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Comment by brandonp0 | Hacker News Reader

I hate a lot of the touch screen controls in the Tesla - like AC controls. But the glovebox is actually pretty nice. Being software controlled means I can require a PIN to open it. Also, there's no handle so it doesn't even look like a glovebox is there. If someone breaks in they probably aren't getting to any valuables in the glovebox.

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> Being software controlled means I can require a PIN to open it.

Combination locks have existed for centuries now.

I've got a prybar and a battery powered angle grinder that suggest your buttonless glovebox isn't as secure as you think.

Right, but the average thief is probably not that familiar with a Tesla, and even if they are, these guys move very quickly. Their goal is to get in and get out and move to the next car. They're not going to sit there with an angle grinder unless they somehow know you have something good in there.

The average thief is probably not N is not a safe bet for most values of N. Pros exist and technique gets spread from person to person. BITD car stereo systems were the target of choice and I assure you they were significantly more difficult and time consuming to remove than popping open the glovebox on a car that's missing a button. All I'm saying is if car companies are shilling this bs as a security measure I'd take that with a rather large grain of salt.

The average thief is a lot smarter, stronger and good with tools than you think.

They also network and know a lot of stuff.

They know that people rarely put anything more valuable than a few coins in glove boxes and so rarely bother opening them.

Seen a lot of cars that have been broken into, seen a lot of open glove boxes too.

rare is not never, so if the effort is low enough some will open them and search quickly.

Source?

I bet it takes mere seconds to angle grind your way into a glovebox. Thick hardened steel bike locks resist angle grinders for less than a minute. Thieves also talk to each other and spread techniques.

I bet it takes mere seconds to angle grind your way into a glovebox

I bet I can rip it open in a second. The box itself is all plastic, not steel. A good yank and it will deform.

I can rip the whole console/dash plastic off if I want. It's just plastic tabs holding it in.

The lock only prevents sneaky access.

Angle grinders are surprisingly bad at cutting some materials. Thick plastics that become all melted and sticky and then catch fire are one of those.

This is bizarrely accurate. 1/4 plate steel? Zero issues. Wood anything? Forget it.

I'm pretty sure my steel toed boots could open the glove box really quickly.

My car is 22 years old and has a key lock on the glovebox. It even rejects the valet key in case I wanted to give someone access to my car without giving them access to the glove box. This is a solved problem.

I’m the exact opposite of you. I like most of the touch screen controls, including the AC ones, but the number of taps it takes to open the glovebox always irritates me.

Yes. AC is ok to not be so accessible. After all, if the car has a decent temperature regulation system (as it should), with a decent PID, you set up the temperature once and don't touch it for long time.

Dude, the 2018 Citroen Berlingo (cheap family car) has a glove box without a latch. I didn't even find ours for the first week, because it is in an unusual spot where you would expect the airbag.

https://youtu.be/cNpGQWtgoRA?t=2m15s

Mechanical hidden latches existed for ages now.

you keep valuables in your glovebox?

I keep a revolver in it.

There are so many reasons why this is a bad idea - first and foremost - where do you keep your registration and insurance?

There's more than one storage area in the car. I use one of the center console spots for that.

So you store a weapon in the area where police are expecting you to reach for and instead store your license and registration to one of the spots where police are trained to prevent people from reaching into because of the fear of storing a weapon there.

I also hope that you either live in a state where there aren't any CCW permits required or that you have a CCW permit (which during my class, they went on and on about why you shouldn't store a weapon in the glove box).

Regardless - locks on glove boxes have been a thing for a long time. Having a PIN Enabled glove box even for your (imo very stupid) use case isn't enough of an argument to make touch screened glove boxes standard.

Presumably OP could warn the cop before opening the glove box that they have a gun there, so that the cop expects it instead of being startled by it.

yeah, that worked so well for Philando Castile.

free gun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH0Qx26iDTU

So nothing valuable...

I didn't say I kept my valuables in the glovebox. I use the PIN to keep someone from getting hurt.

It's always good to keep your gun out of reach of yourself if you have a questionable character. Thx for that*

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