2000 BMW 323I Complaints

I OWN A 2000 BMW 3.23I THAT I BOUGHT BRAND NEW IN 2000. I SPENT A LOT OF MONEY FOR THAT CAR AND HAD NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS WITH IT. I HAD TO REPLACE THE WINDOW REGULATORS MANY TIMES, AND HAD A WATER LEAK PROBLEM. I SPEND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN OTHER ITEMS THAT WAS JUST CRAZY, ESPECIALLY FOR A CAR THAT JUST HAD 70,000 MILES. THE BIG PROBLEM WHICH CAUSED ME WRITE THIS COMPLAINT WAS THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEM THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE HAVING WITH THEIR CARS NOT WANTING TO GO IN REVERSE. THE CAR JUST OUT OF NOWHERE STOPPED GOING IN REVERSE. THIS WAS JUST ABNORMAL FOR A CAR WITH THIS LOW MILEAGE. BMW DID NOT WANT TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS, AND IT WAS JUST CRAZY. I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED BY THEIR BUSINESS TACTIC OF NOT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSION. IT WAS CLEARLY NOT NORMAL, YET THEY WERE TRYING TO AVOID TO PAY FOR A REPLACEMENT, AND THEY DIDN'T CARE AS THEY WERE MAKING SO MANY ENEMIES. I NEVER CARED FOR MERCEDES AS I LIKED THE WAY BMW DROVE, BUT THIS EXPERIENCE WAS MAKING THEM LOSE A CUSTOMER FOR LIFE. PLEASE MAKE THEM ISSUE A RECALL FOR THE TRANSMISSIONS, AND STOP THIS BUSINESS BEHAVIOR. *AK

I AM AN OWNER OF 2000 BMW 323I. IT CURRENTLY HAS ~115K MILES ON IT. TODAY (FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2007), I ENTERED THE PARKING GARAGE AT WORK AND ATTEMPTED TO BACK INTO A PARKING SPACE --- AS I ALWAYS DO. I DROVE FORWARD, THEN PUT MY CAR IN THE REVERSE GEAR, BUT IT WOULD NOT MOVE. WHEN I PRESSED ON THE ACCELERATOR, IT WOULD ONLY MAKE AN IDLING SOUND LIKE IT WAS IN THE NEUTRAL GEAR --- EVEN THOUGH THE LCD SHOWED "R" (REVERSE). AFTER A FEW ATTEMPTS OF TRYING TO GO IN REVERSE, I REALIZED THAT ALL MY EFFORTS CAME TO NAUGHT. LUCKILY, I HAD JUST ENOUGH ROOM TO "DRIVE" FORWARD AND CLEAR THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME SO THAT I COULD TAKE MY CAR TO GET REPAIRED. COME TO FIND OUT, I NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION. I FIND IT VERY ODD THAT MY TRANSMISSION WOULD GO OUT THIS EARLY AND IT WOULDN'T GIVE ANY TYPE OF WARNING. ALSO, I FIND IT VERY FRUSTRATING THAT THERE ARE CARS THAT COST 1/3 OF THE PRICE AND PROVIDE BETTER UTILITY. THIS EXPERIENCE DEFINITELY HAS ME QUESTIONING MY BRAND LOYALTY. BMW SURELY ISN'T LIVING UP TO ITS' BRANDING MESSAGE AS "THE ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE" --- UNLESS IT SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDES GOING IN REVERSE.

2000 BMW 323I WILL NOT MOVE WHEN IN REVERSE GEAR. THE CAR BEHAVED AS IF IT WAS IN NEUTRAL. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER TROUBLE, WARNING LIGHT, ETC. LEADING UP TO THIS FAILURE. THE CAR WAS VERY WELL MAINTAINED AND SERVICED BY BMW AUTHORIZED DEALERS, HAS 66000 MILES AND WAS VERY GENTLY DRIVEN. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN FACED BY LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF 2000 BMW 323I OWNERS IN THE LAST YEAR ON CARS BETWEEN 60,000 AND 70,000 MILES; PLEASE SEE ATTACHED LINK: HTTP://WWW.CONSUMERAFFAIRS.COM/AUTOMOTIVE/BMW_TRANS.HTML. I REQUESTED YOU TO INVESTIGATE THIS PROBLEM WITH BMW WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF DETERMINING IF A MANUFACTURER'S RECALL WAS WARRANTED.*AK

