Stupid Move BMW, REALLY Stupid !

[NYF32DRIVER]

I notice that there have been a few threads about how to access the trunk with no power / a dead battery, etc.

I checked my two week old 2010 135i today. THERE IS NO KEY ACCESS FOR THE TRUNK. BMW has OMITTED the "Keyhole".

Is this an across the "model board" thing ?

This is a VERY STUPID move on the part of BMW. I am aware that you can (and should) jump the car from under the hood, BUT the battery is in the TRUNK the Manual is usually kept in the trunk (it wont fit anywhere else) and most people if they HAVE jumper cables, keep them in the TRUNK. NO, I don't have the "ski bag".

NO POWER, NO TRUNK ACCESS. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE BMW, but this decision was just plain STUPID !

I hope that I've gotten my point across : )

We should ALL contact BMW NA about this issue because sooner or later it
may affect all of us.

Joseph

[iamthewalrus]

Originally Posted by NYCE90DRIVER

I notice that there have been a few threads about how to access the trunk with no power / a dead battery, etc.
...
Is this an across the "model board" thing ?

Yes, this decidedly a poor design. When the battery died on my 2006 X3, I had to open the driver's door with the key, reach around to open the back door, and then drop the seats to climb into the back to get my jumper cables. Not a helpful design. If your back seats don't fold down, then you're screwed.
If you have an iPod adapter, do NOT leave your iPod plugged in. I can't prove it definitively, but the three times my X3 battery died, the iPod was always plugged in.

Have fun!

[ZneeK]

You sure there's no keyhole? I thought my E92 had none, untill the car was on a bridge and i noticed a keyhole hidden somewhere....

[gts135]

Without looking at the owners manual or the car, if I remember correctly, my salesguy and I talked about the fact that you can use the key to open the door, release the hood, open that up and voila, there are power posts in the engine compartment to boost as needed. Please correct me if I'm wrong - without going outside and checking I believe the hood release is mechanical.

[TunedM2C]

The first model year has key holes. SOL after that.

[BroDoze]

I don't see the issue here. OP, do you understand how DC electricity works? Just jump it under the hood. I'm glad there's no key hole.

[Cisitalia]

With all do respect, this topic is so old and boring which has been:

Consider this work around fix: attach an auxiliary wire to one of the rear seat latchs and bury it between the seat and side cushion. If no power and you can't get in the trunk, push your fingers between the side seat cushions and fish out wire and pull. Now the seats can be folded down and you can pull the inside trunk release.

Or as most people have found, just hook up a battery to the +/- terminal posts in the engine bay.

[MarkR171]

I keep my book of manuals in the glove box. Fits perfectly there.

As for the battery, just don't drain your battery, and if you do, don't lock the trunk.

[Sylon]

Originally Posted by gts135

Without looking at the owners manual or the car, if I remember correctly, my salesguy and I talked about the fact that you can use the key to open the door, release the hood, open that up and voila, there are power posts in the engine compartment to boost as needed. Please correct me if I'm wrong - without going outside and checking I believe the hood release is mechanical.

Yes, you are correct, there are jump points under the hood in the front of the car. However, where do 99% of people who own jumper cables keep them??? In that trunk, that on our cars, you cannot get to.



As for the wire attached to the rear seat latch, I dont think that would work either. The release latches pull toward the back of the car. If the wire is attached to the latches, but the only way to pull them is toward the front of the car, then the seats won't release. Kinda hard to explain my point without visuals.


Our best bet (if there is room) is to keep your jumper cables ina tight coil and place them under the passenger seat. Maybe some velcro will keep them from shifting during driving.

[Cisitalia]

Originally Posted by Sylon

As for the wire attached to the rear seat latch, I dont think that would work either. The release latches pull toward the back of the car. If the wire is attached to the latches, but the only way to pull them is toward the front of the car, then the seats won't release. Kinda hard to explain my point without visuals.

I did not say hook the wire to the plastic handle. The plastic handle is not the latch proper. I know hooking up to the plastic handle wont' work. If I really cared about it, I would remove one of the rear seat latch mechanisms then install a aux wire from the latch release and reinstall the actual latch mechanism. I know this would work. You might not even have to remove the latch to attach the wire. This is a fairly simple approach and the wire would not have to be very long at all.

[kioko12]

Originally Posted by NYCE90DRIVER

I notice that there have been a few threads about how to access the trunk with no power / a dead battery, etc.

I checked my two week old 2010 135i today. THERE IS NO KEY ACCESS FOR THE TRUNK. BMW has OMITTED the "Keyhole".

Is this an across the "model board" thing ?

This is a VERY STUPID move on the part of BMW. I am aware that you can (and should) jump the car from under the hood, BUT the battery is in the TRUNK the Manual is usually kept in the trunk (it wont fit anywhere else) and most people if they HAVE jumper cables, keep them in the TRUNK. NO, I don't have the "ski bag".

NO POWER, NO TRUNK ACCESS. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE BMW, but this decision was just plain STUPID !

I hope that I've gotten my point across : )

We should ALL contact BMW NA about this issue because sooner or later it
may affect all of us.

Joseph

Strange. My 2008 135i has a hidden keyhole where the trunk release handle button thing is. You have to look under by the handle in the back...right by the license plate lights.

