How to Replace a Passenger Air Vent on a 1996 - 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ

With this tutorial, I'm going to explain how to change a passenger air vent for a 1996, 1997, or 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ. For this tutorial, we'll be using a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited in stone white.

What you'll need:

• A (small) Phillips head screwdriver
• A Phillips head screwdriver with an angled tip (alternatively, you can use a small adjustment wrench with a Phillips head bit)
• A new passenger air vent

Step 1. Remove windshield panel

Remove the long, plastic panel that spans the entire base of the windshield. To do this, start at one end and pry your fingers underneath it to pop it up. It's only held in by clips.

Step 2. Remove Wood Bezel

To the left and right of the steering wheel are 2 wooden bezels. To remove them, wiggle your fingers behind them to gently pry them off. They're also only help in by clips.

Step 3. Remove Dashboard Bezel

To remove the dashboard bezel, you'll need to remove 10 screws. 5 screws are on the top and 5 screws are on the bottom. Then gently pull the bezel forward to remove it.

Step 4. Detach glove box Panel

To detach the glove box panel, you'll need to remove 9 screws. 4 inside the glove box, 1 on the right side of the dashboard panel, and 4 underneath the glove box.

Step 5. Detach VIC Bezel

To detach the VIC bezel, engage the Jeep's emergency brake, turn on the ignition, move the gear shifter to 1st gear and pull the 4 wheel drive lever back to neutral (this gives us room).

Now remove the ashtray and the 2 screws at the top of the bezel. Don't pull it forward just yet.

Step 6. Remove the panel below the steering wheel

To remove the panel below the steering wheel, you'll need to remove 6 screws. 1 screw on the left side of the dashboard, 4 screws under the steering wheel, and 1 screen to the right of the steering wheel. Gently pull this panel out.

Step 7. Pull the VIC bezel and glove box panel forward

You don't need to remove the VIC bezel and glove panel. Just pull them forward for some room.

You can also put your Jeep back in "Park" now and turn the ignition off to stop the lovely beeping.

Step 8. Remove dashboard screws

To remove the dashboard panel, you'll need to remove 15 screws. 4 screws on the driver's side, 3 screws on the passenger side, and 8 screws (give or take 1 or 2) along the bottom part of the windshield.

Tip: If you don't have an angled Phillip's head screw driver for this step, you can use an adjustable wrench and Phillip's head bit to remove any hard to reach screws.

Step 9. Unlatch Dashboard Panel

Once you've removed the screws, unlatch the 2 clips at the top of the dashboard panel. 1 clip is on the far left and 1 clip is on the far right.

​Just pull up on the clips and pull the dashboard out of the Jeep.

Step 10. Replace Passenger Vent

Once you've got the dashboard trim out of the Jeep, lay it face down so you're looking at its back.

To remove the broken passenger air vent, remove the 2 screws holding the passenger air vent in place and slide it down and out through the front.

Reverse this process to install the new passenger air vent.

Tip: Before screwing in your new passenger air vent, make sure to push it up as much as it can go so the top of it is flush with the trim on the front of the dashboard panel.