DRIVERS SIDE REAR SUBFRAME IS TEARING AWAY FROM BODY. THIS HAS BEEN NOTED SEVERAL TIMES ON THIS WEBSITE ALREADY. *TR

TL* - THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 BMW 3I. THE AIR BAG MODULE FAILED. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT RECALL# 02V223000 WAS REPAIRED IN JULY 2003. THE DEALER STATED THAT THIS FAILURE USUALLY DIDN'T OCCUR AFTER THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN REPAIRED. THE CONTACT SPOKE TO AN AIR BAG ENGINEER ,WHO ALSO STATED THAT THIS TYPE OF FAILURE SHOULD NOT OCCUR IF THE VEHICLE WAS LESS THAN 10 YEARS OLD. THE CONTACT WAS THE OWNER AT THE TIME THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED AND WASN'T NOTIFIED THAT THE RECALL REPAIR WAS DONE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REPAIRS WERE AT HER OWN EXPENSE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGE WERE 16,000. *AK

THE SHIFT PLATE INDICATOR HAS BEEN REPLACED ONCE AND IT IS AGAIN FAULTY. IT GIVES A FALSE INDICATION OF THE ACTUAL POSITION OF THE TRANSMISSION. FOR EXAMPLE, THE CAR CAN BE IN DRIVE, BUT THE NEUTRAL LIGHT WILL BE ON. *NM

HAD BRAKES AND SUSPENSION REPLACED AND WHILE AT DEALERSHIP THE REVERSE GEAR WENT OUT. THIS IS THE SAME ISSUE I SEE ALL OVER THE INTERNET. ALL OTHER GEARS WORK OTHER THAN REVERSE, WHICH WILL COST 4000 TO REPLACE. *NM

ON MY 2000 BMW 323I WITH ABOUT 100K MILES I NOTICED A CREAKING NOISE COMING FROM THE REAR SUSPENSION. UPON INSPECTION, THE DRIVERS SIDE REAR DIFFERENTIAL MOUNT HAS SEPARATED AT THE POINT WHERE THE MOUNT IS WELDED TO THE UNI-BODY. THIS SITUATION IS VERY DANGEROUS AND REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. THE SUSPENSION SHOULD NEVER SEPARATE FROM THE BODY BECAUSE OF FORCES FROM THE TRANS/DIFF. IT IS CLEAR THAT THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW. I PERSONALLY HAVE A LIST OF OVER 150 NAMES WITH DOCUMENTED SUBFRAME CRACKING/FAILURE OF THE E46 BODY YEARS 1999-2000. THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THESE HAVE SUBFRAME DAMAGE AT THE SAME REAR DRIVERS SIDE DIFF MOUNT, IN OTHER WORDS, OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE FAILURE POINTS, THE REAR DRIVERS SIDE IS NEARLY ALWAYS THE FAILURE POINT !! I URGE THE NHTSA TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE IMMEDIATELY SOMEBODY GETS HURT OR DIES! *JB

2000 BMW 323I TRANSMISSION REVERSE GEAR FAILED. ATTEMPTED TO PUT IN REVERSE BUT NO GEAR. A QUICK SEARCH OF INTERNET REVEALS LITERALLY DOZENS IF NOT HUNDREDS OF E46 MODEL SERIES BMW OWNERS COMPLAINING OF THE SAME THING. NO REVERSE OR TOTAL TRANSMISSION FAILURE. REPAIR FACILITY RECOMMENDS COMPLETE TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT OR REBUILD. *NM

THERE WERE 50 DOCUMENTED TRANSMISSION FAILURES FOR THE 2000 BMW 3 SERIES AUTOMOBILES. THERE ARE UNDOUBTEDLY MORE, BUT THE PEOPLE JUST PAID THE $3000 TO $5000 REPAIR BILL. THERE IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT THESE TRANSMISSIONS ARE FAILING AND BMW KNOWS ABOUT THE PROBLEM, BUT WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. *JB