2000 BMW 328I Complaints

I OWN A 2000 BMW 328I. AROUND FEBRUARY 2007, I PARKED THE CAR IN A PARKING STALL. WHEN I RETURNED, THE CAR WOULD NOT GO INTO REVERSE. I HAD TO PUSH THE CAR OUT OF THE STALL. SINCE THEN, THE CAR EITHER HESITATES TO REVERSE OR COMPLETELY FAILS TO GO IN REVERSE ABOUT HALF THE TIME I DRIVE IT. MY MECHANIC INFORMS ME THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. I AM ABOUT TO HAVE IT REPLACED AT A COST OF $4,000. I DISCOVERED TODAY THAT THIS PROBLEM IS WIDE SPREAD IN CIRCA 2000 BMW 3 SERIES CARS. ONE WEBSITE I FOUND CONTAINING OVER ONE HUNDRED SIMILAR COMPLAINTS FROM THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY IS: WWW.CONSUMERAFFAIRS.COM/AUTOMOTIVE/BMW_TRANS.HTML. THERE IS APPARENTLY A DESIGN DEFECT IN THE TRANSMISSION. BMW N.A. DENIES ANY PROBLEM, DESPITE THE FACT THEY DISCONTINUED USE OF THE PARTICULAR TRANSMISSION IN LATER MODELS. I AM INFORMED THAT IF THE TRANSMISSION FAILS WHILE DRIVING, THE CAR WILL SUDDENLY STOP. THE DANGER IS OBVIOUS. PLEASE INVESTIGATE. *TR

REAR SUBFRAME (LEFT REAR MOUNT) IS COMPLETELY TORN OUT OF THE FLOOR. CURRENTLY CAUSES A JOLTING ACTION IN NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS AND A CREAKING NOISE IN LOW SPEED DRIVING. IF LEFT UNATTENDED, COULD CAUSE MISALIGNMENT, POOR PERFORMANCE, AND THE REAR AXLE TO DROP FROM THE BODY. THIS IS NOT ONLY BAD BUT ALSO A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 BMW 328IC. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL DETACHED FROM THE VEHICLE AND CAUSED THE SUB-FRAME TO CRACK WHERE THE TWO PARTS WERE ATTACHED. BMW STATED THAT THEY ARE CURRENTLY INVESTIGATING THE FAILURE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 90,000.

I HAD BEEN HEARING A NOISE FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS AND THOUGHT IT WAS THE CLUTCH, I TOOK THE CAR INTO A BMW-APPROVED BODY SHOP AND THEY POINTED OUT THE FLAW IN THE SUBFRAME AND REAR DIFFERENTIAL AND HOW THE METAL HAD TORN DUE TO STRESS. *JB

MY 2000 BMW 328I WITH 85000 MILES WILL NOT GO INTO REVERSE ANYMORE. A SEARCH OF THIS PROBLEM AT CONSUMERAFFAIRS.COM SHOWED THAT THIS SEEMS TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS YEAR AND MODEL OF CAR. HERE IS THE LINK. *AK HTTP://WWW.CONSUMERAFFAIRS.COM/AUTOMOTIVE/BMW_TRANS.HTML PLEASE NOTE THIS CAR IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN MAINTAINED ACCORDING TO BMW GUIDELINES AT EITHER A BMW DEALER OR A BMW SPECIALIST. ALSO THIS CAR IS DRIVEN BY ADULTS ONLY AND IN A GENTLE FASHION. THIS PROBLEM IS NOT A RANDOM PROBLEM BASED UPON THE INTERNET SEARCHES I HAVE CONDUCTED. I'M QUITE SURE THERE ARE MANY MORE FOLKS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM AND HAVE NOT REGESTERED A COMPLAINT ON THE INTERNET.

