1999 BMW 323I

I PURCHASED FOUR P205/60R15BW AMEAG H (GOODYEAR)ON 8/2/06, THESE TIRES HAVE A 60,000 MILE TREAD WEAR. ON 8/15/06 MY CAR WAS SENT TO A CERTIFIED BMW MECHANIC DUE TO EXCESSIVE WHEEL NOISE. THE MECHANIC DETERMINED THE PROBLEM OF ORGIN TO BE "ALL TIRES VERY NOISEY & L/F CHOPPY TIRE AFTER 37 K MILES." HE ALSO STATED THE L/F TIRE WAS ALMOST SEPERATED. *JB

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

EVER SINCE I HAVE BOUGHT THE CAR, I HAVE ALWAYS HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECM) ON THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. THE ECM HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE ALREADY AND ON MANY OCCASIONS THE DEALER WOULD JUST RESET THE COMPUTER SO THAT THE MALFUNCTION LIGHTS WOULD GO OFF. I AM POSITIVE THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH MANY SUCH E46 BMW 323I 4 DOOR CARS. THE ECM IS EXTREMELY SENSITIVE TO HEAT OR COLD AND IT GOES OFF ONLY AFTER DRIVING FOR A FEW MILES. IT CAN SOMETIME TAKE DAYS FOR THE LIGHTS TO GO OFF. SECOND FAILURE IN THE E46 323I BMW'S IS THE AIR-BAG SENSOR UNDER THE PASSENGER SEAT (PASSENGER OCCUPANCY SENSOR). THIS HAS TO BE CHECKED BY THE NHTSA AS I AM FACING THE SAME PROBLEM AS MANY OTHER OWNERS OF THE CAR ARE. BMW OWNER FORUMS ON THE INTERNET HAVE MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT DEALERS TRYING TO RIP THEM OFF ON SUCH PART REPLACEMENTS. *NM

ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS MY WINDSHIELD WIPERS HAVE CEASED WORKING AFTER I HAVE COME TO A STOP AND THEN STARTED MOVING AGAIN. THIS ONLY SEEMS TO HAPPEN AFTER THE WIPERS HAVE BEEN IN USE FOR AT LEAST 30 MINUTES. THE CONSEQUENCES ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED VISIBILITY AND DIFFICULTY EVEN PULLING OFF THE ROAD. IN ONE CASE I HAD TO DRIVE OVER A QUARTER MILE BEFORE FINDING A SAFE PLACE TO PULL OVER. IT WAS DARK AND MY WAS VERY POOR. THE WIPERS WILL START WORKING IF I TURN THE VEHICLE OFF AND RESTART. I HAVE REPORTED THE PROBLEM TO THE DEALER ON TWO OCCASIONS AND THEY HAVE NOT IDENTIFIED OR CORRECTED THE PROBLEM. AT THIS POINT I AM RELUCTANT TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE IF IT IS RAINING AND CANNOT USE IT FOR ANY EXTENDED TRIP. I AM NO LONGER CERTAIN OF THE EXACT DATES OF THE INCIDENTS. THE DATE I HAVE ENTERED IS APPROXIMATE.*AK