I've seen this on 3 different cars so it must be a somewhat common issue. Any suggestions for a fix? Pretty cheap design for an MB

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You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime you just might find you get what you need.

Due to the size of the switch and the location of the locking tabs, you'll have to remove the plastic panel. Pull out the vent louvers; remove the vent closing button; use an allen wrench to disconnect the vent closing arm connected to the large flap at the rear of the panel and then unscrew the fasteners located on the bottom of the piece, under where the louvers were. Then you can pull the triangular piece out. Disconnect the switch from the harness, then push the switch in from the front. Take care in the removal since the plastic may be brittle after all these years.

If you look closely, it appears that the left mounting tab on each side of the switch molded into the plastic panel is broken off. If I remount the switch, it will push through again. Guess I could try to hunt down another plastic panel but I was thinking that someone might have devised a great modification to the panel that fixes and prevents this from happening?

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You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime you just might find you get what you need.