2000 BMW 323I

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. *AK

I AM AN OWNER OF 2000 BMW 323I. IT CURRENTLY HAS ~115K MILES ON IT. TODAY (FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2007), I ENTERED THE PARKING GARAGE AT WORK AND ATTEMPTED TO BACK INTO A PARKING SPACE --- AS I ALWAYS DO. I DROVE FORWARD, THEN PUT MY CAR IN THE REVERSE GEAR, BUT IT WOULD NOT MOVE. WHEN I PRESSED ON THE ACCELERATOR, IT WOULD ONLY MAKE AN IDLING SOUND LIKE IT WAS IN THE NEUTRAL GEAR --- EVEN THOUGH THE LCD SHOWED "R" (REVERSE). AFTER A FEW ATTEMPTS OF TRYING TO GO IN REVERSE, I REALIZED THAT ALL MY EFFORTS CAME TO NAUGHT. LUCKILY, I HAD JUST ENOUGH ROOM TO "DRIVE" FORWARD AND CLEAR THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME SO THAT I COULD TAKE MY CAR TO GET REPAIRED. COME TO FIND OUT, I NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION. I FIND IT VERY ODD THAT MY TRANSMISSION WOULD GO OUT THIS EARLY AND IT WOULDN'T GIVE ANY TYPE OF WARNING. ALSO, I FIND IT VERY FRUSTRATING THAT THERE ARE CARS THAT COST 1/3 OF THE PRICE AND PROVIDE BETTER UTILITY. THIS EXPERIENCE DEFINITELY HAS ME QUESTIONING MY BRAND LOYALTY. BMW SURELY ISN'T LIVING UP TO ITS' BRANDING MESSAGE AS "THE ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE" --- UNLESS IT SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDES GOING IN REVERSE.

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: HTTP://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.*AK

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. *NM

MY 2000 323I (144K MILES) REVERSE DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE. I STARTED NOTICING PROBLEMS A FEW YEARS AGO BUT EACH TIME I COMPLAINED THEY (NORTHWEST BMW IN RANDALLSTOWN) NEVER FOUND A PROBLEM. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND I WAS QUOTED A FEE OF ~$4500 FOR REPAIR. THIS IS INSANE, I THINK I'VE HAD THIS PROBLEM ALL ALONG AND NO ONE REALLY EVER TOOK THE TIME AT THE DEALERSHIP TO INVESTIGATE PROPERLY. I AM VERY DISHEARTENED ABOUT THE WHOLE SITUATION. THE BMW MANUFACTURERS SHOULD HAVE RECALLED THIS VEHICLE MODEL SEVERAL YEARS AGO.