The contact owns a 1999 BMW 323I. While the vehicle was parked the gear shift slipped into reverse on its own and the rpms increased. The gear shift indicator lights would not illuminate. The contact was able to engage the emergency brake in order to avoid a crash and stated she looked at the instrument panel to see what gear the vehicle was in. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 73,000.

- Peoria, AZ, USA

Sporadically and without warning since I have owned the car, new, the reverse gear fails in my 1999 BMW 323I. In addition, the car seems to, intermittently and without warning, rapidly accelerate on its own. When the car accelerates, I have to apply all the pressure I can to the brake pedal, and even with that I can feel the acceleration for a few minutes before it stops. As for the reverse gear failure, I have to shift to each gear once or twice before I can get the car into reverse, and/or I just have to take the key out of the ignition and wait for a while before trying again, and/or I have to shift to and from reverse to drive several times while in a parking lot, street, etc., holding up drivers behind me. In 11 years, no mechanic has ever been able to determine why the car has these issues, and most mechanics have been unable to duplicate the problems while driving the car. Thus, nothing has been repaired and the issues remain.

- Peoria, AZ, USA

Owner of a 1999 BMW 323I and the reverse gear failed. It occurs intermittently and continues. No action or accountability is being taken by BMW to correct the problem. This is a safety concern for owners faced with this situation.

- Santa Fe, NM, USA

I own a 1999 323I BMW. The car will not go into reverse. 1.) the car's transmission worked fine. Then without warning or indication after parking the transmission would not go into reverse. 2.)the transmission will not go into reverse. This problem comes and goes. The car cannot reverse. 3.) no corrective action has been taken yet, I am just not driving it - too dangerous.

- Abbotsford, 00, USA

The contact owns a 1999 BMW 323 I. while moving the gear shift lever from park to reverse, the vehicle would not shift gears. She had to manually push the vehicle into drive in order to switch gears. She was advised that the transmission was failing. However, no repairs were made. The failure and current mileages were 135000.

- Austin, TX, USA

My 1999 BMW 323I would occasionally not engage in reverse. This happened initially without warning. After driving the car around for awhile, low and behold, reverse would engage. The dealer told me that the shift plate was not aligned and the car was thinking it was in neutral. After having that replaced at $700, the next day, same problem. Then the dealer said that it has to be that the transmission was gone. After having the transmission rebuilt at $2000, low and behold, 2 days later, the same exact thing starting happening. The car is in excellent condition and well maintained with 132,000. All of this started to happen on 10/22/2009. BMW needs to recall the vehicle because this has happened with several owners.

- Jonesboro, GA, USA

I bought a 1999 BMW 323I in January of 2000. It was a certified BMW. I haven't had much trouble with it. I have done typical maintenance, brakes, oil changes, new plugs, wires, etc. Last year I noticed while driving at speeds more than 65 miles per hour that the rpms would move from 2500 to 3000, and a light showed up on the dash. I got to work and check my manual and it is telling me the light is a service transmission light. If you see this light, pull over, put it in park, pull the emergency brake, wait and restart the engine to reset trans. I took it to my repair tech and he plugged my car into his computer and it states that the transmission is slipping out of 5th gear. Estimate for new trans is $4,000. For a rebuilt trans is $2,500. I don't have that kind of money for a 10 year old car. I have noticed in the winter months (cold keeps trans fluid thicker??) that it doesn't slip as often, and in the summer months, if I keep my speed under 65 mph, it doesn't slip as much. But it is a hassle, and I am just waiting for it to get worse. It slips out of 5th gear while on the expressways making it extremely dangerous to pull over and reset the car so that it will go into 5th gear. I don't especially like to drive it when the rpms are so high, it seems to be putting a strain on the engine, and my gas mileage has got to be decreasing tremendously, when it slips out of 5th gear.

- Charlestown, IN, USA

I drive a 1999 BMW 323I, today the reverse stopped working for no reason at all. Drove fine this morning, I pulled into a store to run an errand and when I came out the reverse was no longer working. I now read this is a common issue with this model but that BMW refuses to acknowledge this, this is unfortunate as I've always liked bmws but now I'm stuck with a car that is unsafe and expensive to repair.

