agent who said they could move it.

Will,

how was yours secured there? Did they have to drill a hole in the trim?

[sgould]

Mine was fitted to a home made angle bracket that was fixed by two small bolts in the "spare" hole opposite the cigarette lighter. The holes are now hidden by the plug in the hole.  The Parrot was sold on when I fitted the new head unit with direct bluetooth connection for the phone.

I did fit one to the 9-3, and the head unit was fitted in front of the gear selector.  My wife drove the car and refused to use it while driving.  It was only really fitted because she was worried about keeping in contact because at the time I was recovering from a heart attack and other operations...

I never took any photos of the finished job.  But it was fixed by some sticky pads on a bracket, and the fixing hidden under the small rubber mat.

The parrot install is DIY really.  if you get the right patch lead from www.justcarkits.co.uk it will be plug and play.  There's a connector for the phone behind the side panel of the centre tunnel, passenger side.

[ScarbSaab]

I made a bracket to use the phone as a satnav, and later moved the Parrot display as I didn't like it low down. No holes as it loops over the dash and is tie-tagged at the bottom. The Parrot bracket was a bodge using what I had at the time. I've not improved it as I keep toying with replacing the radio and having satnav/handsfree integrated.

[sgould]

OH bought a Brodit set for her phone.  It clips and sticks over the centre vent.  They also do a bracket for the side vent.  The first bit is made to fit the car.  Then there's a bit that screws to it that is made to fit the phone.  You would only need the first bit because the Parrot comes with a mounting bracket.

https://www.brodit.com/productList.html?lrhandDrive=rhd&brand=Saab&model=9-3&year=2006&pn=prod