1999 BMW 323I

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. *TR

I HAVE BEEN DRIVING MY 1999 BMW 323I FOR THE PAST YEAR WITH FEW PROBLEMS. TODAY I GOT UP TO GO ON A ROAD TRIP, AND MY CAR WILL NOT GO INTO REVERSE. IT HAS BEEN SERVICED REGULARLY, BUT THERE WAS INDICATION OF A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM EXISTING. ACCORDING TO THE DEALERSHIP, IT WILL COST ABOUT $3,000.00 TO CORRECT THE FAILURE. A QUICK WEB SEARCH REVEALED THAT THIS IS A FAIRLY COMMON OCCURRENCE. *TR

I JUST READ ABOUT THE PERSON WHO HAD THE 1999 THAT HAD THE ENGINE LIGHT AND TRANSMISSION LIGHT GO ON. I HAVE HAD THE SAME THING. A MECHANIC FRIEND OF MINE SAID THAT WE SHOULD CHANGE THE "LIFETIME" FLUID AND IT MIGHT CLEAR IT OUT. WHEN PUT ON THE COMPUTER IT SHOWED A PROBLEM WITH THE 5TH GEAR. WE WENT AHEAD AND PAID TO HAVE THE FLUID CHANGED. IT WAS EXTREMELY DIRTY AND DEFINITELY A GOOD IDEA TO CHANGE IT....WELL IT DIDN'T RECTIFY THE PROBLEM. I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY BMW THAT I WILL NEED TO PROBABLY HAVE THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION REPLACED...BMW IS PART PUSHERS ONLY, NOT MECHANICS.....MY CAR IS A 1999 AND HAS ONLY 70K MILES ON IT...I HAVE NEVER HAD A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM WITH A CAR WITH THAT LITTLE OF MILES ON IT. I HAD SOMEONE SUGGEST NOT USING THE 5TH GEAR SO I AM DRIVING IN S4 INSTEAD OF "D". SO FAR IT IS WORKING JUST FINE, HOWEVER MY ENGINE LIGHT STILL COMES ON PERIODICALLY. I AGREE THAT BMW SHOULD HAVE A LONG WARRANTY WHEN IT COMES TO TRANSMISSION ESPECIALLY WITH ALL OF THE COMPLAINTS I HAVE READ AND PRICE OF THIS "MOST WONDERFUL CAR". AT THIS POINT I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER BMW. I TOO PLAN TO GO INTO A TOYOTA OR HONDA. *JB

1999 BMW 323I (E46) I DIDN'T KNOW MY GERMAN CAR CAME WITH A CRAPPY TRANSMISSION MADE BY GM IN FRANCE. IT FAILED AFTER 89,000 MILES AND REQUIRED A TOTAL REPLACEMENT BECAUSE PARTS ARE UNAVAILABLE. THIS COSTS $4500. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND I'M SURE OTHERS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM BECAUSE I'VE BEEN READING ABOUT THEM ON VARIOUS BMW MESSAGE BOARDS. THIS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A KNOWN DEFECT AND BMW IS RESPONSIBLE FOR FIXING THIS. THEY HAVEN'T TAKEN ANY ACTION TO RECTIFY THIS. *NM

I OWN A 1999 BMW 323I. RECENTLY, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON ALONG WITH THE SIGN FOR THE TRANSMISSION (THE EXCLAMATION IN THE CIRCLE). THEN THE POWER WAS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED WHICH DIDN'T ALLOW ME TO DRIVE OVER 40 MPH. I TOOK IT TO THE BMW DEALER NEAR MY HOME AND AFTER THEY RAN THE EXPENSIVE DIAGNOSTIC TEST THEY STILL WEREN'T SURE WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. HOWEVER, THEY SAID THEY RECEIVED A BULLETIN FROM BMW TELLING THEM THAT RESETTING THE COMPUTER FOR THE TORQUE AND TRANSMISSION WOULD FIX THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, THIS WAS ONLY A TEMPORARY FIX, AS IT ONLY LASTED FOR ONE WEEK. THE LIGHT STILL CAME ON AND THEY STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. THIS FRUSTRATES ME THAT THE BMW DEALER DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. I KNOW OF SEVERAL OTHER BMW OWNERS AND THEY HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. THEY ALL HAVE TRADED THEIR CARS IN FOR A HONDA OR SOME OTHER JAPANESE MADE CAR, WHICH I AM CONSIDERING TOO! HOWEVER, I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO RESORT TO THIS, AS I HAVE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY FOR THIS LUXURY CAR AND WOULD LIKE TO KEEP IT. NEVERTHELESS, I BELIEVE THIS IS A MANUFACTURING PROBLEM, AS MANY ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS AMONG OTHERS HAVE BEEN REPORTED BY BMW OWNERS AND DEALERS. A CO-WORKER'S HAD A '98 325 AND HAD ONLY ABOUT 70K MILES ON IT AND SHE HAD MAJOR ENGINE PROBLEMS AND SPENT ABOUT $3500 DOLLARS AND THE PROBLEM STILL WASN'T FIXED. SO, SHE TRADE HERS IN FOR A HONDA. I SPENT ABOUT $400.00 AND MY PROBLEM IS STILL NOT FIXED. I AM HESITANT TO POUR ANY MORE MONEY INTO FIXING MY CAR ESPECIALLY, AFTER MY FRIEND SPENT MUCH MORE AND HERS WASN'T FIXED, AND WHEN THE MECHANICS AREN'T SURE WHAT THE FIX IS. I BELIEVE THIS IS AN ACROSS THE BOARD TYPE OF PROBLEM WITH MANY IF NOT ALL BMW'S AND THE MANUFACTURER DOESN'T WANT TO ADMIT IT. JUST GO TO BMWCOMPLAINTS.COM TO SEE FOR YOURSELF. I WOULD LIKE AN INVESTIGATION INTO THIS PROBLEM AND A RECALL TO FIX THESE SERIOUS PROBLEMS. *JB