IN MAY '06 I PURCHASED MY (E46) 2000 BMW 328I. A COUPLE OF MONTHS LATER I NOTICED A SUBTLE SQUEAK COMING FROM THE REAR END. THINKING IT WAS NOTHING SERIOUS, I IGNORED IT FOR A WHILE AS MY LIFE WAS VERY BUSY AT THAT TIME. AFTER CONSULTING SOME VEHICLE-SAVVY FRIENDS AND A VISIT TO MOTORSPORTS OF LEXINGTON (THE PLACE TO GO IF YOU LIVE NEAR LEXINGTON, KY); THEY WERE UNABLE TO LOCATE THE SOURCE OF THE SQUEAK AS IT WAS WINTER AND JUST MY LUCK, THE SQUEAK WAS ALMOST NON-EXISTENT THAT DAY. I WAS ASKED TO BRING IT BACK DURING WARMER WEATHER. SO TODAY (70 DEGREES AND SUNNY) I TOOK IT BACK TO THE SHOP. TO MY UTTER DISMAY I WAS SHOWN THAT THE REAR DRIVER-SIDE DIFFERENTIAL MOUNT HAD COMPLETELY SEPARATED FROM THE CHASSIS. THEY TOLD ME THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH E46'S. TOTAL REPAIR COSTS WERE ESTIMATED BETWEEN $600-$1000. OUT OF CURIOSITY I VISITED THE DEALER (DON JACOBS BMW) TO SEE IF MY POWERTRAIN EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERED SUCH DAMAGE. TO NO SURPRISE IT DOES NOT. HOWEVER, THE SHOCKING PART WAS THAT THE DEALER TOLD ME THEY HAD NEVER HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM. AFTER ABOUT AN HOUR OF SEARCHING THE INTERNET FOR OTHER BMW OWNERS WHO MIGHT HAVE EXPERIENCED A SIMILAR PROBLEM, I FOUND MANY WHO HAD THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM, AS WELL AS SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH THE SUBFLOOR AND NOT JUST ON THE E46. THIS HAVING RESULTED IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT IN 2005, FROM WHAT I'VE READ, MANY PEOPLE HAVE RECEIVED REIMBURSEMENT FOR THIS REPAIR. *JB

IN MAY '06 I PURCHASED MY (E46) 2000 BMW 328I. A COUPLE OF MONTHS LATER (I DON'T RECALL THE EXACT DATE) I NOTICED A SUBTLE SQUEAK COMING FROM THE REAR END. THINKING IT WAS NOTHING SERIOUS, I IGNORED IT FOR A WHILE AS MY LIFE WAS VERY BUSY AT THAT TIME. AFTER CONSULTING SOME VEHICLE-SAVVY FRIENDS AND A VISIT TO MOTORSPORTS OF LEXINGTON (THE PLACE TO GO IF YOU LIVE NEAR LEXINGTON, KY); THEY WERE UNABLE TO LOCATE THE SOURCE OF THE SQUEAK AS IT WAS WINTER AND JUST MY LUCK, THE SQUEAK WAS ALMOST NON-EXISTENT THAT DAY. I WAS ASKED TO BRING IT BACK DURING WARMER WEATHER. SO TODAY 3/13/2007 (70 DEGREES AND SUNNY) I TOOK IT BACK TO THE SHOP. TO MY UTTER DISMAY I WAS SHOWN THAT THE REAR DRIVER-SIDE DIFFERENTIAL MOUNT HAD COMPLETELY SEPARATED FROM THE CHASSIS. THEY TOLD ME THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH E46'S. TOTAL REPAIR COSTS WERE ESTIMATED BETWEEN $600-$1000. OUT OF CURIOSITY I VISITED THE DEALER (DON JACOBS BMW) HERE IN LEXINGTON, TO SEE IF MY POWERTRAIN EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERED SUCH DAMAGE. TO NO SURPRISE IT DOES NOT. HOWEVER, THE SHOCKING PART WAS THAT THE DEALER TOLD ME THEY HAD NEVER HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM. AFTER ABOUT AN HOUR OF SEARCHING THE INTERNET FOR OTHER BMW OWNERS WHO MIGHT HAVE EXPERIENCED A SIMILAR PROBLEM, I FOUND MANY WHO HAD THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM, AS WELL AS SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH THE SUBFLOOR AND NOT JUST ON THE E46. THIS HAVING RESULTED IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT IN 2005, FROM WHAT I'VE READ, MANY PEOPLE HAVE RECEIVED REIMBURSEMENT FOR THIS REPAIR. I CAN SEND PICTURES IF NECESSARY, AS THE REPAIRS HAVE NOT YET BEEN PERFORMED. *JB