- Austin, TX, USA

I discovered one morning that my car wouldn't go in reverse. It seemed like it would "catch", but it wouldn't actually go anywhere. I towed it to my regular repair shop, and they quoted me $6000 to replace the transmission. I found a transmission shop who quoted me $1600-$3500 to actually fix the problem instead of replace, so I had the car towed a second time over to them. Shop called back and said neither BMW or GM will sell him all the parts he needs to do fix it. BMW doesn't offer them (only whole transmissions), and GM won't warranty the parts if they're installed on a BMW. He also said he'd done some research on my concerns with the 1999 transmission, and that there were no technical service bulletins from BMW on it. There was a bulletin on the 2000 zl model transmission but not on mine (which he said was a 5L40-E model), so he doesn't think there's a widespread problem with this transmission. BMW started using the 5L40-E transmission halfway through 1999 when they changed the 323 over from the E36 to the E46 chassis. And although there is a new complaint on the Consumer Affairs page almost daily regarding failure to go in reverse, BMW has not issued a single service bulletin. This same transmission, however, was also used in the 2003 Cadillac cts, of which there are over 30 technical service bulletins regarding the transmission. Two of these specifically mention failure in reverse. Why will Cadillac at least admit to the problem, but BMW makes no mention of it in a vehicle that's been on the road four years longer? I know a bulletin won't have any effect on my now $5000 repair bill, but I thought I had done my due diligence in researching the 1999 323I, E46's, and BMW in general before I bought the [xxx] thing. If I'd have known the transmission in this car was both non-serviceable and prone to failure, I'd have bought a Kia. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- San Diego, CA, USA

I have a '99 BMW 323I. My car recently reached 100,000 miles and have started experiencing transmission problems. The car will shift to reverse but with no effect. I have spoke with other BMW owners and have found this is a recurring problem and cost 5000 dollars to fix. Im in the United States marine corps and cant afford to fix a problem like this. I I am being deployed and am worried that transmission failure while im gone will be dangerous for my wife. I feel like BMW should pay for the transmission repair because its their bad choice for choosing faulty engines. They vehicle is extremely unsafe and should be recalled.

- Tarawa Terrace, NC, USA

1999 BMW 3-series transmission failure at 108K miles due to faulty transmission.

- Bellingham, WA, USA

Drove into a parking spot a work and could not back out of the parking space once on reverse, the car would not move! after having spent $2,500 just 3 weeks prior on other repairs.

- 36001, TX, USA

I own a 1999 BMW 323I. Recently, the automatic transmission warning light started to go on when I would drive my car on the highway. I took it into the local BMW dealership and it took about 3 diagnostic visits to determine that I needed a new transmission for $6K. My car had less than 80,000 miles on it. I then took it to several BMW specialist auto shops who explained to me in full detail the issue that this GM transmission is known to have. Apparently the transmission fails in 5th gear and defaults to 4th gear, which not only causes it to drive differently, but can cause other expensive issues. After reading similar complaints about this transmission, I am extremely disappointed that BMW has let this go and has not issued a recall. I am disappointed w/ the poor quality of the american made transmission, and will never buy another BMW again.

- Littleton, CO, USA

I own a 1999 BMW 323I. Sometimes the reverse does not work at all and on somedays there are no problems what so ever. I took the care into the BMW dealership and was told that I need a new transmission that would cost about $7,000. I am disabled and cannot afford this type of repair. I thought buying a BMW would be a great retirement car. I am very upset, especially reading on the internet how many people have the same problem and BMW does nothing to help. I have a 1997 381I that is down also. Have taken it to the dealership and my local mechanic. BMW has changed..I really need help...

- Lancaster, TX, USA

My BMW 323I 1999 has a defective transmission. BMW says that we shouldn't change the transmission oil as it's a lifetime oil.... but I think this is what lead to having this problem. My car doesn't go into reverse and I've looked in several sites about this problem and have discovered that I"M not the only one that has this problem... noreverse.org/complaints_2007Q3.html please email me back as to what I should do... thx, alex

- Lawrence , MA, USA

My reverse on my 1999 323I automatic does not go into reverse. It initially worked then it would not reverse.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

Reverse mysteriously not working. Goes in and out.

- Chicago, IL, USA

Reverse does not work. The same complaint from hundreds of others can be found at noreverse.org. There is a service bulletin put out to the service technicians about the transmission but BMW will not do anything about it.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

My husband was driving my 1999 BMW 323I, he pulled forward at a 45 degree angle on our street in order to back into our driveway. After putting it in reverse and trying to back up, the engine revved and acted as if it were in neutral, the reverse gear failed. It started working again the next day and worked fine for about 10 days. I was parked at a shopping center and when I tried to back out of my parking space, the reverse again failed. After a long wait, the person who was parked in front of me left and I was able to pull forward and drive home. The reverse was working again by the time I got home. It began failing more frequently, but usually will come back sooner or later. We took it to our BMW mechanic, he said the seal appeared to be broken and fluid had leaked out. He refilled the fluid and ordered a new seal. The reverse worked fine for 2 days, then started failing again. The mechanic informed us that since the reverse failed so quickly, the seal would not do anything to solve the problem and we would need to replace the transmission. After doing research on my own online, I see this is a problem that is widespread and unresolved. Check the following website for countless testimonials on this defective transmission, they even named a website for the problem specific to BMW: www.noreverse.org.

- Mt. Pleasant, SC, USA

1999 BMW 323I not going into revers at 90K miles

- Oakland, CA, USA