Battery Compartment

[gibbys]

I am the second owner of my car and from time to time I find that it is lacking some orginal pieces which I set out to locate.

The attachment shows the battery compartment (under the removable floor) in the trunk. The unfinished carpeting and bracketry around the battery leads me to believe that originally there was some sort of cover over the battery itself. The finish of the rest of the car suggests that there would have been.

My dealer says that is the way they were.

Can someone please tell me if he is right?

Thanks.

[Tyler]

Mine looks the same, but I am a second owner as well. Perhaps the bracket on the lower left may have held (or was designed for) a folded warning triangle? The other end would fit in the slot opposite the bracket at the lower right of your photo.

[Alpina255]

You are correct about the warning triangle bracket. BMW has the brackets on most of their models, but only non US market cars get the triangle. I think this is mentioned in the owners manual. The main reason the compartment looks unfinished is that the battery in the photograph is not a BMW battery, and thus the size and shape is different from the Interstate battery shown.

A lot of people opt not to use the BMW battery due to it's seemingly high cost ($220.00 US). I don't recall the CCA of the original battery but I think it may be in the range of 850-900 CCA which is of help when cold cranking a high compression engine with lights, etc. On a new vehicle the compartment below the trunk bottom contained; Battery, air compressor module with tire sealant canister, tool kit wrapped in rolled package, small first aid kit, and BMW trickle battery charger. Hope this helps