Had a pdr guy remove a door ding near my drivers side vent. He had to get it out to get his dent tool in there. When I talked to him at the end of the day he said he nearly gave up and that it was a nightmare to get out. He had my bentley manual and he does this for a living every day.... sooooo?? I'd probably be nervous about breaking it too!
I got them out with some patience and a plastic frosting spreader from the wifes collection of do-dads--You need to push on the grill at the 1st and 4th fins(with the spreader or similar tool) on both sides to separate it from the air guide (after removing the screw from the top)there is a groove in the guide at the bottom left corner so you need to push it up and to the right after you are sure it is separated from the grill--Personally I think an overpaid engineer overthought this one.