[YellowLP500]

Hey there,

hope, everything is going well on your side and that you are enjoying some relaxed drives Here in northern Germany, its still cold and car season has not started yet.

My driver side's glove box in the knee panel was not sitting right and it bothered me all the time, it hung down a bit on the right side. Just had an interior detailing session in my garage and decided to "get it in shape" again. I went under the knee compartment and wobbled that thing a bit, removed the 2 screws holding the cover and one important thing - that i did not see in that moment - was that it just went out of the metal spring holding it, only on the right side... so i removed the cover completely and now i am lost installing it again

Has anyone every removed it? Do i have to remove the whole knee panel or is there a simple trick to put the red tabs in the metal springs on both sides?

Appreciate your help! Thanks so much in advance.

Best regards from Hamburg.

 

[Jinster]

I don't have the answer but I am going to keep an eye on this thread.

Mine is loose too from years of gravity. It drops open every time I hit a speed hump. I gather the spring will need to be replaced.

From what I can see being sold on eBay and the like, the console and the box is sold as a single unit for $$$.

So I hope your repair works.

Good luck.

 

[YellowLP500]

@Jinster thanks, will update here if i find a solution. From what i see, there are different types of metal springs / some revisions, first it was a flat simple metal spring, later it was a spiral spring and even later they changed the system again. Mine is a very early first-gen 2004 model. My springs seem to be intact, but it looks nearly impossbile to put it back in without removing the whole panel. There are 3 screws on the bottom and some weird threaded rods on top, dont know yet how to get to them and screw them off.

 

[YellowLP500]

This is what it looks like (pic from eBay)

 

[YellowLP500]

Interesting Video that helps loosening the lower panel as seen above:

 

[YellowLP500]

Hey everyone,

worked it out this weekend. The video above helped me a lot. You have to remove the speedometer to remove the knee panel that holds the R button and the glove box.

For me, it worked like that:

1. Remove the plastic speedometer trim by just gently putting your hands on the lower "rings" and drag it in your direction (see video), it just unpops and is fixed with clips. Be careful with scratching the leather on the sides, maybe use tape to protect it
2. Look for the 2 hex screws (T25) below the dashboard instrument (1 piece), you need a long screwdriver or extension to reach them!
3. Remove the small leather piece on top of the steering compartment and remove the speedometer gently
4. Unplug the 2 connectors of the speedometer (green and blue one, they have a small lever, just lift them and they will pop out)
5. Use a 8mm nut with a small ratchet to remove the 2 nuts that hold the 2 rods (see pic 2) on the upper side of the knee panel with the glove box (1 left and 1 right, see diagram above)
6. Remove the small leather panel on the left of the dash (with a spatula) and 1 screw
7. Remove 2 screws on the lower side of the panel (above the trunk lever) and on the right side (holding a silver metal bracket)
8. Wobble the panel gently and be very careful with the R Button (if yours is not that nice anymore and has some wear, good possibility to change it here), remove it and mark the correct position (if reinstalled wrong, you will get an error message in the dash)
9. Remove the panel by moving it a bit to the top, like a 20-30° rotation (so the 2 rods on top can make their way through their canals)
10. Then you can see the mechanism that holds the glove box - there are several revisions, early models have a plain metal clip / metal spring
11. Repair the spring mechanism - depends on what is going on (mine was just popped out so i had to reinstall it and clean it up
12. Good possibility to clean the whole thing with Dash Away and leather cleaner
13. Put it in in reverse order

Please be very careful. I am not a professional car mechanic so no recommendations here If someone found a better way, please let me know.

Time needed: around 2.5H for whole operation.

Pics: