10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 4 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 4 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 86,167 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
Last week my car quit going in reverse leaving me stranded. This car has 100,000 miles and has been extremely well maintained as I have been the original owner. This is apparently a common problem with 99/00 bmws and the zf automatic transmissions. The transmission has to be completely rebuilt at a cost of over $3000. The fact that this is such a common failure and can put individuals at risk is unconscionable. Imagine a transmission going out during a U-turn where reverse is needed to safely move from oncoming traffic?
- Phoenix, AZ, USA
My reverse stopped working on my 2000 BMW 323I. I have seen this is a common problem with this car. BMW refuses to take responsability. Currently I do not have the money to replace the transmission.
- Bountiful, UT, USA
Recently my car quit going in reverse as I was backing out of a parking space. Luckily I was on a slight incline & there were no oncoming cars because I would have been hit as I rolled very slowly into the road like I was in neutral. This car has 85,000 miles and has been extremely well maintained. I have since learned that it is a common problem with 1999-2006 bmws. There are 2 different BMW transmissions made by zf, and both have a part called a drum that is too weak to last very long, and the manufacturer has started making a stronger replacement part. My transmission had to be completely rebuilt in order to replace that part, and the debris from the broken drum has to cleaned out. It took 3 days & cost over $3000 to rebuild.
- Dallas, TX, USA
I have a 2000 BMW 323ci with an automatic transmission. I have owned it from day 1 - mile 0. I had to replace the transmission at 110,000 miles because the reverse gear broke off. Now at 194,000 the replaced transmission is vibrating hard and the BMW dealership service department says that I need to replace it again. The first replacement was $ 4,100. Today, I was quoted $ 4,918.
- Proctorville, OH, USA
The reverse gear on my 2000 323I BMW stopped working. It goes into neutral instead. All the other gears work except reverse. I only have 65,000 miles on the car and have been told I may need a new transmission. A new transmission at 65,000 miles is ridiculous. I called BMW of North America and my dealership. They say they have never heard about this, yet if you do a simple web search on BMW reverse transmission problems, it is a very common one. I do not think it's fair to pay for a "lemon" transmission.
- Bethesda, MD, USA
Reverse stopped working in car. Known issue in the same type of vehicle. BMW does not want to admit to. Check out www.noreverse.org - everyone with the same problem.
- Lenexa, KS, USA
My car suddenly, without warning has no reverse. As I looked online I noticed thousands of other BMW owners with the same issue. Noreverse.org has been very helpful for me to identify many owners across the states with the no reverse issue. I can only hope the NHTSA will help us hold BMW accountable for such poorly produced craftmenship in their transmissions.
- Frisco, TX, USA
BMW 2000 year 323 does not go in reverse. Global imports BMW in atlanta says that the repair will cost $5800. This is a know defect by BMW but they will not recall this defective car or repair this transmission.
- Atlanta, GA, USA
I drove to work this morning and upon leaving work my car just wouldn't go into reverse. I thought I would take my car to BMW tomorrow and have them check it. After getting home I did some research and found out there are numerous complaints about this same problem and that BMW has done nothing about it. It will cost as much as the car worth to replace the transmission. I lost my full-time job recently because of the bad economy and there is no way I can afford to pay for this repair at this moment. I demand from BMW to put a recall on this defective part and take full responsibility. Customer satisfaction should be their utmost priority.
- Riverdale, GA, USA
I own a 2000 BMW 323I and it has a little over 100K miles. The automatic transmission will not go in reverse. I have read reviews all over the internet. There are thousands of people having this same problem. Apparently because BMW produced their 3 serious car with a GM transmission and didn't have the right lasting materials. This should be fraud and BMW should be held liable for this problem.
- Maryville, TN, USA
Last week Oct 1 park my car at work, after work I tried to back up the car and no reverse. Forward gears all work. Had to ask two of the coworks to push the car out of the stall. Since that incident I lost the reverse gear on three occasions on a total of 6 short driving trips. One time of the three occasions I hit another car when I shifted to reverse but it didn't engage and rolled down the hill hitting the car that's 20 feet behind me.
- San Francisco, CA, USA
No wreck, no previous problem. Just no reverse!!!!
- The Colony, TX, USA
Reverse went out in my transmission on my 2000 323I yesterday, had it diagnosed at a repair shop and said that it would need to be replaced, I only have 52,000 miles on it. After reading on the internet I see that this is a common problem that BMW denies. Why isn't there a recall?
- New York, NY, USA
BMW 323 ci reverse stopped working. I was told it was a common problem and should stop driving it before the entire transmission blows. I haven't fixed the problem because the cost of repair is more than I can afford so I have it garaged for the time being.
- Puyallup, WA, USA
Please site noreverse.org for a full list of complaints. Right before my car hit the 100,000 mile mark my reverse went out. It will still go into reverse however the car will not move.
- Alexander, AR, USA
1. events landing up to the failure: None 2. car does not move in reverse when put in reverse gear. This happened without any warning. 3. car is not operational pending repairs.
- Fremont, CA, USA
2000 BMW 3-series: 63,000 miles the reverse went out on my transmission.
- Marietta, GA, USA
2000 BMW 323I no reverse gear...went to BMW dealer and they didn't want to check what's wrong, all they wanted is to change the whole transmission for $5500...I looked on internet and it seems that thousands of people having same issue with this car...hope something can be done and BMW will call our cars for recall...I thing they should repair it at no cost since it is there pure reverse clutch engineering. Thank you
- Spring Valley, NY, USA
2000 BMW 323I 54000 km's. reverse clutch does not work. BMW won't acknowledge the reverse clutch issue and insists on replacing the whole transmission.
- Calgary, 00, USA
- Dallas, TX, USA