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A of Glendale CA (05/13/08)
I own a 2000 BMW 323i (bought new in July of 1999) and since the 3rd week of owning the car, have been living with the stupid red airbag light on. This gorgeous driving machine has been to the dealer at least 6-7 times to remedy the problem, and it seems like they have fixed it, the next day, light's back on. PLUS, the best part: in 2004, I was driving the car on a warm sunny day, went over a pothole (oops) and the ENTIRE side impact airbag system on the passenger side deployed, smoke, debris flying n' all! Lucky me. Then of course, the car wouldn't accelerate, so I had to slow down and pull over. I called the dealer, (you're gonna love this:) who had just the Friday prior serviced the car for a 'voluntary airbag blah blah blah recall'... Needless to say, with some strong words I had the car towed to them, got a BMW loaner (the ONLY loaner ever given to me by BMW for having my car serviced by them) and my 323 was out of service for an ENTIRE WEEK! woo hoo! Let's NOT even get into the 1.5 inch thick binder full of service documents for other faulty problems.... I called BMW of North America the following day and they were the most apathetic bunch of a-holes I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with. For financial reasons I still own the car and am anticipating the next disaster... to whom it may concern, if you are considering a luxury brand, PLEASE consider a Japanese bran.. the one with the L in the oval; you won't be disappointed! trust me!
Mohamed of Durham NC (05/01/08)
on april 28 2008 around 6pm i was driving from raleigh to durham in north carolina on miami blv hway 70 @ 45mph when the airbag from the drive side blo up and heat my left arm i fell like my arm was in fire,the front left the roof airbag the back left airbag go off,i stop the car go off, i call 911 the do the report.the next day i call my insurance they tell me they have to hear from bmw what cause it before the get me a rental car,finally i have to rent a car my self .i sent the car to the closed bmw dealer who telling me the next day they can fixed it at $7000 what is not right
Susan of La Jolla CA (10/29/07)
In early October, my 2000 323ci convertible,like all the others, suddenly lost reverse. I received an initial estimate of $5,000 for the repair from my local German Motors mechanic and had the car towed back to my home. I found this website and www.noreverse.org by chance when I googled BMW reverse problems. I immediately began my conversations and documentation of the problem with BMW NA. I, too, was stuck with only a customer service contact (no other BMW representative is customer facing). After a week of discussions, I had my car towed to BMW of San Diego. They worked with me and in the end BMW NA covered the cost of parts under warranty leaving me with only the $880 labor bill. My car is well-maintained and has 58,000 miles on it. Although, in my case, BMW handled the situation well, I am still disappointed that this is not the standard by which they handle this entire situation.
Chad of Arlington TX (10/14/07)
I have a 2003 BMW 352i. Yesterday, a guy ran a red light and hit me on the passenger side. The estimated speed was 45mph and the side air bags did not deploy!
I was taken to a local hospital and released and the car is totaled. I haven't contacted BMW yet, but it sounds like they aren't too helpful with getting things resolved. I will update again when I hear something.
Thomas of Bellevue NE (10/06/07)
Purchased a new 2000 BMW 323i in May 2001. Meticulously cared for and only serviced by the dealer. At 90,014 miles the reverse gear failed with no warning. Dealer estimates $4600 to replace the transmission. This is outrageous considering the number of no reverse gear complaints there seem to be. I'm not the kind of customer BMW should want to lose, but I refuse to pay a premium price for a substandard product. By the way, the power windows are problematic as well and don't work as well as my daughter's 1998 chevy cavalier. Although this is a beautiful car that drives great, I can't justify buying another BMW after this experience.
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Cee of Anderson SC (09/16/07)
The air bags did NOT deploy after a RH front collision at 25-30MPH. The 2001 BMW 325Ci rollover protection deployed but the air bags did not
Kevin of Middetwn NJ (08/28/07)
Well just an update, BMW says I need a REBUILT transmission.. The cost $ 6883.00.. I called a local tranmission rebuilder for an Estimate, I said I have a BMW, but before I could continue, he stopped me and said LET ME GUESS NO REVERSE I said yeah, he said and its a 2000 3 series..... Amazing,,, all I said was I have a BMW... His repair is $ 2200.00
Repair from BMW $ 6883.00....
Susan of Narberth PA (08/18/07)
Purchased my 2000 BMW 323i new, had it serviced only at the dealer. The day after having it serviced the car would not go into reverse. I was told I needed a new transmission. The car had 50,844 miles on it. My dealer offered to pay for half. My husband did a lot of research and found out a lot of people were having the same problem.
Leo of Mrietta GA (08/16/07)
My 2000 BMW 323i (45K miles) suddenly stopped going into reverse. I took it to the dealer, who said it was a transmission problem. The only option to repair it is with a rebuilt trans from BMW, at a cost of $4800. I took my car to a difrent transmission shop, who told me that there's a known defect with BMW's (3 series?), with a valve part within the transmission. They said that if this is the problem, they could fix for under $1000. If this is occuring frequently, there should be a recall to replace these transmissions at no charge. If there is a class action i'll be glad to participate.
