I just managed to pick up the 2 center dash vents at a used auto parts store. I got one out (the one on the left side of the console) but I can't fit this new (used) one in! I used a long flat head screwdriver to try to pry it in, but that didn't work -- I even cracked one of the horizontal slats on it (now superglued). There has to be a trick to this... doesn't there?

Thanks

From my diagram, it says to remove the instrument panel before you remove register 2 (your vents).

I show two screws holding Register No. 3. Top left and bottom right of the register. Without taking the instrument panel off, that's the best I can do.

thanks. ohhh... so I wasn't supposed to pull it out the way I did..yikes.
What diagram do you refer to? And what does the term "register" refer to?

Thanks!

A register is the same as a vent. Plastic gadget that blows air.

My diagram is the dash from a similar model Camry. Your Camry may mount the register differently than what I show, but it's the only reasonable reference I have.

I was finally able to get the Chilton's guide at the library (it had been checked out) and made sense of this... thanks again. I naively thought that those things just popped in and popped out of the dash!

A register is the same as a vent. Plastic gadget that blows air.

My diagram is the dash from a similar model Camry. Your Camry may mount the register differently than what I show, but it's the only reasonable reference I have.

That's the kind of difference you will see in a Toyota or Honda (for example) and other lower quality brands. Some may just press the registers in place where they will rattle after a few thousand miles. Using screw fasterners on such an inoccuous item so that it never rattles is the trademark of quality engineering. That's also why you pay more for Toyotas and such. It takes money to fasten these items - on every car. A thousand details on each car adds up.