I cannot, for the life of me, remove the plastic cover over the battery in the trunk of my 330Ci. The front lifts up very easily, but it is secured somehow in the back and will not lift off. Would like to get at the battery so I can attach a battery tender this winter. Is there a trick?
Kevin - It should pop right off once the two screws are loosened (at least it does on my E46 M3). Is it somehow possible the right-side trunk liner is somehow holding it down? I know on the left side the plastic try is secured by trunk liner.
Yes, it feels like the tray might be tucked up under the liner but no amount of finagling frees it. I'm sure it's simple. I'll keep playing with it.
You might have to apply a fair amount of leverage to get the liner loose since it is pretty stiff. Be sure to look for the plastic rivet anchor in the top and remove it first or it will pop out and go missing. Ask me how I know.....
Yeah, I have fought those pesky plastic parts myself. If I remember correctly, the right side of the cover has to go down a bit as the left side is lifted (looking from the trunk forward). I believe the vertical panel on the right side nests straight down into the battery cover piece about 1/4". A little finesse, a little deflection, and a little force is the ticket. Once removed it will be obvious how it works (duh). BMWs are great cars, but they don't do plastic very well, then again, who does.
Don't feel bad at all. I have fought these many times and I do this for a living. What is likely happened is it has been removed and replaced before and the entire edge of the cover is behind the liner. Using a flexible plastic tool get between it and the liner and pull it back to remove the cover. When replacing it you will see where the liner is supposed to lay in a defined area of the cover. This is a really poor design for sure.
