Locking Glovebox lid

[PeteB]

Do Prius in markets outside the UK have a locking lid for the glovebox?

In the UK, neither the Classic nor current Prius have a locking glovebox.

I would much rather have the option to lock this when I leave the car if I've put something valuable in it, like my PDA or portable SatNav. I may put them in the centre arm rest cubby, but this doesn't lock either.

I reckon that with deadlocked doors, a thief would have to smash a window to get in, which would set the alarm off. They might hang around for a few seconds to open the non lockable gloveboxes and centre cubby, but I doubt many opportunist thieves would hang around long enough to break in to a locked glovebox.

It would be nice if it locked/unlocked electrically, with the central locking.

What do other thinks?

Regards

PeteB - 02 Silver 'Classic' - 72k miles
Luton UK
Life mpg 51.43 ~ 42.82 ~ 5.49 ~ 18.21
(UK ~ US gal ~ I/100Km ~ Km/I)

[hdrygas]

Not in the US or Canada. Do you really think that any lock they would put in would stop a thief? I think it would just mean more damage to your car. The plastic cover could easily be broken. In really high crime areas people leave the glove box open and empty so they don't get their windows broken by someone who want to look through the car.

[PeteB]

Originally posted by hdrygas@Oct 29 2005, 06:49 PM
Do you really think that any lock they would put in would stop a thief?

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Yes, I do, in most cases.

You could still leave it open in such circumstances.

The two Prius I have owned, plus one other Toyota I had before them, are the only cars I've had since 1980 that didn't have a locking glove box as standard, or the ability to upgrade them.

Why would having the option to lock it make any difference to the risk of a thief smashing a window to find out what's inside, unless, as you say, it's left open for all to see? Certainly, I've never had a window broken in this way. The only times I've known this happen is when something has been left visible inside that car to tempt a thief, such as a jacket or mobile phone, or two cases where a laptop computer has been carried inside a car during a journey, then locked in the boot at a car park in full view of lots of bystanders - the drivers concerned were surprised to return to find their rear window and rear shelf broken and the laptops gone!

On the UK spec Prius (Classic and current) the doors can be deadlocked and an alarm is standard. Whilst the alarm doesn't stop someone breaking a window, it does generally make them keen not to hang around, as that increases the chances of being recognised.

The difference for me is that if I lock these things in a lockable glove box, on a car which is deadlocked and alarmed, and someone still gets to them, my insurance will cover it. Subtract the locking glove box and it does not.