O2 MCS
Battery is dead and I can't get the trunk open-locks aren't working!

 

unless u want to tear apart the trunk area to manually open the hatch, you'll need to do the following:

use a jumperbox / cables under the hood of the vehicle. next to the air intake is a (+)Battery post. use the passenger side engine mount or other engine ground location for the (-)ground cable.

 

If you can get into the car, climb into the back seat area, and simply lift up on the front edge of the rear seat's bench portion. It should pivot up after you feel it unclip. Look in the center of that bench area, under the seat pad you just lifted, and you should see a release tab. Pull it, and it should release the boot manually, without the need for battery power.

I know this from experience, as I had to get into the boot to install my battery in the springtime, after I had shut the boot hard the previous fall.

 

both of these will work! happened to me before also. i use the under-the-seat-parachute-pull-looking-cable to fix mine in these situations, opens it right up but you might need another person to pull up the hatch while you release it.

 

In the early 02's, they didn't install the manual boot release.

 

MOST/MANY dealers retrofitted them (mine in Peabody MA said they did most under a service campaign...they did it, and got PAID by MINI, free to the car's owner for the service period) if the car went in for MX...it is about a 5 minutes job...all you need is a drill, and the cable...
So regardless of the year, ALWAYS reach under the seat to check for the release cable.
I do admit, MANY early cars were sold to folks that lived MANY miles from the dealer....so many never went back, but it is worth a 2 second feel under the rear seat.

 

my 02 saw the dealer regularly until sold in 09

dealers in two different states

no one ever offered to install the release.

 

Yep, no cable release. And the post under the hood won't charge.
Can't believe I can't open the doors from inside without a battery. ( not this time but happened before. Locksmith had to let me out. Never tried the sunroof yet$).
I'm getting too old for this...
Thanks for the help in my time of need, seriously, I appreciate the quick responses.

 

Whoa! You're saying that you can get to the POS post under the hood with a jumper battery and it doesn't work!?! Then you don't have a good ground. Double-check your connections.

 

Can't believe I can't open the doors from inside without a battery.

Hmmm ... some parts are not adding up. Once the bonnet is open, a properly connected set of jumpers should provide juice.

And the door opening from the inside is mechanical, not electric. However it does take two pulls if the locks are set. Pull one pops the lock button and pull two opens the door. Mechanical - just as is opening the drivers door with the key.....

Unless your cables are broken/displaced but I thought in that condition the electric didn't work either. Could be wrong on that tho . . . never experienced it.

**

You CAN get to the battery in a 2002 S, even if the rear seats are up, the parcel shelf in place and the boot locked. I've done it more than once as a very early 02-S owner who experienced the fan controller failure long b4 it became a topic here and it ran my battery to zero. I wasn't smart enuf to figure out the jumper to the post under the bonnet solution the first time around.

You CAN get your hand between the shelf and the seat back and pull the latch to lower the seat. That shelf piece is very flexible - it won't break - if in doubt ask someone with a smaller hand to help. This gets access to the battery . . .

 

I keep a battery charger that attaches to my 12V outlet inside the car. I had a Mercury Mountaineer die on me once and the hood was stuck. Kept one ever since.

 

Shows the amazing difference in dealers...first time i went to the dealer for an oilchange, they updated my ps fan wiring with the service bulitin update, splitting it from the rad fan (mine was late 2004 production, but 2005 my) and they added the cable, and switched out the trunk latch to the updated part that did not rattle....never complained. They just did it. Then told me about it. Guess i lucked out with a good SA and dealer...very proactive.
the line about getting stuck in the car....
i recall a little tidbit...about how if you locked the interior doors with the keyfob button sitting in the car, you might have an isdue getting out...

 

i got 2013 back door only can open with the remote keys any way for manual solution guys thnks

 

i have had have several times where I tried to jump the battery from the post under the hood. with a tow truck. left the cables on for a long time, nothing. guy swore my battery was dead. went to the back and car started right up. went to the dealer, they said it wasn't supposed to work. there is power at the post. dealer said the cable just isn't big enough to carry enough power all the way back to charge the battery.charge all the way back to the battery. discussed it in thread a few years ago, other members said theirs didn't work also. my ground is good.
not sure what you mean about the doors being mechanical. i once left a friend in the car, thought they had gotten out. walked away and locked the car. she couldn't get out from the inside until i unlocked the car. I told him i wanted to have a large enough cable so that it WOULD work, and he said it couldn't be done. really?
i keep a small jumpstart battery in the car at times and can crawl back and lift the lid and the jump the battery from inside no problem, if I have the battery pack in the car.
there is no mechanical hatch release--its not there. the rear seat pad is removed from the car. its not there.
when the battery is dead, the doors don't unlock, not with the remote or the toggle. not from either door, and never has. doesn;t matter how many times you pull the door handle.
Yes, it doesn't add up, and i have talked to the dealer about this. my local dealer has been notriously inept about the car. once i was hit from behind, pulled over with the car running. turned it off and it wouldn't turn over to start up. called the dealer cuz i figured there must be some kind of safety feature that disabled the engine in an accident. nope, they never heard of such a thing. i believe there is such a thing and that was indeed what happened (again, discussed a few years ago on this board).
wonder what it would take to get my dealer to address these issues? i didn't buy my car from them, and thank goodness.

really, no one else has had this problem???

 

Not sure why you cannot open the doors with a key to get in or use the door handle to get out with a dead battery....i have done both....just like having to unlock the door with a key to access the rear trunk realese cable.....very simple...just a hole drilled in the rear latch...and a cable attatched to it...so insread of it getting moved electrically, it is moved manually....if you look at another mini with this mod...you can copy it yourself....
what is your cars production date? Some very early cars ARE quirky...made with a few prototype parts that are kinda nonstandard..things are usually limited to suspension parts mostly, and engine mounts on early 2002 cars...but others are possible i guess.

 

PS
With a dead battery, the remote or the toggle CANNOT work....YOU MUST USE THE KEY....you stated they do not work....that is why the key can open the drivers door...

 

If you can't apply 12v. to the POS. terminal in the engine compartment, then there is definitely something wrong with your power bus. I have a small ODYSSEY 680 gel cell for a battery in my '05 MCS and leave a Battery Tender hooked up to the POS. terminal in the engine compartment when the car is not in use. The battery is over 8 yrs. old and has never failed me.
Failing that, once you get into the car, plug a charger into the cigarette lighter and turn the ignition switch to the first position. (Some MINI's cigarette lighters are not "hot" when the ignition is off). You should then have enough "juice" to flip the unlock toggle switch.

 

Thanks Zippy, my key works fine when inserted into the lock on the handle to open the door. Problem is when you get inside the car and close the door with a dead battery. Someone outside could open the door with the key, but alas, the key is inside with me. And now there is no way to open the doors from inside the car.
I'll let the dealer install the hatch release cord for me, and that will provide a way to exit the car. I tend to drive around with stuff in the car, so getting thru the hatch will usually be a bit challenging, but do-able.

 

I'm not sure why, when I have talked to the dealer about this (more than once) they didn't tell me there was a possible problem and therefore a solution. they just said it wasn't ever going to work. guess I need to have a sit down with the dealer. if popping the bonnet from inside the car let someone apply a charge from outside, it would be somewhat safer.

my battery hasn't failed except when it runs down because I left the lights on. I will try to leave a charger in the car now that its winter and I use my lights all the time. will try the cig lighter trick if it happens again.
thanks!