2017 Bentley Continental Gt V8S battery issue - boot opening

[EvolutionChris]

Hi All,
I have recently purchased a 2017 Bentley V8S. The was a problem with the battery that runs the systems so I replaced it with a new battery and all was good. However, after not using it for 5 days, the car was then not able to unlock, windows would not open etc. The issue was that the new battery had failed. I found this out by removing the 2 week old battery, taking it back to the motor factors and I now have a new replacement battery. This is where the fun starts.
I shut the boot once I had removed the old battery.
Now I am trying to open the boot.
It won’t open as there is no power. I did start the car and it ran…..but still the boot will not open. I have put the key into the ignition and turned it and still the boot wont open.
I then thought I would open the bonnet, and connect the power there, but there are 2 issues with this. 1- when I disconnected the battery I undid one of the cables on the battery connector. This I think is the main front to rear power cable. The 2nd problem is that to open the bonnet, you need the passenger door open. But my car is parked tight to a wall. I tried to drive the car forward but the Electronic HandBrake will not release.
plan B has been to remove the rear seat and pull the lever. I have got the seat out ….. but the lever for the trunk release is not moving. I have really tried hard to shift it.
Any suggestions??
The Boot is not 100% shut, or it moves up and down as I guess without a battery, it’s not fully latched. Not sure if that helps or not?

[EvolutionChris]

Gulp!
I do have a warranty that may cover any costs, but until I can access the boot, I won't be able to sort anything out.
I will keep waggling the lever......and hope.
Parts Darts is the worst form of repairs.

[EvolutionChris]

Ahhh, right!! On it now…. I knew having Children would be useful one day.

[EvolutionChris]

Hurrah!!! Success!!!
Thank you all for your help.
I got my son to push down hard, I got pliers on the lever.....and....with a bit of swearing....and bouncing....and a lot of brute force.....it released!!
New lessons learned.
Thanks you all.

[EvolutionChris]

Furbo said:

Does it open and close electronically now?

Indeed it does.
I will post photos shortly.....what a saga! Lessons learned and thanks for the help and advice, it made a big difference.

[EvolutionChris]

[EvolutionChris]

Initial space behind the seat, the lever is just visible.

[EvolutionChris]

Remove the side trim with the window button to get access to the next bit of trim. It just pulls out horizontaly.

[EvolutionChris]

This is where it was

[EvolutionChris]

Remove this trim and you can just see the 10mm nut with retained washer that needs to be undone to allow the seat to come out completely. THe nut is literally in the centre of this photo. There is no need to remove the 2 torq bolts.....even though I did, but it was pointless.

[EvolutionChris]

Now you have access to the lever with both hands! Put pliers on, get someone else to push down on the boot while you pull as hard as you can. And hopefully, it will release the boot. I needed a couple of goes and used swear-words to help ease that last 5% it needed to release. Having the seat out was definitely helpful. I believe I would have damaged the car trying to do it with the seat in situ. Besides which, it only added 10 minutes to the job.

Edited by EvolutionChris on Thursday 19th June 14:29