Glove box and central locking security

Obviously, I like to park with the top down at times...so here is my dilema

I set my alarm and the doors, trunk, glove box all lock....GOOD
I reach in and try to open the door, it will not open....GOOD
I try the trunk and glove box, can not open....GOOD
I try the trunk release button (footwell), it is disabled...GOOD

I reach in and hit the unlock button (center console), doors stay locked, trunk release is still disabled....but glove box is accessible....BAD


I reach for my door handle and pull, the door unlocks....BAD
Trunk release is still disabled....GOOD
I open the door, and the alarm goes off...GOOD

It seems to me that if the alarm is set, and you have activated central locking, you should not be able to unlock any device by using the unlock button. I can continue to hit the unlock button (prior to opening the door(s)) and nothing happens. No sounds, no relock, no more unlocking of the doors.

So, is this normal? is there some programming that should keep the glove box locked?

I had an E36 and you could not unlock the car without the keyfob or the key in the door (there was not an unlock button inside the car) so you could not get in the glove box, when the car was locked.

I know the glove box is not the most secure spot in the car with the top down, but, with it locked, it helps keep the honest people honest.

I can lock the glove box manually , but then it is locked all the time and I would need the key to get in.

I can't really help other than to concur; my car has this exact behavior. I'm wondering if it's for safety -- on my E36 you could actually lock someone inside the car, where their only hope for escape would be to slice the convertible top.

Interesting. If I lock with the remote and the top down, the glove box locks. If I unlock the remote once (driver's side door) the glove box unlocks. But I hadn't thought to check this with the center main lock button. Both of my 2001's had broken wires inside the glove box latch which I had to re-solder. (And there's something about locking the glove box with the handle half open - which seems to put my car in valet mode. But I've not quite figured this out yet.

I'll get back to you on this.

if you roll up the windows, how do you reach the glove box without opening the door, let alone the door lock button???

Maybe it is to keep you from getting locked in the car if the windows are up

Originally Posted by cityjohn

I can't really help other than to concur; my car has this exact behavior. I'm wondering if it's for safety -- on my E36 you could actually lock someone inside the car, where their only hope for escape would be to slice the convertible top.

Yeah, my E36 was the same way, no unlock button inside. Pulling on the door handle did no good.

I can see the button unlocking the door, but I would think that the glove box should stay locked.

Originally Posted by robmpulse

if you roll up the windows, how do you reach the glove box without opening the door, let alone the door lock button???

This is all with the assumption that the windows and top are down. I like to keep the windows down when the top is down.