[Peter Serio]

Another thing you might want to consider is when the pad has been in-place for many years, the rolled edges of the steel former create a strip of vinyl all the way across the top upper edge of the defroster sheet metal that you don't see. Over time and heat from the sun old vinyl gets sticky as it sweats out some of what it's made from (kind of like a oil-glue resin). This will stick to anything the back of the pad touches, effectively gluing it in place! The problem is the force to break the glue bond may just as well be enough to also crack your dash pad since that old vinyl covering is now very brittle.