Latch mechanism with status indicator

A latch mechanism for securing a door to a compartment of a vehicle, said latch mechanism comprising:

• a housing configured to be connected to either the door or the compartment;
• a cap having a central axis and mounted for selective rotational movement relative to the housing about the central axis between a latched position and an unlatched position;
• and
• at least one indicator interposed between the cap and the housing, such that the cap is in covering relationship to at least a portion of the at least one indicator in the latched position of the latch mechanism thereby indicating to a user of the latch mechanism that the latch mechanism is in the latched position and the door is secured to the compartment,
• the at least one indicator being mounted for radial movement outwardly from the central axis relative to the cap as the cap is rotated from the latched position to the unlatched position such that the cap is no longer in covering relationship to the portion of the at least one indicator thereby indicating to the user of the latch mechanism that the latch mechanism is in the unlatched position and the door is not secured to the compartment.