The upper glove box does not have a lock on it yet i cannot open it. We've had it since new and this is only in the last few months. Been playing with it, but can't figure it. It feels the same as when we lock the bottom glove box.

It seems as if the latch assembly is the same as the locking one, so i guess I could buy a latch and and try and cut it out.

Any ideas on why a non keyed lock jams locked. And I can pry it open far enough that I don't think anything is pushing against it.

 

hahahahahhaha

this is common problem. let me save you the headache.

dont try to pry it, your just f-ing it up even more.

get a drill or dremel, drill CAREFULLY! at the center of the latch, BEFORE YOU START, LOOK AT THE BOTTOM GLOVE BOX.. NOTICE HOW THAT HAS A KEY HOLE? YOU WILL DRILL JUST ENOUGH IN THE SAME MANNER TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE THIS. drill a hole like that. slowly. it will REVEAL THE KEY HOLE, use your key to unlock it like you do with the bottom glove box.

NOWWWWW, after you unlock it, switch the latch/locks. from the bottom glove box to top, so at least it looks aesthetically pleasing, unless you did such an amazing job drilling the top hole it looks clean still.

you also gained a freebie, now you have 2 lockable glove boxes.

YOUR WELCOME

I can show you pics, but its simple and i hope my directions were clear enough.

This forum really needs more active mods to stickey FAQs and walkthroughs.

edit, you ask why it would start not to unlock, it just starts to stick, maybe spray some wd40 or something on it after

EVERY NOW AND THEN, the lock you switched that was having issues.. it will start catching and acting up again and will not be able to unlock even though its unlocked. No problem, just unlock it again with your key.

*****ALSO NOTE***** Remember, from the factory you are given a few keys. All turn on the car, but there are 1 or 2 keys that although turn on the car, will not open the glove box locks. This was pointed out as it was to be given to valets so they don't steal your stuff. SO IF YOU DO THIS TRICK, and the key you have doesn't unlock the glove box, (well you already know if you couldn't lock the one that had a key hole to begin with) then it means you have the Valet key. Get the original key that unlocks everything, if not, youll have to pick the locks

 

Makes perfect sense. I'll try it in the next few days and report back.

Frank Tauss

 

HI,

This is very cool, however I have a similar problem(on my 2001 Montero Limited) with the lower lockable glove box, except I locked it and now it won't unlock! I removed the upper box, but it doesn't look like I can get the lower one out to try to figure out what is going on.

Does the ignition key lock these boxes or is there another key...the reason I ask is when I locked it, it seemed to be a bit more difficult to lock than it should have been. Maybe this should have been a warning for me.

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated

Rod

 

Thanks a bunch for this. Worked out perfectly.

 

I am having the top glove box problem on my 03 Montero and will follow the advice of drilling out the centre to reveal the lock. Meanwhile, and I know the post was in 2011, a while ago now but others may come here. Only the ignition key will operate the lock on the lower glove box, there is another key supplied which will start the car but will NOT unlock the glove box, it's for use by valets so they don't steal your stuff. While tinkering with my lower box today I had the problem whereby the normal key locked the lock on the lower box but then suddenly it would not unlock it. I compared the two keys and there is a very subtle difference. I went back to the proper key and fiddled and jiggled it and in the end I got it unlocked. I will never lock it again!

 

can you please post pictures

 

Right I drilled through the plastic of the top glove box latch mechanism to reveal the cylinder, I used the bottom glove box latch cover as a template, very accurate and hit the key entry point of the lock cylinder/barrel dead centre. However when I inserted my key the lock barrel/cylinder would not turn, so quite disappointed. I thought now I will have to butcher it to get the glove box open and buy a now latch mechanism, I phoned the local Mitsubishi dealer only to discover it has an almost $200 price tag, needless to say not a pleasant surprise. So this morning I took my car to a local locksmith (Santa Fe Lock and Key) and was charged $5 for him to pick it for me and open the glove box. Now I could go home and fix it. The lock cylinder/barrel only has one leaf in the barrel to make it a simple lock which any ignition key would open unlike the lower glove box which has five leaves. I removed the leaf which had malfunctioned and ditched it cleaned everything up applied some lubricant and put it all back together and it works fine. I used black felt tip pen on the shiny end of the lock cylinder/barrel to make it look pleasing to the eye, so now I can open the latch either with the plastic squeeze catch or use the key - BINGO! I hope anybody coming up behind with the same problem finds this useful. How can Mitsubishi justify an almost $200 price tag for such a cheap latch? That is the price of one tyre for my Montero, Don't you just love the name of the very same car in UK "Shogun" much sexier than Montero and they still make them over there (2014) but of course it has to be a diesel, and why not?

 

Thank you very much

 

Dude... thanks so much for these instructions! Just got a 2003 Montero Limited and started having trouble with the top glove box. Drilled a hole and, boom, there was the key hole. Key worked fine... switched the two locks as you suggested and it looks fine to me. Probably drilled too hard because I went into the lock a bit, but no big deal. Here are some pictures.