Today I went out for a drive in my S cabrio with the top down. I took along my nephew for the ride. We stopped for a few minutes a to get a drink, but when I tried to start the car, it was completely dead--no lights, nothing. I had noticed the battery had a slightly loose terminal earlier, but didn't get the chance to tighten it up. I just didn't think it would be a problem. BOY WAS I SORRY.

Can you guess what comes next? Since there was no power at all, I couldn't open the back hatch to get at the battery, AND....because the top was down, I COULDN'T GET AT THE THE REAR LATCH TO PULL IT OPEN MANUALLY. AND...I obviously couldn't get the top up either....nothing.

Has anyone ever encountered this problem? Luckily, I had my brilliant nephew with me, who, after seeing that we were in a potentially hopeless situation, found a small wire stand for signs the store used. He fashioned a 10 inch long metal probe, with a hook on the end, and, after some digging around in the back, he was able to pull up the back seat latch from behind the folded top and fold the seat-back down. I could then pull the latch to open the rear door. Awesome, HE SAVED MY BUTT.
Needles to say, I immediately tightened the battery terminal when i got home.
HAS ANYONE ELSE ENCOUNTERED THIS? I would think that all cabrio owners should carry a coat-hanger with them at all times to avoid this rare, but potentially disastrous mishap!!

 

What about just calling AAA for a jump start ?

A positive terminal is under the bonnet next to the air box or was the terminal to the battery so loose it had no contact with the battery at all ?

 

A jump woudn't work....the car was DEAD. The positive terminal on the battery was loose, and there was no juice. I had noticed it was a little loose earlier, but didn't have the tools with me, and I decided to put it off until later. Big mistake. This is a rare problem, but it happened to me. I say keep a coat hanger in your cabrio.

 

Wow....that is loose....so loose it had no power at all...not even a single amp.
I don't mean to make you feel bad, but it was, in this case, 100% Avoidable with a single turn of a wrench.....I wonder if the nut on the battery terminal was ever fully tight...the soft lead of the terminal deforms a tiny bit to the clamp....and they rarely come loose....heck even 4x4 folks usually have the battry case crack when loose before the terminal connection gets loose.
Good to hear you found a way to get at it and remedy the situation!!

 

Yep, I feel pretty stupid, it WAS 100% avoidable. When i tightened it later, it took a few good turns to get it tight. I have no idea how it came loose in the first place. Just glad my nephew came with me. But, I still would classify this as a design anomaly. They should factor in stupidity.

 

Yeah....the hatch (most of them...depending on build date/dealer mods) have a cable to pull under the back seat to avoid this issue...mini added it after a few situations kinda like yours....I guess these little quirks just add "personality".

 

I HAD the cable pull....but I couldn't get at it because the top was DOWN. AND I couldn't access the rear seat-back release either because the folded top was in the way. It was a perfect storm of events that I don't think MINI thought about.

 

"Since there was no power at all, I couldn't open the back hatch"

the latch on the rear doesn't work w/o power

 

The outer latch doesn't, no. You need to use the inner if you lose power.

 

If I see any problem at all I like to take care of it """THEN""" not when it totally causes a breakdown.

You should have took care of that battery problem when you noticed it, Not after it left you stranded.

At least it was a good learning experience for you. I'll bet you will fix things when you see them from now on.

It could have been worse-IT COULD HAVE STARTED TO RAIN

 

I guess thats why you're in 6th gear and I'm in 2nd! I posted because I thought it was a really unusual problem, not so much for my error in not taking care of it right away. I had never thought of this possibility, and it looks like MINI didn't either! Caveat emptor.

 

I'm just saying if you see a problem with your car you need to repair it Right away.

I don't think you will find any late model car that is not totally dead when the battery dies. All brands and all models need the battery to let all of the electric items work properly if at all. This is not limited to the Mini.

It is just a sign of the times.

Sorry if I offended you but I'm sure you will fix anything that pukes on your car as soon as you see a problem.

