Battery Dead,NoTrunk access?

[Nice328]

Battery went dead on my 2011 328xi coupe last week,couldnt find a way to open the trunk to get jumpers or other things I needed from trunk.Am I missing something?

[MPRs]

Use your key, it slides out of the key fob. The key hole is near your license plate lights. On my e90 atleast.

[Nice328]

No key hole!

[anpmech]

Sit down in back of your car and look up above the rear plate, below the 328xi badge, That's where mine is.

[mryakan]

No key hole!

I never bothered checking on my 2011 till I saw this, and sure enough, for the life of me, I cannot find a keyhole either.

[Nice328]

Sit down in back of your car and look up above the rear plate, below the 328xi badge, That's where mine is.

I looked again to make sure Im not going crazy,there is no key hole anywhere!!

[Kernel Kurtz]

Hmmm. Never noticed that, but I have no keyhole for the trunk on this car either.

I can, however, open the center pass-through from the inside (do they all have this?). From there I can reach the folding seat release, and then reach the inside manual trunk release.

My arm is not long enough to reach the manual release unless I fold down the seat first, so if you don't have the folding seats I'm not sure what you could do. Maybe a coat hanger...........

[Green335i]

I can imagine the german engineers talking about the rear trunk keyhole...
"So how will they get into the trunk with no power?"
"Why would they need to get into the trunk when the power is out. They will need to replace the battery."

"Good point.

[Kernel Kurtz]

Thinking about this further, since you can open that center pass through from inside the car, it seems to defeat that whole valet switch in the locked glove box idea. Just makes the trunk a little bit harder to get into.......

[mryakan]

Thinking about this further, since you can open that center pass through from inside the car, it seems to defeat that whole valet switch in the locked glove box idea. Just makes the trunk a little bit harder to get into.......

You should not be able to open the fold through seats if the valet switch in on in the glovebox, or so I think. Give it a try and see if that is how it works.

[jtk86]

You should have a trunk release inside your cabin (at least I do, I also have a key hole for the trunk) if not try it jimmy it open. Why did you battery die though??? Its a 2011???????

Worse comes to worse take it the dealer you have a warranty for a reason

[mryakan]

You should have a trunk release inside your cabin (at least I do, I also have a key hole for the trunk) if not try it jimmy it open. Why did you battery die though??? Its a 2011???????

Worse comes to worse take it the dealer you have a warranty for a reason

No need to jimmy it. You can always open the driver door with the metal key, then open the front hood with the manual release, then use the leads there to jump the car, then open the trunk. Trick is finding jumper cables, but that is only an RSA call away if worse comes to worse.

[jtk86]

No need to jimmy it. You can always open the driver door with the metal key, then open the front hood with the manual release, then use the leads there to jump the car, then open the trunk. Trick is finding jumper cables, but that is only an RSA call away if worse comes to worse.

If the battery is located in the trunk how will you jump the car from the hood?

[Kernel Kurtz]

You should not be able to open the fold through seats if the valet switch in on in the glovebox, or so I think. Give it a try and see if that is how it works.

Works fine. Set the valet switch to lock - was unable to open the trunk with the fob, or the interior or exterior buttons.

Still able to open the pass through and then release the folding seats, though. Did not try to open the trunk lid, but I would expect it to work. The interior release is a safety device and I doubt the valet switch would override that. Had plenty of access with the seats down regardless.

What we call security through obscurity I guess.........

[Kernel Kurtz]

If the battery is located in the trunk how will you jump the car from the hood?

There are terminals under the hood for exactly that purpose.

[jtk86]

There are terminals under the hood for exactly that purpose.

Thank you I did not know that

[Hillbilly1]

There are terminals under the hood for exactly that purpose.

I found that out before I bought my 335i, the salesman brought out the wrong key, and when it wouldn't crank, he had one of the mechanics come out with a jump box. While he was getting ready to jump it off, I looked on the dash, and the "no key" symbol was lit on the dash. removed the key, and the dealer inventory tag said 335xi, so I knew it was the wrong key. But I did learn where the jump terminals were.

[anpmech]

I looked this up and BMW deleted the Trunk Key in 2009. Not sure what they were thinking there.

[Kernel Kurtz]

So my next question is if all the 3ers have the center pass-through, or only the ones with the folding rear seats?

[mryakan]

So my next question is if all the 3ers have the center pass-through, or only the ones with the folding rear seats?

only the ones with the folding rear seats

[Nice328]

You should have a trunk release inside your cabin (at least I do, I also have a key hole for the trunk) if not try it jimmy it open. Why did you battery die though??? Its a 2011???????

Worse comes to worse take it the dealer you have a warranty for a reason

Battery went dead possibly because ign. was left in the on (acc.) position.Couldnt reach jumper cables to engine comp.(single car garage) and could not push the car out.(car stuck in park because of no power).Put sears plug in battery charger on engine comp leads and all dash and exterior lights started to go crazy.Wipers also came on on their own and were not in the on position.Disconnected that right away and put battery tender on it.Let it sit awhile...no start.But this gave me enough power to open the trunk,and jump the car directly to the battery in the trunk with my girlfriends 328 sedan,and it started right up.This would not have been a good situation if I was out somewhere,stranded with no help.Why would they do away with the trunk lock,with no way to get in with a dead battery? I think BMW has to rethink this one!! P.S. Called BMW Road Assist early on,and they said since it was a Sunday night,they could tow it to some unkown location for the night and bring it to the dealer in the morning,I said no thanks!

[Green335i]

There's a manual override to put the auto trans in neutral. I believe this is a dot requirement....

[engineer 2140]

silly rabbits... there is a keyhole. trust me. you must find the keyhole....

[BMWBumpy]

So my next question is if all the 3ers have the center pass-through, or only the ones with the folding rear seats?

Only on cold weather package (for skis).

[inteloffcr]

If the battery is located in the trunk how will you jump the car from the hood?

Look in the owner's manual. There you will find that there are two terminals under the hood. One has a red plastic cover and the other is a ground "bolt" near the right fender.