The contact owns a 2000 BMW 323I. The contact stated that while driving at highway speeds, an abnormal rattling noise would emit from the rear end of the vehicle without warning. Upon inspection, the contact discovered part of the rear driver-??s side subframe had detached from the undercarriage of the vehicle. The contact called the dealer about the failure and they offered no assistance. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 205,721

- Higganum, CT, USA

Rear subframe body has separated from subframe mounting support. The chassis is no longer properly attached to the frame. The tied down bolts have sheared off. This is a major safety defect.

- San Rafael, CA, USA

BMW subframe recall. Took my 2000 323ci in for tune up. Was told by mechanic that LH rear subframe separated from unibody. Was told there was a recall in 2009 but was never informed by BMW. Wanting to know how to access recall for BMW to fix. Vehicle was in shop when notified of issue.

- Newcastle, WA, USA

I was unaware of the previous defect notices about the frame / body having a weak spot and was driving at 40 mph when my rear shock and the part that holds the shock in place went through the metal frame ripping the metal away and allowing the shock to puncture through the frame just below the trunk area and the car was then inoperable. I was quoted a price for repair of 6500 and was informed of the 2005/2006 lawsuit where BMW was sued for this defect and repaired some cars for a year after the lawsuit ended but this was prior to my purchase of the vehicle and when I contacted BMW of no America headquarters, they asked me to take the car to the nearest BMW dealer and have them do a diagnosis which I immediately did and that cost was over $10K of which BMW offered to pay only 20%. I then took it to another BMW mechanic who repaired it for $3000 and BMW will not pay any part of the bill because it was not done at a dealership, I do not understand how BMW can get away with a defect like this and so many cars affected by it and not have to repair it at their cost? it is their defect.

- Lawndale, CA, USA

The car went into the shop for a broken water pump. The shop noticed that the subframe and floor pan were broken and the subframe was completely ripped from the car. The repair estimate is $5,300. BMW na has been terrible to deal with and told us "we are on our own" and that our VIN # was not part of the recall. After 5 weeks of escalating the matter within BMW na, they have offered us $2,000 towards the cost of repair. Given that this car has never been driven hard nor in an accident, it is clear that it is a recurring mechanical defect that BMW is aware of but not willing to shoulder any responsibility for. The worst part is, had the water pump not failed, we were unaware of the critical damage that could have resulted in our serious bodily injury had we continued to drive the car.

- Novato, CA, USA

The left rear subframe mount torn away from the vehicle unibody/frame mounting location. The rear body metal fatigue was caused from loading and unloading of the drive train due to an engineering design defect. This occurred under normal driving conditions and is a known defect by BMW. A class action law suit required BMW to fix the problem from 2009 to 2010, but there are still many vehicles on the road that have not been repaired or the metal fatigue showed up after the 2010 deadline for repair. This is a major defect making the vehicle unsafe to drive because the rear axle can separate from the vehicle. This should be a vehicle recall and all BMW E46 3 series should have the rear subframe mounting points repaired and reinforced by BMW at no cost.

- San Diego, CA, USA

On February 6, 2012 exiting the freeway an about a mile or so after, I heard this big clunk that came from the rear, stopped and pulled over to see what that was. Looked under the car and the rear axel was hanging and subframe was severely damaged. Took it to the dealer the next day for inspection and called bmwna to file the claim. They will not pay for the repair and offered 50% of the cost. My car has 160K miles and it is in excellent condition besides this faulty engineered by BMW and they will not pay. Luckily I am still alive. How about if I was still on the freeway driving and this thing happened and caused an accident? this is really serious! safety of myself and other people. I am still dealing with bmwna to cover for the really expensive repair that this incident created. It was a defect from the manufacturer and now they do not want to take responsibility. Please help!!!

- Santa Monica , CA, USA

After having the control arm bushings replaced and a 4 wheel alignment completed at a BMW service dealership in tyler, tx, apparently the steering angle sensor (located at the bottom of the steering column) failed which caused the dynamic stability control (dsc), brake and ABS lights to illuminate. When the incident occurred, I was driving 70 mph on a dry highway using the cruise control. When this sensor failed, all three lights illuminated and the cruise control ceased to work. According to the BMW service department, there is no requirement to re-calibrate the steering angle sensor after an alignment is completed. Additionally, per the service manager at the BMW service department, they are replacing steering angle sensors in a variety of BMW automobiles at "3 to 4 per week". estimated cost to repair is between $500 - $1000.

- Snook, TX, USA

The rear suspension is separating at the attachment points to the body. This is a known defect by BMW. There has been a class action lawsuit but it has expired and BMW is doing nothing about the repairs. This has posed a very dangerous situation where the car suspension can actually become separated from the body.

- Modesto, CA, USA

I heard a squeaking noise coming from the rear end, took it to my mechanic, and was told the subframe has torn off of the rear suspension. He checked to see if there is a recall, but none has been found. He did notice online that this has been an ongoing problem, with many complaints, and that a class action lawsuit had been filed.

- Bradenton, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2000 BMW 530ci. The contact heard a loud banging noise in the rear of the vehicle while driving various speeds. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop and the contact was informed that the rear axle assembly was detaching from the vehicle and its welds. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 200,000.

- Peoria, AZ, USA

Heard loud noises coming from rear end of vehicle. Upon inspection by repair facility it was determined that the rear drivers side subframe mount had pulled away from the body, a large tear is present in the body panel on either side of the subframe mount. Repair facility indicated the risk is that the car may not respond as expected in an emergency or evasive action. Form would not allow me to complete VIN, last character is a 2.

- Kennesaw, GA, USA

A year ago, my gas gauge sensor went out. The car had less than 100,000 miles on it. Today, my 2000 BMW 323I has 111,000 miles on it and the vehicle will not drive in any gear without a grinding sound. I almost got killed by a car behind me because I could suddenly not accelerate at a stop light and I had to get out to push the vehicle to safety. Within the past few months the car would drive, but only when it was warm. Now it is completely inop. This car has been well maintained! it would cost me over $4000 to get a new transmission and I still over $6000 on the car. Despite thousands of complaints regarding the 2000 BMW 323I transmission failure, BMW refuses to do anything. I currently have no operable vehicle and I still have to maintain my auto loan payments and find alternate transportation to work. I have spent over $3500 in additional repairs to this vehicle on brakes, new catalytic converter sensors, trailing arm, ball bearings, etc.

- Saint Francis, WI, USA