BACK IN JUNE 2006, I TOOK MY 2000 BMW 332CI TO BMW OF SAN DIEGO IN CALIFORNIA FOR THE SQUEAKING NOISE COMING FROM REAR AREA OF MY CAR WHILE DRIVING. THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE SO NOTHING WAS DONE AT THAT TIME. NOW I TOOK MY CAR TO A REGULAR CHECK UP AT THE SAME BMW OF SAN DIEGO, AND THEY ARE NOW TELLING ME THAT REAR SUBFRAME IS TORN AND IT IS SAFETY HAZARD SO THEY THINK I SHOULD NOT DRIVE MY CAR AT ALL UNTIL I GET A REPAIR DONE AT LOCAL BODY SHOP. THEY THINK I SHOULD TOW THE CAR THERE. I THEN NOTICED THAT THERE ARE ABOUT 40 OTHER COMPLAINTS ON NHTSA SITE ABOUT THE SAME EXACT PROBLEM I AM HAVING. I LEARNED THROUGH ONLINE FORUM THAT THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM HAS BEEN RECALLED BY BMW GERMANY IN GERMAN A FEW YEARS BACK. I ALSO LEARNED THAT BMW OF NORTH AMERICA HAS PAID TO FIX THIS PROBLEM ON FOR SOME CUSTOMERS EVEN IF THEY ARE ALREADY OUT OF WARRANTY JUST LIKE MYSELF. CURRENTLY I AM WAITING FOR BMW OF NORTH AMERICA REPRESENTATIVE TO VISIT THE BMW OF SAN DIEGO TO TAKE A LOOK AT MY VEHICLE. SINCE THE BMW OF SAN DIEGO RECOMMENDED THAT I DO NOT DRIVE MY CAR WITHOUT GETTING THE PROBLEM FIXED, I AM CURRENTLY DRIVING THEIR LOANER CAR. MY CAR IS AT THE DEALER RIGHT NOW. WHEN I CALLED THE BODY SHOP REFERRED BY THE BMW OF SAN DIEGO, I WAS INFORMED BY ONE OF THE EMPLOYEES THERE THAT PROBLEM WITH SUB FRAME GETTING TORN HAS BEEN ONLY SEEN FOR BMW 3 SERIES AND NO OTHER MANUFACTURER OR MODEL. *NM

RE. BMW 328I, YEAR 2000. THERE HAVE BEEN THREE POWER WINDOW MECHANISM FAILURES ON THIS CAR. THIS IS "MORE THAN IT'S FAIR SHARE". THESE FAILURES ARE VERY EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR. HAS THERE BEEN A RECALL OR TSB ON THIS? THANK YOU, SAM KELLER. *NM

WHILE DRIVING NORMALLY, CAR SHUTS OFF WHILE CLUTCH IS DEPRESSED. THIS HAPPENS WHILE THE CAR IS MOVING. ON ONE OCCASION IT STALLED ON A COUNTERCLOCKWISE HIGHWAY ON RAMP. POWER STEERING ALSO SHUT OFF WHEN CAR'S ENGINE STOPPED. NEAR ACCIDENT OCCURRED. DEALERSHIP REPEATEDLY STATES NO PROBLEM WITH VEHICLE. *NM