A rather strange anomaly just occured. At times, my glovebox didn't close properly, so I slammed it a few times and it stayed closed. But one day, it wouldn't close at all, regardless of how many times I slammed it, and to this day, the entire contents of my glovebox (and a hanging disconnected glovebox light) are exposed to passersby who walk by my car when it's parked at home. Not cool. I just bought a new upper latch from the stealer and that didn't do the trick; the glovebox simply won't click into closed position. Has anyone had this issue and how did you resolve it? I'm short $15 now.
did you check the three bolts behind the box if they are not on then the box will not stay up and i had my lock get stuck and not open so i broke the lock and had my box just hanging there but it works now.
I'll take a look at one tomorrow, but sometimes the glovebox breaks at the hinge and won't line up any more. Sometimes it is the outer latch with key, and sometimes it just cracks where the handle assembly screws on. It can be adjusted if nothing is broken, but it requires light tweaking of sheet metal sometimes.
Did you get a chance to look at one, Paul? It's getting kind of embarrassing to have to say "There's nothing wrong with the car! (Except for the glovebox latch)" Oh, and forgot to mention; Rickbee, yes, all of the screws/bolts are intact and in place in the glovebox area.
az3579: Take a look at the latch part on the glove box itself, not the dash. It is only held on by two screws. Take it off and make sure all the little parts are there and not broken. I have had the plastic crack on mine and then it would not close properly. I was able to get another from a salvage yard. Another thing that can go wrong are the two little pins that function as the hinge, one or both of these can slip out over time. If one or two are missing, your can replace them with small screws. Just don't over tighten, leave enough play so it works like a hinge. Good luck. GR
No, the latch I have is brand new. I just bought it from the stealer, like I said in the original post. I really hoped it would fix the problem but it still won't close. Those pins are of no concern. I have no problem with their function; they hold the glovebox just fine, and are tight in their places (I still need pliers to pinch them out).
Is it a possibility that something is preventing the latch catches from making it all the way into the square hole they catch on to, as though the glovebox won't close entirely?
To me, it sounds like your latch isn't going high enough for the securing tabs to clear the catch edges, (which, if it did, the latch tabs would spring out and be secured against the edge of the catch). As I recall, (haven't had to deal with it for awhile), there is a little wiggle room with the mounting screw positions for the rectangular sheet metal piece w/ the hole in it that the tabs on the lock itself catch into (listed as 'the catch' on realoem.com). Loosen the screws securing the catch, and move the catch downwards as much as you can, and retighten the screws to hold it down into a lower position. Make sure the catch isn't bent (as suggested above) and be careful not to bend it as you apply some pressure/force to it to move/pull it down. Likewise, I think there's a small smidge of wiggle room with the latch. I don't think the latch can be adjusted vertically without it moving forwards as it might be adjusted upwards - If my memory's correct on that, that means it's possible to misalign it; ideally, you don't want the latch binding on the catch as you move it into closed position. If you have everything lined up perfectly, the spring loaded latch tabs should be the only things that touch the catch as they pass through the catch opening, and it should shut without requiring extra force, or going through any deflection. If you get it all aligned correctly and shutting & opening freely, and it's too low (glovebox edge gap being apparent), then you'll have to try to raise the catch a bit, which might then require raising the latch a bit. If fully closed is out of the range of adjustment you have with the latch/catch, you'll have to adjust it for as best as you can get. Unless of course, there's some other issue causing the problem! Good luck w/ it -
