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
The contact owns a 2000 BMW 323I. She stated that when the gear shift indicator was shifted into reverse, the vehicle would not move. The failure only occurred while vehicle operated normally in all other gears. The dealer has not inspected the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 61,850.
- Miami Lakes , FL, USA
The transmission failed to perform in reverse. It simply acted as if it were in neutral. It was very scary and upsetting to have this happen, especially where and when it did. I was stuck and had to have reverse to leave the location where I had taken my daughter. Only with the assistance of two (2) men was I able to get the car where I could use the forward gear to move ahead. This manual maneuvering of this car put the men helping me, it put me, and it put others on the roadway at risk while this maneuvering was being done at, obviously, very low speeds. BMW has not offered any substantial help with my plight, nor do they confirm all of the other complaints about the problems with the BMW 3 series, 2000 and later. Part of the litany of the same complaint can be found on the consumeraffairs.com blog site. I'm confident BMW is aware of these complaints. They simply try to look away and ignore us all.
- Phoenix, AZ, USA
Could not back up in the middle of a busy intersection (no reverse and no warning). 323I BMW 2000 transmission failed.
- Nazareth, PA, USA
Transmission will not go into reverse.
- Jackson, MS, USA
My 2000 BMW 323I abruptly stopped going in reverse. Like many dissatisfied 323I owners, I took it to a local dealership only to find out it needs a new transmission. I searched online and many other BMW owners are dealing with this frustration. The complaints are being logged on the following website: www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/bmw_trans.html
- Murrieta, CA, USA
Auto transmission reverse failed with no warning at 87,000 miles. BMW says replace transmission at full cost.
- Harlan, KY, USA
Transmission on a BMW 323ci (2000) suddenly failed. It will no longer go into reverse. Forward seems fine. There were no warning signs. There is no maintenance to be performed. Car has 65xxx miles.
- St. Louis, MO, USA
The reverse gear in my 2000 BMW 323I has failed.
- Centreville, VA, USA
The contact owns a 2000 BMW 323I. When the contact shifted the vehicle into reverse, it failed to move. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated that the transmission failed. A local mechanic made the repair. The powertrain was unknown. The current mileage is 29,000 and failure mileage was 28,000. The consumer questioned would like to know why BMW will not admit to the defect with this specific vehicle that has been on the road for the last 4 years? updated 08/07/07
- Torrance, CA, USA
BMW is not on your list of vehicles! transmission failed on 2000 323I BMW with only 57K. Scanning online complaints about 323I transmission failures it seems NHTSA should have recalled the unit by now!
- Carmel Valley , CA, USA
2000 BMW 323I series failed to go into reverse. Numerous complaints involving this year only found on consumeraffairs.com leading me to believe a recall was appropriate. All incidents were identical and happened with as low as 30000 miles.
- Seattle, WA, USA
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.
- Little Rock, AR, USA
Automatic transmission on 2000 BMW 323ci with 52,000 miles failed in reverse only. Properly maintained and driven less than 10,000 miles per year. Initial diagnosis cost $327, and told estimated cost of replacing transmission was $5500. No reason found as to why the transmission failed. Told that if keep driving the car that the entire transmission will eventually fail which was a serious danger on the highway.
- Portland, OR, USA
A week and a half ago I took the well maintained 2000 323ci BMW to dealer for the 60,000 mile service, costing over $700 for normal" servicing. A day after the service I had to return the car as I had found washer fluid pooled under the vehicle in the garage. I was told the washer pump failed, I then paid an additional $100 to have it fixed. A week later I put the car in reverse to go down the driveway and heard a loud "bang. The car would not engage in reverse. I had the car towed to the dealership and today they informed me the transmission failed, which would cost over $5,000 for repair. I was just thankful that this didn't happen on the road. The dealership service representative I have been working with stated that BMW was aware that there were problems with the transmission placed in certain BMW vehicles, specifically a transmission used in the 3 series made by GM. I then went on line to consumeraffairs.com and noted hundreds of similar complaints about the 3 series transmission failure and BMW of failing to take responsibility for this. Blog entries expressed the obvious frustration, enormous costs and the possibility of filing a class action suit because the faulty transmission was obviously a manufacturing defect and should be recalled. Obviously my complaint wa S two-fold: 1. the ultimate driving mechanism had a risk factor in safety in that there was obviously a design defect in the transmissions used, causing the transmission to go out while operating, and the only other replacement transmission that can be put in was the same type which might suggest the same incident could happen again. 2.) the cost/repair factor was unexpected and ridiculous because this was not a driver or service neglect problem but one of design. Was this a matter for recall and or class action suit?
- Fayetteville, GA, USA
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: 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.
- Los Altos, CA, USA
I'm the original owner of a 2000 323I with the automatic transmission. The car is carefully driven and cared for. For the past 7 years, vancouver brian jessel BMW has performed all of the maintenance. It now has 75,000 km. This morning when I went to back my car out of the driveway, it would not go into reverse. It feels like it's in neutral. When I checked on the internet, I was shocked to see how many other BMW owners are experiencing the same problem. It is obvious that the problem is caused by the factory defect on the transmission. BMW should take responsibility to fix the problem at their cost.
- Vancouver, 00, USA
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.
- Charleston, WV, USA
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.
- Danville, KY, USA
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.
- Bellflower, CA, USA
- Verona, NJ, USA