I disconnected my battery, mindlessly knowing that the whole thing would lock my out of it and no way into it. I've seen to pull the pin under the rear seats, but my model doesn't come with that feature. I've also seen to connect the front terminal with jumper cables, but that wouldn't work since the battery isn't even connected in the first place.

 

either put a battery in it or connect jumpers to the battery cables going thru the door and climbing into the back.

even if the shelf is in the back and the seats are up you CAN get your fingers in the gap to pull the latch and fold the seat ... been there and done that

I got similarly locked out way back when I first encountered the 'fan runs all the time when fan resistor goes bad' problem. Fortunately on a GEN1 you can use the key to manually open the driver door and then climb into the back.

 

Are you sure yours doesn't have the release cable under the rear seat cushion (it's not a pin, it's a cable with a loop on the end)? If you really don't have one, then it seems like jumping your car to another one (or just to another battery) would do the trick, whether or not your battery is connected. Just connect another car or a loose battery to the jump points under the hood.

 

My 04 Cooper S has a ring on the end of a cable under the left passenger seat to pull to open the boot. It was easy to find when I needed it. Maybe yours was removed?

 

 

early 2002 does not have the cable release

not considered a safety item there was no 'recall' in retrofit

you CAN get in the car and use the jump points in the engine compartment and open the hatch