Look in the owners manual and see if there is a wire or something to open the trunk if the battery dies. Maybe someone with a Vert can answer this for you.

The Mini I have has a key on the Fob that will unlock the drivers door if the battery dies but I don't know myself about the hatch. I'll have to look in my Manual myself. My Battery is under the hood.

I'm glad you got home OK and happy there was "NO RAIN"

 

I wasn't offended in any way. Regarding the emergency latch to open the trunk, the only thing you can do is to pull the latch by sitting in the rear seat and reaching back into the trunk area. The problem is of course, in a convertible with the top down, thats impossible. There is literally NO WAY you can open the trunk if you're out of power...unless you do as I did (or my nephew) and make some kind of tool that will pop the seat latch so you can then access the trunk latch. Sounds confusing, but my misfortune just might save someone else's ***. Thats why I posted.

 

The Owner's Manual has instructions for manually opening the tailgate of a cabrio.

Pull up the rear seat bottom and you will see a rod/hook tool for reaching the rear seat back release. It will allow you to fold down the seat and access the release pull.

 

I will have to check mine in the morning but I seem to recall a key lock on the top of the seat backs to fold them down. mine is an 06 vert

 

There is indeed a lock on top of the seat backs. If you lock it, the seat back won't fold down. It's for security, to help prevent theft of things in the trunk if you park with the roof down.

This is also in the owner's manual. So... RT..

 

This happens to me all the time. I just drive with the rear hatch open like them truck drivers.

What MY is your cabrio? Mine is an '06 and there's a hook under the rear seat that you can use to hook onto and pull the hatch open from the inside. The rear backrest can be folded down by unlocking it at the seat-belt tensioner.

 

I found the hook under the seat and you can peer down the crack behind the seats and see the latch on the back of the seats, so that seems doable. I also found the locks on top of the back seats, but I could not get mine to do anything. They turn 90 degrees, but it doesn't release the seat back. Does that only work when there is no power?

 

So the answer is...I'm crazy then? I thought that hook was for opening the rear hatch.

 

Yes, the hook is for opening the rear hatch. The chance that a thief knows of its existence and function is probably very low... unless the thief is/was a Mini owner.

 

Ok then, I'm NOT crazy. Its not for the seatback.

 

Well, what do you know? For the first time in 120 million years, I'm wrong!

That hook under the rear bench/seat is used for releasing the rear backrests...

I did a visual check and followed the instructions on page 30 of the Owners Manual....

1. Use the ignition key to unlock the catches of the rear backrests. (The key only unlocks the catch; it doesn't release the backrest.)

2. Fold up the rear bench and remove the hook attached to it.

3. Using the hook, reach between the convertible top and the rear backrest to pull one of the levers for releasing and folding the rear backrest.

4. Pull the handle on the inside of the tailgate to open it.

Man, that would suck if the battery dies on you at night.

 

Okay.....let me get this straight....then I AM crazy? So no coat hanger needed! I thought I read that part in the manual, but I must have been royally pissed and in a hurry, so I didn't quite absorb what I was reading.
At least my experience can be a warning to all the cabrio owners out there.

 

Yep... I too failed reading comprehension!

 

I've been thinking that it's weird (and inconvenient)that you can only lower the rear seats from the trunk, never realized until now quite how much.

And why do people always need to point out if you had fixed something right away it would never had happened? Isn't that obvious? It's like "I told you so" but without the advance warning.

so what purpose is the lock on the seatbacks supposed to serve? I may not be thinking this through correctly so please feel free to enlighten me.

You can only lower the back seats from the boot.
with the roof up you can't pull that plastic thing to access the trunk out of the way (maybe i'm doing it wrong, it's dark out and i didn't try that hard) and i cannot reach the seat release (only 5'2" perhaps a taller person could)
with the roof down it is not possible to even try either of these methods.
so all the lock on the seat backs will do is prevent a mini owner/thief who knows where the hook is from getting into the trunk. or REALLY screw you if you've locked your keys it your trunk.

am i right?