Clearing broken glass from vent

[Bumblebee]

I have a 2016 Gen 4 Prius Excel. Last night someone broke into it by smashing the front passenger quarter light glass. Some of the glass fell into the vent next to the quarter light. As far as I can tell, I will have to remove the very top trim panel from the dash to get under the vent to clear it out. Do I actually need to fully remove the panel, or is there some way of lifting it just enough to get under it? Sorry I am a complete noob at this.

I have contacted Autoglass to get the quarter light replaced, but I don’t know if they would clear glass from this panel for me.

Also does anyone know about the legality of driving with the hole blanked out by a piece of card secured by masking tape? I can still see the side mirror easily and my view is mostly unobstructed.

 

[Roy124]

On you last point, if you drive safely you should be fine.  It is the swept area that should be unobstructed. 

Regarding broken glass it is a complete pane 😕 in one car I have to remove the door panel and even then difficult.  At least you should not have any in the door. 

[Bumblebee]

There might be some inside the door. I seem to be finding pieces in many places. Most went in the front passenger footwell, but the pieces that ended up in the vent on top of the left side of the dash are bothering me the most.

[Big_D]

I have a pair of forceps in my tool box which I use on a regular basis to pick up all sorts of things in tight space. It will be a pane (pun intended) to pick up each piece of glass individually, but may allow you to get most of the glass out without having to remove the trim.

[TonyHSD]

Auto glass has Henry vacuum cleaner and it will take care of everything. You can not drive the car with broken windshield. It may pop out completely or go inside if you drive at speeds over 40mph. Risk ain’t worth it. Police also may penalise you for that too. 👍

[Roy124]

Tony, a broken quarter light is no different from driving with a window open. 

Bob, the operative word there was MOST 😒

Tony yes, let Autoglass have first go.  They will have come across this before and likely in a Prius. 

[Big_D]

MOST is quite correct. It would also take a PANEfully long time (I've got to stop with these window pane puns 😁)

[Bumblebee]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Big-D, I might invest in a pair of those, but I will wait to and see what happens when they do the replacement. They are having to order the glass for me, so I will probably have to wait a couple of weeks. Youtubers say to remove the side pillar trims before the top dash trim. It looks doable, but I'm not very confident, especially with airbags nearby. If Autoglass cannot extract the pieces from the vent, then I might leave it for now and get a local garage to do it for me (I have a good one locally).

As for the legality of driving, see the picture. I have blanked the gap with stiff card and black tape, and it all seems like it would withstand the motorway. Obviously I cannot see through it, but the main window is ok, and my view of the side mirror is unobstructed. I showed it to an Autoglass technician who thought it would be ok, but what do you folks think?

[Roy124]

BB, actually that is a design feature on the Corolla 😁

Looking at the 'hole', having broken the window did they actually break in?

[flash22]

A vacuum cleaner and a small hose, or an old, tried and test method - blue tac on a stick

[TonyHSD]

Ooh, I thought we are talking about windscreen. That small side window it’ is not an issue, you can drive like that and no one will even notice. Just remember to pay extra attention when approaching roundabouts and junctions as this is enough to hide a bus or lorry 🚛. 👍

[Bumblebee]

Thanks again for your replies.

Tony, that's what I figured, but just needed a bit of extra assurance.

Roy, sorry for any confusion. They did not gain full entry to the car. They reached in through the hole and stole my hardwired Dashcam.

Flash, your idea might be worth a try. As long as I don't end up with glass AND Blu Tack in the vent!