[NYF32DRIVER]

Originally Posted by kioko12

Strange. My 2008 135i has a hidden keyhole where the trunk release handle button thing is. You have to look under by the handle in the back...right by the license plate lights.

IT"S NOT THERE !

WHAT don't you understand ?

I have had THREE BMW's which have had the keyhole.

BTW, I am not some mechanically ignorant newbie.

It is still a BAD, BAD, BAD design choice.

OTHERWISE, love the car.

[Sylon]

Originally Posted by kioko12

Strange. My 2008 135i has a hidden keyhole where the trunk release handle button thing is. You have to look under by the handle in the back...right by the license plate lights.

It was a feature nicked by BMW after the 2008 MY. We believe it was a cost-cutting decision on their part.

[NYF32DRIVER]

Originally Posted by Cisitalia

With all do respect, this topic is so old and boring which has been:

Consider this work around fix: attach an auxiliary wire to one of the rear seat latchs and bury it between the seat and side cushion. If no power and you can't get in the trunk, push your fingers between the side seat cushions and fish out wire and pull. Now the seats can be folded down and you can pull the inside trunk release.

Or as most people have found, just hook up a battery to the +/- terminal posts in the engine bay.

We should NOT have to do anything but turn a FUCKING key. Also, I'm NOT interested in your assessment of my posts... UNLESS you have something constructive to add. Many owners are STILL posting variations on this issue so obviously it's the "horse I'm beating" is very much alive. It's a PROBLEM.
Should they stop posting about HPFP issue as well... because YOU think it's been beat to death ?

[IDBMW]

I don’t believe it is an issue for me. In the last 20 years I have had a few dead batteries in cars and that was mostly due to leaving the lights on. With modern cars you can not leave the lights on. Instead of inserting the key in the trunk I have would have to find some jumper cables. If I could not do that quickly I would call BMW Assist. I figure it is so rare it is nothing to worry about.

Change is hard for some people to accept and the battery in the trunk with no key access is hard for some people to get over and accept the change. It is much like the BMW no spare tire. Many people had a hard time with it when BMW first brought out the RFTs with no spare. I am on my third BMW that came with RFTs which I get rid of for Non RFT’s and never been stranded. I did have a flat once but aired it up and went to a tire shop for the fix.

Just not worth getting worked up over!

[jeremyc74]

It's a dumbass move for sure. If you pull the battery out and close the trunk, you're completely screwed. There's no way I'd hook jumper cables to the posts under the hood without being able to see that the (+) cable wasn't grounded out.

The other issue is that if the battery is in there and completely dead, you can't get to your jumper cables and have to rely on someone else to have a set.

All this over a stupid $3 key release.

[Jaguar66]

Originally Posted by IDBMW

I don’t believe it is an issue for me. In the last 20 years I have had a few dead batteries in cars and that was mostly due to leaving the lights on. With modern cars you can not leave the lights on. Instead of inserting the key in the trunk I have would have to find some jumper cables. If I could not do that quickly I would call BMW Assist. I figure it is so rare it is nothing to worry about.


Change is hard for some people to accept and the battery in the trunk with no key access is hard for some people to get over and accept the change. It is much like the BMW no spare tire. Many people had a hard time with it when BMW first brought out the RFTs with no spare. I am on my third BMW that came with RFTs which I get rid of for Non RFT’s and never been stranded. I did have a flat once but aired it up and went to a tire shop for the fix.

Just not worth getting worked up over!

Some people won't get worked up over a brain tumor, but there are plenty who would, and there are those, like me, that think that no spare tire, and no key lock for the trunk are bad ideas. They could have at least devised a way to get into the trunk from inside the car. And they do still have a key lock for that. Perhaps they'll delete that to save 3 more dollars in the future. Its a lot like people thinking, ok we'll bypass this deep sea drilling procedure, no one will know. Yeah, right. C'mon BMW. Did you think we wouldn't notice?

[JHZR2]

Silly... I can understand the basis - folks keep cables in the trunk... But so does everyone else. Someone will have cables at some point, and then the hood connections will work fine.

In a coupe there is no way to fold the seats from inside the cabin? If so then no big deal... It is the vert without CWP that needs to worry about this, unless they left the key on that one...

[rsjean]

Originally Posted by Sylon

It was a feature nicked by BMW after the 2008 MY. We believe it was a cost-cutting decision on their part.

It must have been deleted after the 2008 build cycle because mine is a 2009 with the keyhole but it was a 12/08 build.

[Mega Man]

Originally Posted by iamthewalrus

If you have an iPod adapter, do NOT leave your iPod plugged in. I can't prove it definitively, but the three times my X3 battery died, the iPod was always plugged in.

Whoa! Anyone else had this problem? I almost always have my iPod plugged in and don't want to add this to my list of things to worry about!

[oneintheory]

A) my ipod stayed plugged in forever, and i never once needed a jump.
B) since i've never once needed a jump, i don't carry cables.

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by JHZR2

In a coupe there is no way to fold the seats from inside the cabin? If so then no big deal... It is the vert without CWP that needs to worry about this, unless they left the key on that one...

No, you can't fold the seats down from inside the car.

I have always assumed they do this so the trunk is secure when you valet the car (assuming you have the release button disabled).