Open the passenger door. Pry off the end cap on the end of the dash (the area covered by a closed door). Look for a cable loop at the bottom of the open area. Pull up on the cable to release the latch while simultaneously manually pulling open the glove box doors.

 

Hi Smassey321, Thanks for the response. Unfortunately, your picture looks like a different year/model BMW. As you can see in my picture, I have removed the end cap on the dash behind the closed door (on the passenger side) and removed the vent. I see no loop anywhere. I wish I did. Richard

 

Here are some daylight pictures from my 09 X5. The cable is mounted to the base of the electrical connector show in the pic. Was your passenger airbag replaced by the dealer? If so they could have left it unmounted somewhere under the dash. After my airbag replacement, half of my bolts were missing and the other half loose. That is how I found the loop in the first place.

 

Hi Smassey321- Yes! With that new picture and daylight perspective I missed the "LOOP" and it is so obvious! It is somewhat embarrassing that I didn't even think to look there. I am going to post a video for others that might need to open their X5 glove box when there is no power. I had scoured the internet. R

https://youtu.be/bL9gnCc70Pc

 

Glad I could help. I did see a youtube video of a 2011 E70 where the air vent had to be removed to move a lever. Perhaps they removed the cable from the LCI models.