I have a 2002 Mini Cooper S, and yes, I've searched these forums and I know there is supposed to be a manual release for the hatch under the seat, but I swear to God I don't see one at all. I called the Mini dealership and his snide answer was "some hardtops had them, some don't" and gave me no work around at all.

Basically, we disconnected the battery because my steering wheel pump was going on it's own when the car was off since it's dying, and we didn't want the battery to die. We VERY LIGHTLY set the hatch lid down, which, unlike any other car I've ever owned, locked the damn thing shut instead of just resting on the latch.

Since the battery is disconnected, the FOB doesn't work, and Mr. Genius' design when making the car has the seat release on the inside of the trunk and not the top of the seat... so there's NO way I can get to this battery.

I need to be able to connect it again to drive it to the dealer to get my pump replaced. Can ANYONE please help me? There's got to be a way to manually open this trunk or to at least get in the trunk. Who freakin designed this POS?

 

Get another car and try connecting jumper cables to the engine. That should give you enough power to at least pop the boot.

Hope it works!

 

When it happened to my 04 I had to lift the back seat a few inches and squeeze my hand pretty far under to reach the loop attached to cable release...I couldn't find it either at first....good luck.

 

I opened it all the way, and I see nothing. :(

Also, that jumper cable idea sounds horrible. If the battery is connected, the current is at that point going through the car, with only the tires grounding it. There is no wire directly connecting the hatch release to that current, which would mean I'd probably run a huge risk of shocking myself.

There's got to be another way. Why wouldn't my S have a manual trunk release if it's a 2002? I checked passenger and driver side, and nothing. Is there a picture anyone could take as to where this is, because I don't see ANYthing. :(

 

The cable release was not standard equipment (till mid 2004?)....earlier cars were supposed to have been modified at a dealer visit.....IF you have the release....it is a cable, usually in the middle, under the seat.
But like I said, it was added on after production to MOST MINI's after problems, like the one you had.
I'm not sure if it was done as part of a service campaign, or recall of sorts....but ask the dealer...they MIGHT install it for nothing or a very low cost, even though the car is out of warranty (the better dealers might).
If you unclip the lower seat cushion, the cable would just be laying on the metal/sound deadening stuff under the cushion, usually in the center, or sometimes a bit to the right (you will also see the the fuel tank lines/filter access to the right)....most folks, after finding it once, just reach blindly for it, leaving the lower cushion installed. Just press down firmly on the cushion to Click it back into place.

 

Thank you so much for that. I'll look when I get home. I made an appointment so hopefully I can drop off the car in time tonight.

 

The simplest way to open it without the cable is to crawl into the back seat...reach behind the seat back seats (you may have to wiggle the shelf out of the way...perhaps lift it up a bit from the back edge, letting you un-clip it), then pull on the lever, allowing you to fold the rear seat flat...the the other seat. Then lift up the carpet, and connect the battery.

 

Lol, funny you mention that. I tried doing just that, but the damn shelf thing wouldn't lift up ... it hit on the back of the hatch door. I'll try it again if that doesn't work, but I don't think that would really work unfortunately.

Again, this car was designed by a reaaaally smart guy!

 

If you have a battery charger, you can hook it up to the positive terminal under the bonnet (next to the air filter) and a ground on the engine. Only a couple of amps (2-10, depending on the charger) but it should power it enough to pop the latch.
Then lower one of the back seats, for next time.

 

We all know the British and the Germans get along famously.....heck, there was that argument called WWI, then there was WWII......

To be serious I wish I had thought of connecting the battery charger to power up the car when this happened to me!! (I had forgotten about the under seat release and did the arm wiggling around the shelf routine....talk about making me worry about scratching the rear window defroster!!).

 

Ok well, I ended up doing the shelf wiggle, cut off circulation to my arm routine lol.

Since the door to the hatch wasn't all the way closed, it was able to push out just enough with enough force to get the shelf to come out of it's sockets. At that point, I was able to reach down and put the seats down.

Goodyear is doing the swap out on the part. Fingers crossed, all will go well. The stupid kid tried putting it in reverse and going with the E brake on, which didn't make me feel great lol. Though to be honest, it might be partly my fault because I was kinda babying the car while he was trying to get it ready for the shop. haha

 

early 02 did not get the latch installed later unless the owner made a fuss. there was no 'recall' or retrofit. we didn't get a jack either.

 

I noticed that the hard way....