It should be no surprise that people have stuff, and when people travel in cars, that stuff has to go somewhere. Obviously, the trunk is the best place for stuff you’ll be removing at your destination, but what about a place for stuff that’s meant to travel with the car? I’m talking about the glovebox, which is used for storing just about anything except for gloves.
Not only has the glovebox become the de facto place to stash an owner’s manual, it’s also great for keeping little, less frequently used things out of sight and out of mind. It’s even lockable on many cars for a little extra security, should you wish to keep something valuable like a code reader or a spare set of headphones in there.
Now, my Boxster doesn’t have a glovebox, and the only things in the glovebox of my 325i are copies of the registration and proof of insurance, but the lifted Miata? Its glovebox is a cornucopia of treasures and tales, so let’s unpack the contents of this in-cabin drawer, aside from the usual paperwork.
Next up, a bag of chalk. In the first lifted Miata piece, I detailed how this was a group buy of sorts, and some of my friends like to draw on the bedliner-clad exterior, Top Gear-style. Admittedly, I’m more partial to mud than chalk, but the chalk exists in the glovebox for a reason. Whatever makes people smile, right?
Lastly, we have a spare brake bleeder. When we picked this thing up, a hardline to the right rear wheel had rotted out, and with a rusted bleeder in the caliper, we figured we could just flare and bend a new line, extract the old bleeder, pop in a new one, and everything would be dandy. Well, we ended up with leftover hardware, so into the glovebox it went. Will we ever need it? I’m doubtful, but you never know.
So, what’s in your glovebox? Are you one of the few people who actually uses it for gloves, is it essentially barren, or do you have a few essentials in there? Perhaps mints, or a slip containing the code to your radio. As ever, let us know in the comments below, because we’re curious.
(Photo credits: Thomas Hundal)
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
What’s The Least Safe Car You’d Daily Drive Your Kids In? Autopian Asks
-
What Is The Strangest Control Placement You’ve Seen In A Car? Autopian Asks
-
What Car Was Most Mismatched With Its Engine?: Autopian Asks
Got a hot tip? Send it to us here. Or check out the stories on our homepage.
My glovebox? Nothing really, just the necessary documents. My wife’s glovebox? All kinds of whacky shit the needs to be in a car for…reasons.
The usual: tire pressure gauge, some ancient gum, paperwork – but sadly no owner’s manual – if anyone has a spare manual for a 1993 Honda Today Associe, I am interested.
I also keep a hairbrush which happens to be the same color as the car (stolen from my daughter).
My daily is a Jeep Gladiator and the glove box is pretty small. From memory, it contains:
-A big stack of fast food restaurant napkins
-a small travel pack of Band-Aids
-registration
-insurance paperwork
-Ziploc bag with a couple of tampons/pads (for my wife and daughter)
-dog poo bag holder
I also have a 1972 Ford LTD coupe that I drive to car shows and when I’m bored with my daily. It’s glove box has:
-power trunk release button
-owner’s manual
-registration
-insurance papers
-paper map of Route 66 (the car’s dependable, but this is wishful thinking, LOL)
-the stereo’s detachable face carrying case
From what I remember (I am not going down to my car to check just now), my glove box contains:
and probably not much more than that, actually.
Pretty much the same across all four of my vehicles:
insurance and registrationcharging cable or twomisc interior screws I didn’t reinstallvariety pack of fuses just in casea microfibera tuning cablepistol
Nothing but dried mouse piss in my Corvette’s glove box. I’m probably going to have to tear apart the dash to get rid of all the leftovers from when mice were getting in.
All of them have a little pouch/pocketed thing for holding the manual(s), registration, and insurance; otherwise, it varies by vehicle.
’21 JL: gloves! Nice, fleecy ones. Also, the window sticker.
’09 WK: USB cable from the stereo (with attached Lightning connector), gas receipts from my last road trip, a few napkins, window sticker.
’03 TJ: loads of napkins, at least one pair of sunglasses, ice scraper, tire pressure gauge.
