X5 glove box lock fix

[craigsx5]

How I fixed a faulty glove box latch on my BMW X5 e53.

Hi guys, Just had some great success on finally fixing a faulty glove box latch on my BMW X5 e53, 2004 model (not the motorised version).

Everyone complains on these forums about the bad design of this latch.....and it IS really bad! I had been putting up with a faulty latch for years, by simply not using the glove box at all, or occasionally using the key to jiggle the latch open. Even the BMW service guys couldn’t fix it and didn’t know why it would get stuck shut, as the 2 parts to the latch looked in good condition.

After only a few years, the plastic nub at the back end of the key barrel gets slightly worn on the side that makes contact with the steel lever on the inside of the inner latch mechanism. This means that when using the latch handle to open the glove box, the nub on the back of the barrel ‘falls off’ the lever, and then gets caught up on it when the handle is released.....jamming up the lock, and keeping the glove box lid shut.

After various attempts to fix the problem, I stumbled onto a solution, without having to buy a new lock.......

The worn nub at the back of the key barrel needs to move slightly ‘closer’(by 1-2mm) to the steel latch, to prevent it disengaging on opening.

To achieve this, after removing the 2 pieces of the lock, simply cut tiny pieces off the soft rubbery plastic which sits around the 2 screw holes on the front of the lid. I used a small, sharp chisel (5-8mm) and a very small box-cutter knife to carefully pick away at it, to match the profile of the base plate (each around 7x10mm) on the handle . Cut the plastic back down to the metal frame. Then screw the 2 pieces of the latch together, really hard.

Anyway, the 2 parts of the latch mechanism now are around 2 mm closer to each other, and the lock barrel nub now stays in place. The lock now works perfectly! It took about 30 minutes.

I hope this helps others with the same problem.