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Plus all vehicles on company property (inside the maingate and outside parking lots) are subject to search.
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I presume there is a sign on the gate that conspiciously declares that all vehicles are subject to search.
Visitors should realize that the
only recourse the security personnel have if you refuse a search is to deny you vehicular access to the property. You can revoke your permission to search at any time. And searches are limited - for instance, they may not open sealed letters found in a briefcase nor inspect the contents of your checkbook register.
For employees, similar rules apply. You may refuse a search (and risk discipline), revoke permission, refuse to open sealed or locked containers inside your car and prevent security personnel from rifling through personal papers or items. Each carries a risk of being threatened with termination.
Because it is your car, you may also insist on only one person searching the vehicle at a time and that you be present to safeguard your investment against damage as well as revoke permission. Even if a prohibited item is found, security has no authority to seize the item - they can photograph it, however. Company property may be recovered or seized (it's the company's stuff after all) regardless of authorized possession or not.
In most cases, I would go so far as to require company agents to disclose what kind of items they are looking for and under what rules. It is important to get them to be as specific as possible. Claiming they want to look for "company property" covers everything from a computer to papers and even 3M Post-it notes. Claiming they want to look for "contraband" doesn't fly either as that could, in their mind, justify looking for a single marijuana seed.
This becomes important. If there is an allegation that a weapon may be in the vehicle and they want to read papers in your briefcase, they have overstepped by looking in places where there is no expectation to find a weapon. Likewise, if they claim company property, then defining the size of that property
before the search is important. While "company documents"
might be concealed under a rear seat or under the dash, removal of either is not required to satisfy their search. Searching for a computer monitor does not require them to open a small glovebox or the ashtray.
A court would be the final arbiter in determining if a company can claim grounds for termination if you refuse to let them search a place that obviously can't contain the search-target. Likewise, consent cannot be voluntary if any threats of termination are used, including euphemisms like "disciplinary action".