Spook,

The putty knife trick did not work. The entire latch mechanism seems to move in tandem - locking lug and catch bar together. I'll give it another try but am not hopeful. I believe I retrieved everything of value. Now my problem (assuming that I am giving up on getting the glove compartment open) is to get the bottom molded cover back in position. There are some tabs on this cover that fit into slots under the glovebox. I don't see how I can get it back into position. But that was the only way I could extract the contents of the glovebox.


As far as the driver's power seat, the left hand side of the seat is too far back to fit a socket around the bolt head. I had removed the cover but there is insufficient clearance. This side of the seat is definitely farther back than the right hand side. I probably used excessive force when moving the seat back from its almost full forward position after my short teenage daughter had driven the car. Ever since acquiring the car 15 months ago, the front-to-back mechanism had been erratic. It would only move in short bursts, and needed "help" to move. I guess I helped too much and skewed the seat in the process. At least I had read the FAQs to know about the potential for problems with the air bag, and had disconnected the plugs. I'm reluctant to whack the seat for fear I will damage the drive gears. I thought I could disengage the drive mechanism and slide the seat forward enough to get the bolt out but no luck.

Thanks again for the excellent and detailed advice. Any other suggestions will be eagerly entertained.

Best regards,
Ron