I don't recall seeing the battery in the engine compartment?

Where it be?

 

Its on the passenger side, under a plastic cover, directly in front of the windshield.

 

Agreed! The only problem is how to remove it if it needs replacing, as it does not appear to fit through the plastic access cover. Has anyone had experience with this?

 

you can just take that cover off. a socket wrench will do it. 3/8 i believe.

 

...or the metric equivalent. That would be a 10mm.

 

I have emailed MINI USA about the following...

How did MINI get away with putting the battery in the air path to the drivers compartment?

Air flow in behind the hood, across to the passenger side, through the batter compartment and then to the microfilter then into the car.

Does that seem bad to anyone other than me?

Better hope the battery stays sealed and does not over heat.

That is the only email that MINI USA has not responded to.

 

The air does not go through the box into the passenger compartment.

 

Mine does, take a close look. My dealer agrees. Open the battery lid and look down inside, you can see the micro filter clearly.

 

From what I can recall, the battery is vented outside of the airstream the same way the previous MCS battery was vented outside of the passenger compartment by a small hose.

 

If you have an R56, please go look. Maybe I am missing a panel inside the compartment that keeps the battery out of the airflow.

We opened one other R56 battery compartment at the dealer and it looked the same as mine.

 

No I can't.

 

Then I must be missing a part in there.

Can anyone else see the micro filter? Open the battery lid and look inside past the battery toward the back.

I can clearly see the air channel from the center below the windshield and the microfilter that leads to the drivers compartment.

I will see if I can take a pic, be right back.

 

I'm actually more worried about battery acid being sprayed all over the passenger, in the event of an accident.

 

Let's not jump to conclusions any more than I already have. It's too dark to get a good picture with my camera phone.

Here is exactly what I see if I open the battery compartment lid. Looking just behind the negative (-) terminal, I see an oval opening with rubber around it. Down inside that opening I see a white microfilter.

 

I stopped at the dealer on the way home. In the sales area we opened the battery compartment of two R56 cars. In both we could see the microfilter thru the oval hole behind the negative battery terminal.

Went down to the service department and we opened up two more R56 models. In both we could see the microfilter thru the oval hole behind the negative battery terminal. The service manager said...

"This is how they are made. The battery is a sealed gel cel and there is a vent tube here on the left side that vents under the car. There is no way the battery can vent or leak into the drivers compartment.... Yes that is the microfilter for the drivers compartment you see there."

 

I feel much better about this now.

 

There is no way battery can vent or leak... unless you are in an accident or battery explodes due to excessive heat or other failure...

 

So have you guys looked in there? Can you see the microfilter thru an opening behind the negative battery terminal?

How about you LynnEl?

 

The battery is indeed under an aero panel in the front right cowl. It's vented to atmosphere, because the HVAC microfilter is behind the battery. Yes it's strange. The battery is traditional lead/acid, not a sealed gel cell. It's the same battery [or very similar looking] to what came in my R53's.

 

Well it does not look like a gel cel to me either, just quoting my dealer. It has warnings on the top about explosive gases, can cause blindness, keep vent caps tight, etc....

So now I am wondering if any one has a cover secured to that oval hole with the rubber seal around it.

 

I don't know why you'd want to block off the HVAC air inlet!

 

Good point, my bad. I just wonder what LynnEl sees if not the oval opening and the filter.

 

It took me awhile to see the filter. LynnEl may not have looked hard enough.

 

So the air flows through the battery compartment and into the drivers compartment through the microfilter. The battery is a lead acid battery, and there is a vent tube that runs down the side of the battery and out of the air passage. Still I am concerned.

So what is the best way to raise this concern to MINI?

 

If an accident impact gets that far into the chassis to impact the battery, then in my opinion that is the least of our worries. I think that that location is probably one of the safest and protected spots of the car. I would much rather have it there than behind the back seat. Im sure that BMWs safety people have analysed all of the factors around this fact.