’97 ZJ: window sticker (and other assorted dealership papers), old university parking pass, USB and Lightning cables from the stereo, plastic box for holding the stereo’s faceplate, microphone for optimizing the stereo’s equalizer, bendy straw of unknown origin, packet of plastic utensils from Subway (the logo is yellow and brown), assorted paper napkins.
Once you get to the under-seat storage, things get more interesting – but that’s about all that fits in the glove box.
Manual, registration, .38 Special
GT86: gloves, handbook, charger cable, an old Covid era mask.
Europa: no glove box. Phone charger cable on the shelf where the glove box would be, handbook in a leather holder in the boot/trunk with the tow eye and some gloves.
Suzuki Swift: all the tissues in the world, compacted to the same density as oak. Also a handbook.
In the glove box of my T100 SR5:
-Registration
-Insurance
-Owner’s manual
-Spare lugs (don’t ask)
-15 year old Garmin GPS
-Flashlight
-Grand-dad’s rosary
In the Pack-Out crate on the rear bench:
-Tire Iron
-Jack
-Jack stands
-Motor oil
-Coolant
-Brake fluid
-Brake bleeder kit
-Box wrench set
-Raincoat
-Headgasket sealer kit (don’t ask)
Registration, insurance, a spare pair of safety glasses, and depending on which car, somewhere between 2 and 2 million napkins. The Prius has 2 gloveboxes, and the bottom one is just napkins. How did they all get there? No one may ever know.
“Friens” on Thomas’s brake bleeding kit package should be spelled “freins”
In my glove box:
* registration
* insurance card
* AR-15
* user manual
* machete
* paper map
* handkerchief
* wheel lock key
* 2 kilos of Colombian powder
* pen
* old temporary disabled parking placard I never remember to take out
* 6 Viet Cong hand grenades
Be a real pain if you accidentally pulled a pin on one of those grenades while grabbing your wheel key
I don’t know, most likely the factory stuff. I don’t think I’ve opened mine since I got the car about two years a go. Baby seat in the way, so it’s not easy to access.
Owners manual, registration, insurance, tire gauge, USB cable.
The usual + string back gloves for my automolove and the obligatory 10mm wrench.
*Not* the owner’s manual cos that bloody thing took up all the space and who needs those anyway? That’s what Reddit forums are for! /s
But other than the license and registration docs, a tire pressure gauge and some napkins, I can confirm that I do *not* have a pen in there either. I thought I did. A pen would have been helpful just yesterday. I need to add a pen. Thanks for the reminder.
Honestly don’t know. Have to dig into the infotainment screen to open it (Model 3) so I haven’t been in there in a couple years.
A bottle of astroglide, for the times the DOT wants to inspect my semi. I know I’m gonna get bent over, and DOT officers don’t use lube, so I figured I better bring my own.
Do they panic when they get to the scales?
9times out of ten, they are lizards too
Zip ties latex gloves tyvek coveralls bear spray, just the usual
Don’t forget black garbage bags for when you need to get rid of the evidence.
I use glad kitchen catchers, they are in the trunk with the tarp
Whatcha got in the
trunkglovebox?Oh… You don’t wanna look in there.
Of course…what’s in the
trunkglovebox?You don’t even know what’s in your own
trunkglovebox! And you know what? I think you’re afraid to find out!It’s all right I don’t blame you for being afraid.
Oh well. I guess you’re right. It’s better not to look.
Beautiful evening. You can almost see the stars.
I’m too lazy to go back outside and look, but I do know that there’s a bunch of paper garbage like receipts and stuff, a couple of pens, a mask, a packet of felt chair leg pads, an old Garmin that needs to be updated, and a pair of leather driving gloves.
the center console has a bunch of loose change, a tire gauge, hand sanitizer, an aux cable, and like three of those little cling film things they stick to the windshield after an oil change. There’s a baseball hat and some sunblock in the car somewhere too.
You have gloves in your glove box?!?!
There was one of those in the glove box when I bought my car, but the seller took it before handing me the keys…
https://images.app.goo.gl/vneQ4f8sH9uyfxwn8