After an oil change/road trip check...why would my glove box be on my passenger floor?

[Ladybug495]

Recently got an oil change and 45 point check up on my car.

Got into my car to pick it up after work...and the glove box is completely unattached to the dash of my car. The entire glove box is on the floor on the passenger side.

What could cause this???

I mean if you are a mechanic...is it part of a check up to take that out ...it got left off??? What would cause this?

Thanks!

[MagicRat]

Welcome to AF

It really helps to provide the vehicle make, model and year in any inquiry.

Without any further information, I would say this is very unusual. My guess is the mechanic removed the glovebox to access something behind the dashboard and forgot to put it back.

These 45-point checks must be done fairly quickly and involve checking important mechanical items like tires, brakes, struts, fluid levels, ball joints etc - all these items are accessed under the hood, or from underneath the car, or behind the tires. There is little to check inside the car on a 45-point check, and certainly VERY little behind the glovebox.

My guess is the mechanic needed to disable (unplug) the passenger-side airbag, so he could check something without it going off. This is still unusual, becuase mechanics rarely have any time or need to remove glove boxes and get in there, on a 45 point check - especially without giving you a reason.

It is possible (depending on the model of car) someone removed the glovebox to steal the passenger side airbag (these are valuable theft items) and did not put the glovebox back.

I would say go back to the mechanic and demand to know why the box was removed. Make sure they show you that the airbag is present and plugged in, and have them
reinstall the box.

[frbl]

My guess is that they checked the cabin air filter - often located behind the glove box in Toyotas - and were careless about placing it back in correct position. It can be a bit tricky sometimes.