HELP NEEDED …..LEFT SIDE GLOVE BOX

[DOUG WARD]

My left side glove box dose not open I’ve tried and tried
Anyone had this problem before
Can anyone help

 

[wspollack]

My left side glove box dose not open I’ve tried and tried
Anyone had this problem before
Can anyone help

I have not had this problem, on either my former '22 C 400 GT (5,000+ miles) or on my current '23 C 400 GT (6,000+ miles). Nor have I read about this problem in the 2+ years I've been reading the forum.

That said, I wonder if some wire providing power to that glove box got disconnected. There's a plug right in back of that compartment -- here's a page from the shop manual:



Also, when that wire-pair makes its way over to the right side, I'm not sure whether it plugs into the wire loom over on the right, or whether it is simply part of the factory loom (i.e., without a plug). If it does plug in, it might be one of the connectors shown in this photo that I took a couple of years ago, when I was tapping into the wires on the right side:



(That's a pic from my C 400 GT gallery -- this particular image and caption: https://billanddot.com/C400GT/#S-21 .)

Removing the side panels on each side, in order to take a look, can be done in less than an hour, as I did this a few times on each of my two GTs. It just involves removing a bunch of T25 screws and pieces with half a dozen or so metal spring clips on each side, and working methodically along each piece. I mostly use a set of nylon trim-removal bars from a USA store (https://www.harborfreight.com/nylon-pry-bar-installer-kit-4-piece-63594.html ) and occasionally a trim bar from Wunderlich (https://www.wunderlichamerica.com/Plastic_Combination_Wedge_Workshop_Tools) to do this sort of work.

If it's not an electrical connection problem -- for instance, if it's a physical problem with the latching mechanism itself -- then I got nuthin', no suggestions, except maybe a brute force attack, and then replace the mutilated door (which looks easy, once it's opened).

Good luck.

 

[DOUG WARD]

Many thanks for that when I have some spare time I will start stripping to have a look ..
THANKS AGAIN

 

[Orell]

I'm in the same situation. My left glove box is stuck in the closed position. The problem is accessing the mechanism: it's impossible to remove the trim panel without opening the glove box. Please help!

 

[Orell]

I have not had this problem, on either my former '22 C 400 GT (5,000+ miles) or on my current '23 C 400 GT (6,000+ miles). Nor have I read about this problem in the 2+ years I've been reading the forum.

That said, I wonder if some wire providing power to that glove box got disconnected. There's a plug right in back of that compartment -- here's a page from the shop manual:

View attachment 5540

Also, when that wire-pair makes its way over to the right side, I'm not sure whether it plugs into the wire loom over on the right, or whether it is simply part of the factory loom (i.e., without a plug). If it does plug in, it might be one of the connectors shown in this photo that I took a couple of years ago, when I was tapping into the wires on the right side:

View attachment 5541

(That's a pic from my C 400 GT gallery -- this particular image and caption: https://billanddot.com/C400GT/#S-21 .)

Removing the side panels on each side, in order to take a look, can be done in less than an hour, as I did this a few times on each of my two GTs. It just involves removing a bunch of T25 screws and pieces with half a dozen or so metal spring clips on each side, and working methodically along each piece. I mostly use a set of nylon trim-removal bars from a USA store (https://www.harborfreight.com/nylon-pry-bar-installer-kit-4-piece-63594.html ) and occasionally a trim bar from Wunderlich (https://www.wunderlichamerica.com/Plastic_Combination_Wedge_Workshop_Tools) to do this sort of work.

If it's not an electrical connection problem -- for instance, if it's a physical problem with the latching mechanism itself -- then I got nuthin', no suggestions, except maybe a brute force attack, and then replace the mutilated door (which looks easy, once it's opened).

Good luck.

I'm in the same situation. My left glove box is stuck in the closed position. The problem is accessing the mechanism: it's impossible to remove the trim panel without opening the glove box. Please help!

 

[wspollack]

I'm in the same situation. My left glove box is stuck in the closed position. The problem is accessing the mechanism: it's impossible to remove the trim panel without opening the glove box. Please help!

Having just looked at my (open) glove boxes: you're right. I had forgotten that there's a sideways screw, from the box into the panel (along with a bunch of spring clips in the panel).

My apologies for not recognizing this conundrum in my earlier post.

I still got nuthin', unfortunately.

 

[wspollack]

I'm in the same situation. My left glove box is stuck in the closed position. The problem is accessing the mechanism: it's impossible to remove the trim panel without opening the glove box. Please help!

Having looked at the parts fiche for the C 400 X (https://shop.maxbmw.com/fiche/DiagramsMain.aspx?vid=62064&rnd=10232024 for instance) and my own '23 C 400 GT, the only thing I can figure is to use a small pry bar, or perhaps a very tough auto-trim tool, and pry open the door. The part of the door that the metal locking mechanism grasps is only plastic, and might be the only thing to break.



The door, which includes that plastic bar and its support, isn't all that expensive, and you can probably find it for less than the price at my local dealer (above).

BMW can't make it too easy to circumvent the lock, or it wouldn't be all that secure.

Bonne chance.