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My 2008 A3 is still going strong but some parts are showing their age. Last night my wife opened the glove box, and now when closed it won't stay shut. The latches that are supposed to be spring-loaded no longer protrude (image with red arrows) and therefore don't hold the lid closed. I have taken the entire glove box out as I needed to check the AC/heater fan anyway (cleaned and noise-free ), to work on it in the house. I have looked for any screws or clips (yellow arrows on image) to remove the insider part of the glove box lid, but there is nothing visible. I am not sure if the felt is covering anything that would help remove the lid, or the whole inner lid is fused together. Everything else is in very good shape, so I want to try to fix it before dumping into the trash and getting a used part.
If anyone has done this before, please give me some pointers. I have looked on Youtube and the web, but I have not found anything relevant. I suspect the gear or springs have broke (image below). If I could gain access without destroying the inner side of the lid, it would be awesome.
If it's anything like my Golf lid, which shares the same platform as the A3, the lid is glued together. When mine broke, I came across some pictures of people using a heat gun to warm up the edges before they pry it open. It's not a pretty sight. Easiest route would be just to source another lid if possible.
Hi Guys, thanks for the tips. I looked around for both used and new. Cheapest used could be had for ~$130 and new for ~$240. Both included taxes and shipping. For an extra $110, I had pretty much decided to order the new one as I noticed several gloveboxes having broken hinges. Plastics age pretty badly on Audis; I think the UV light kills the surface finish making it soft, sticky and prone to scratches. All german cars have the same issue; I am not sure if the newer Audis have better plastic finishing (we'll see how my wife's 2018 Q5 ages), but I am hoping so as I have my eyes on an RS3 or SQ5. By the way, the inner and outer shell of the glovebox are glued together, so there is now way to service it without destroying it; even worse, the lid itself cannot be taken out as the hinge pin on one side is impossible to remove. Shame on Audi for not making this part removable; Audi rather sell the entire glovebox at a high price with lots of waste on our planet.
Returning to the glovebox issue, this what I did, and perhaps it will give ideas to others with a similar problem. Instead of spending $240 on new a glovebox (save money and landfills), I went ahead and used magnets to keep the glovebox lid close. I saw a couple of videos where people drilled used donut-like magnets and drilled thru, but they looked too rough for my taste. I used 1/4" magnets and fostner bit to drill thru two holes per side. I made sure I drilled thru both I used a total of 4 magnets per side. I glued them with JBWeld putty (awesome epoxy). It took about a day between drilling, gluing, and drying. IThe silver magnets add a nice contrast on the black felt. Also, the lid stays closed and requires a bit of force to open which is pretty nice. Assembly took 5 minutes. Here are a few pictures.
11-28-2019, 10:49 AM
Glove box lid lock latch repair
), to work on it in the house. I have looked for any screws or clips (yellow arrows on image) to remove the insider part of the glove box lid, but there is nothing visible. I am not sure if the felt is covering anything that would help remove the lid, or the whole inner lid is fused together. Everything else is in very good shape, so I want to try to fix it before dumping into the trash and getting a used part.
