Can anyone give me some advice regarding the dashboard of my 2000 Eldorado? The dash apparently has warped very slightly around the defroster vent, which is not really visible, but the defroster vent will not stay recessed in the dash opening. I have tried super glue and special epoxies and they have not worked. The vent eventually pops up exposing the plastic tabs/notches that were meant to grab the vent opening. I bought a dash mat hoping that it would hide the problem. While the mat did a fair job hiding the problem, it cheapened the expensive interior, so I removed it. I have searched the Internet ad nauseam for a dash cap, but I can't find one for the year of my car. Any ideas on how I can get this defroster grill to stay seated or find a dash cap? My car is in excellent condition and this vent lookspitiful. I can't believe Cadillac's poor design of this item.

 

The condition is called delamination as is common in all gm product especially in hot climates.The padded part releases from plastic structure that mounts dash top.The best way to repair it is with a new one it is still available althought catalog shows discontinued.a compamy call VPI who buys up tons of old gm inventory and dealers can get parts through them,however parts are NOT returnable.GM is very proud of interior trim parts so be prepared.If new one in out of the question a metal plate shaped like openning can be fabricated with tabs to hold pad down after adhesive is applied in gap between pad and panel.The adhesive I used on a dash repaired was "carpender's super glue" :Liquid Nail glues pretty much anything.Hope it helps

 

slowroll is exactly correct, but if you want to give it a shot at fixing, read this thread:


https://www.cadillacforum.com/m_11330/tm.htm

 

I have a 98 ETC with same problem. I think the problem is that the defroster "hole" widens due to heat. I got mine to lay much flatter by making the little tabs on the defroster vent larger. I did this using a solder gun, heating the tabs so that they were pliable and shaping them so that they protruded a bit more. By making the vent fit more snug when I put it back in, it stayed level with the dash top.

Hope this helps. I agree that Cadillac should and should-have paid more attention to these details.