I noticed the door on my glovebox was a little wobbly... and couple times flopped open on its own.
Closer inspection, both hinges are broken. But each is only "half broken". On the right side of the door, the hinge pin had actually fallen out and was rolling around in a trim part down there, and this was the wobbly side. The door still sort of worked... opened on command / button ... but once or twice the lid just popped open for no reason while driving...which is what prompted me to look at it today. When hinges break the door droops and the latch slips ... pop! door flops open on passenger's knees.
Each hinge is made up as 2 molded plastic extensions coming down from the box liner / insert. In between these extensions, the door has its plastic extension, and when all holes line up a pin is inserted from the side, pressure fit. To hold the pin in place it has a roughed up end that bites into plastic enough to keep it from sliding back out.. It was these pressure fit sides of the hinge that split and cracked..
What would cause these hinges to break!?
Easy!! rolling objects (a pen) can almost roll out when you open the door, but it stops rolling at the edge of the bin and falls down in between the door and bin so when you shut the door again it's like a nutcracker pressure on that pen... guess what gives? The plastic hinge.
Might have been a better design to allow fallen objects to fall free and down to the floor. But they are caught by a trim piece in suspended animation... where they become obstacles to a closing door.
To renew this part... it's a whole new glovebox insert / liner.. because it's formed all as one part. The hinges themselves are not replaceable. Erg!
Closer inspection, both hinges are broken. But each is only "half broken". On the right side of the door, the hinge pin had actually fallen out and was rolling around in a trim part down there, and this was the wobbly side. The door still sort of worked... opened on command / button ... but once or twice the lid just popped open for no reason while driving...which is what prompted me to look at it today. When hinges break the door droops and the latch slips ... pop! door flops open on passenger's knees.
Each hinge is made up as 2 molded plastic extensions coming down from the box liner / insert. In between these extensions, the door has its plastic extension, and when all holes line up a pin is inserted from the side, pressure fit. To hold the pin in place it has a roughed up end that bites into plastic enough to keep it from sliding back out.. It was these pressure fit sides of the hinge that split and cracked..
What would cause these hinges to break!?
Easy!! rolling objects (a pen) can almost roll out when you open the door, but it stops rolling at the edge of the bin and falls down in between the door and bin so when you shut the door again it's like a nutcracker pressure on that pen... guess what gives? The plastic hinge.
Might have been a better design to allow fallen objects to fall free and down to the floor. But they are caught by a trim piece in suspended animation... where they become obstacles to a closing door.
To renew this part... it's a whole new glovebox insert / liner.. because it's formed all as one part. The hinges themselves are not replaceable. Erg!
