Glove box hardware quality (minor rant)
10-30-2015, 02:43 PM
#1
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Glove box hardware quality (minor rant)
So on the inside of the right side of the glove box door there is a small plastic hook that the damper/strut attaches to, and that hook broke. No complaints there, after all it lasted 10 years, plastic gets brittle with age.
I got a new one from the dealer. $9 + tax for a little injection-molded clip, but ok, it's a German car and a Porsche. Again, no complaints.
Removed the old piece, attached the new one to the damper, snapped it in. Perfect. Until it too broke. In exactly the same spot.
Anyway, I drilled a little hole through the stump left when the hook broke off, passed an open paper clip through it and around the little rod inside the damper, twisted it, snipped off the excess and tucked it out of sight. However the clips holding the part into the hole in the trim were also brittle, and no longer held tightly. So I bonded it in with hot-melt glue. That part looks a little DIY (but I'm not entering it in a concours) but at least everything functions.
My WAG is the replacement clip was also 10 years old and just as brittle as the original.
I got a new one from the dealer. $9 + tax for a little injection-molded clip, but ok, it's a German car and a Porsche. Again, no complaints.
Removed the old piece, attached the new one to the damper, snapped it in. Perfect. Until it too broke. In exactly the same spot.
Anyway, I drilled a little hole through the stump left when the hook broke off, passed an open paper clip through it and around the little rod inside the damper, twisted it, snipped off the excess and tucked it out of sight. However the clips holding the part into the hole in the trim were also brittle, and no longer held tightly. So I bonded it in with hot-melt glue. That part looks a little DIY (but I'm not entering it in a concours) but at least everything functions.
My WAG is the replacement clip was also 10 years old and just as brittle as the original.
10-30-2015, 03:31 PM
#2
Nordschleife Master
Curious to know... was it from overusing the glove box or not using it at all?
10-30-2015, 03:37 PM
#3
Drifting
10-30-2015, 05:09 PM
#5
Nordschleife Master
10-30-2015, 06:23 PM
#6
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
I used to keep my sunglasses in the glove box so I used it twice a day.
Probably it would be guaranteed if I had let them install it (probably a half hour labor rate) but I figured they'd just say I broke it because I installed it myself. It was only a $9 part so if I ever decide to try another one it's not a huge expense. If the damper ever gives out I may try again. I think my DIY may last forever though. Now I keep my sunglasses in the center console and I locked the glove box. I feel lucky when the 1st one broke I had my hand under the lid so it didn't drop down full force and break the (also plastic) stop, because as I understand it the stop isn't available as a separate part from the glove box assembly.
Probably it would be guaranteed if I had let them install it (probably a half hour labor rate) but I figured they'd just say I broke it because I installed it myself. It was only a $9 part so if I ever decide to try another one it's not a huge expense. If the damper ever gives out I may try again. I think my DIY may last forever though. Now I keep my sunglasses in the center console and I locked the glove box. I feel lucky when the 1st one broke I had my hand under the lid so it didn't drop down full force and break the (also plastic) stop, because as I understand it the stop isn't available as a separate part from the glove box assembly.
