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Thread: Glovebox not opening. What do?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Brunei
    Posts
    55
    My Cars
    1990 BMW 850i

    Glovebox not opening. What do?

    As title, my glovebox wont open. Upper or lower latch. The buttons are 'free' in a sense they can be pressed fully but nothing happens.

    Turning the key lock in the glovebox does nothing either.
    91 BMW 850i LAGUNENGRUEN METALLIC

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Corpus Christi Texas USA
    Posts
    524
    My Cars
    850ci, M5, Alpina B7
    Same thing happened to me but the top only. Its still locked

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    waltham MA
    Posts
    6
    My Cars
    92' 850i,00' 740il
    So early this year i had the same problem, but fortunately with a little engineering i was able to fix it. What happening is that there is a little hatch inside the locking mechanism, where when you press the button it pulls a lever which in turn releases the hatch. Unlocking and locking won't help with fixing the situation. what happened with mine and i supposed yours is that the lever that pulls the release of the hatch has snapped for one reason or another.

    What i did to fix it:
    I managed to get the locking mechanism free, by unscrewing it from inside the top glove box (I'm not sure how to access it, if both are not opening)
    once i had the mechanism out, i saw that a small plastic lever was broken.
    I machined the exact shape of the lever out of aluminum (they sell the entire mechanism online but its a little costly for my budget)
    Then i put it all back together.
    Hope this helps!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Philadelphia, PA
    Posts
    76
    My Cars
    e31 e28 e53 e92
    diag_52c.png


    I had to do this to mine, i also could not get either glovebox to open... part #3 in pic needs to be rebuilt but unfortunately your going to need to get both boxes open first to get to it to rebuild it. I opened both my boxes with a flashlight and bending a wire hanger... if you see in the pic the 2 latches come together at those 2 slots in the middle of part #4. using a flashlight you can see the actual latches inside the lock mechanism, bend a wire hanger and PUSH the 2 locks back to the un-locked position, the box will open by itself when you do. Then do the same to the bottom box. The only other way to open the boxes would be to force them open (which will either break the hinges of each lid held in place by 3 tiny dainty screws) OR the lock latch... both are pricey. The latches your looking for are directly in the CENTER line of both lids. I took my time and got them opened via this method one at a time. GL

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