I BELIEVE THAT CARMAX SOLD ME A LEMON. IT IS A 1999 BMW 323CI, WAS PURCHASED USED AT THE INDEPENDENCE BOULEVARD STORE ON NOV 28, 2003, WITH 57,097 MILES. THE PURCHASE PRICE WAS $21,420 INCLUDING A $1,699 EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR 3YRS/36000. AUTOMOBILE WARRANTY AGREEMENT NUMBER: 7106508410. *AK SINCE SHORTLY AFTER PURCHASE, THERE HAVE BEEN EXCESSIVE AND EXPENSIVE DEFECTS, INCLUDING SAFETY ITEMS. THE CAR HAS BROKEN DOWN, FAILED TO START, REQUIRED TOWING, AND THE CONTROL PANEL FLASHES SPURIOUS WARNINGS. DESPITE THE WARRANTY, AND DESPITE MY REQUESTS TO CARMAX, CRITICAL REPAIRS HAVE NOT BEEN PERFORMED. SAFETY DEFECTS STILL OCCUR AND ARE NOT BEING REPAIRED BY CARMAX (I.E. CURRENT CONTROL PANEL WARNING FOR LIGHTS). MAJOR MECHANICAL ITEMS ARE NOT BEING PERFORMED UNDER WARRANTY (E.G. TRANSMISSION). THIS HAS ALL OCCURRED IN LESS THAN A YEAR, AND WITH LESS THAN 5,000 MILES OF MY DRIVING. SUMMARY OF REPAIRS SINCE PURCHASE: 12/17/0357,561MI.AIR BAG LIGHT FAULT, SEAT BELT, ELECTRICAL & CONTROL PANEL 12/23/0457,694REAR DEFROSTER, ELECTRICAL, WINDOW REPLACED, WORN BRAKES 06/04/0459,565HORN REPLACED, FUSES & ELECTRICAL 9/10/0461,230CLUTCH REPLACED, WARNING LIGHTS, CONTROL PANEL FAILURE LIGHT INTERMITTENTLY COMES ON (HAS NOT BEEN FIXED) THE CAR IS CURRENTLY UNSAFE TO DRIVE...REFERENCE THE CONTROL PANEL WARNING INDICATOR THAT CARMAX CANNOT ANALYZE NOR REPAIR. THE HISTORY OF SAFETY PROBLEMS INCLUDE FUSES, AIR BAG, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, AND HORN. SUMMARY: I WAS SOLD A "LEMON" AND HAVE AN UNSAFE AUTOMOBILE. I REQUIRE A SAFE CAR TO DRIVE, AND I WANT TO STOP PAYING FOR REPEATED DEFECTS AND BREAKDOWNS. RECOMMEMDED SOLUTION: I SUGGEST THAT EITHER: (A) THE CAR BE RETURNED FOR A FULL REFUND, INCLUDING REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE COST OF ALL DEFECTS, OR; (B) I BE REIMBURSED FOR ALL DEFECTS AND THAT THE TERMS OF THE 30 DAY WARRANTY BE EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 29, 2006.

TRANSMISSION LOCKED TO "LIMP HOME" MODE. CAN BE RESET BY TURN OFF AND ON THE IGNITION, BUT IT WONT SOLVE THE PROBLEM AND WILL OCCUR AGAIN. IF YOU RUN AT 75/80 MPH, AND THE "LIMP" MODE IS ON.. THE GEAR WILL BE SHIFT DOWN SUDDENLY AND IT WILL DANGEROUSLY IMPACT THE SPEED OF THE CAR BEHIND ME. LUCKILY THE CAR BEHIND ME HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO REDUCE THE SPEED BEFORE IT HITS ME. *AK

I WAS DRIVING MY 1999 BMW 323I ON HWY 101 IN SANTA CLARA, CA. THE CAR SUNDENLY FEELS "WEAK". I IMMEDIATELY PULL OFF THE NEXT EXIT. AT THE TRAFFIC LIGHT AFTER THE EXIT RAMP THE CAR STALLS. I RESTARTED THE CAR AND WAS ABLE TO MOVE IT, SLOWLY, TO A PARKING LOT. THERE I FOUND THAT A). I LOST THE REVERSE GEAR B). THE TRANSIMISSION PROGRAM LIGHT WAS ON. I ATTEMPTED TO START THE CAR AGAIN TO SEE IF IT MOVES BUT THE ENGINE KEEPS STALLING - I NOTICED THAT THE TRANSIMISSION DOES NOT APPEARS TO BE SHIFTING. IT IS LIKE STARTING A MANUAL SHIFT CAR FROM THE 3RD GEAR.THERE WAS NO WARNING SIGN OF ALL THESE. IT HAPPEN ALL IN A SUDDEN. THE CAR HAD JUST GONE THROUGH THE BMW 60K MILE SERVICE (MAJOR SERVICE) A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO.*AK I HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO MY BMW DEALER AND THERE THEY PRONOUNCE THE TRANSIMISSION DEAD - TRANSMISSION LOCKED-UP. I AM SCARED! I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED THAT DAY!