Steve of Granite Springs NY (07/28/07)
I have a 2001 BMW X5 and am experiencing several strange problems with my automatic transmission. From not being able to shift into reverse to a sudden TRANS FAILSAFE PROG error message on the Information display. I have had the vehicle in several times for repair but the problem keeps reoccurring. Manual has some basic problem solving then the standard consult your nearest BMW center
Allan of Zimmerman MN (07/19/07)
My wife owns a 2000 BMW 323i that intermittantly will not go into reverse
BMW dealer checked it out and said that he had never heard of such a thing. Repair costs are excessive for a new transmission.
Brent of Issaquah WA (07/17/07)
I have a 2001 X5 4.4 and the transmission started going out at 60k miles. The reverse does not work, even though going forward works fine. I have had no help from the local dealership or BMW. Too many people are having this problem. It would not be hard to get hundreds involved in a class action suit for this.
Avanish of Ashland MA (07/09/07)
My 2000 BMW 323i with about 88K miles will no longer drive in reverse. It appears to be the same transmission problem everyone is describing here. I had no idea that problem was so widespread.
Bindy of Overland Park KS (06/28/07)
Save for the variables of mileage - 90K - and geographic location - Overland Park, KS - my story is exactly the same as 90% of the entries preceeding it. My 2000 BMW 323i was running perfectly well, probably in some part due to the religiously consistent maintenance and upkeep I've invested over the years, until a couple of weeks ago when, low and behold, my car wouldn't go into Reverse; it just revved like it was in Neutral.
The mechanic that I have used for years and trust spent a day and a half with it trying to figure out what exactly the probelm was, without having to lead me down the road of a new transmission, but, of course, that would be the remedy. I subsequently checked with the service manager at the local dealership to see, (after having read the hundreds of complaints here), if he had seen a lot of similar cars come through with this problem.
At first he tried to say he hadn't, but then when I reitterated that later in our conversation, he said, Well, I didn't say that. I just said they'd been random. He wouldn't even run a diagnostic on my car. In fact, he refused - he just immediately told me to come in and he'd replace the transmission. REALLY!? If I call my doctor with a stiff knee, is he going to immediately sign me up for knee replacement surgery without even seeing me? Gee, thanks - I was wondering what I was going to do with that extra $4800 in my pocket. btw, when I mentioned the 300+ complaints that I'd read about on just one website alone, he said, Well, that's not very many. Uh-huh. Let's see - I'd say those of us who have written here make up only about 10% of the people to whom this has actually happened.
Steve of Leominster MA (06/14/07)
i have a 1997 bmw 540i and crashed into a concrete base that holds up a light pole i was goin app 25 mph the accident did almost 10,000 in damge to my car i had to be lifeflighted to a trauma center airbags never deployed.i contacted bmw derek anton and they sent out an investigator the first code that came up was airbag fault as the technician scrambled and made 2 or 3 calls i was told anton would get back to me.when he did he tried to tell me the techs said the parameters werent right for deployment and there was nothing they could do for me.lets see head on crash 10,000 in damage no airbag deployment airbag fault code on screen but the parameters werent right?bmw takes no responsability for their vehicles defects very very sad.
Amber of Corona CA (04/30/07)
2001 BMW 330CI, 60k miles I don’t recall a time when it didn’t squeal when in reverse. Every time it was serviced at Irvine BMW I told them and after service it would not squeal for one day and then it would start again. To this day it squeals in reverse.
Anthony And Carole of Mahopac NY (04/22/07)
We purchased a 2000 BMW 323 series when our lease was up. It has about 80,000 miles. After making our first payment of a 3-year loan last month, we put the car into reverse to back out of the driveway and it would not go into reverse. No prior warning, no symptoms, it just failed to go into reverse gear. We are going to attempt to make BMW liable for this obvious mechanical defect in the 2000 323 series cars. From what we hear, they are not saying that there is a defect or recall. They are selling a high-end car with a high-end price tag but apparently are producing a substandard quality car. If there is no defect, then is this the quality they are knowingly producing? We are seeing people on this web site with as little as 36,000 miles with a shot transmission. If so, you can buy a Kia or a Hyundai for less than half the price instead of buying a BMW that is supposed to be a well-made car.
The consequences are that I cannot afford to repair a transmission. I am paying $400 a month for the next three years for a car that I cannot drive and thus, must take Metro North to work in Manhattan at a cost of $300 per month and I don't even have a car to get to the station. My wife must get up and leave the kids at home alone to get ready for school while she drives me to take a train at 6:00 a.m. We plan to do everything we can to get BMW to be held accountable for this. They know of the problem and refuse to deal with it. I will work with an attorney, go to the TV news and local newspapers to get the word out about this abuse that BMW is doing to their customers.
Mitzi of Norman OK (04/17/07)
i just thought i'd add mine to the mountain of other complaints about owning a 2000 BMW 323i which suddenly has no reverse. not surprisingly, the local dealer's service manager toed the party line, saying he was unfamiliar with that being a common problem. the guy who actually replaced my transmission said he did at least 10 last year. i found a story online, run by a san francisco television station which detailed the exact problem there. BMW denies there is a problem...why is there no class action on this?
Visa Mississauga, Canada (04/12/07)
I have 2000 323i with Steptronic , similar to all these complaints about the reverse failure. I was told by the BMW dealer as others that the tranny needs to be replaced....NOT
Kevin of Everett WA (04/12/07)
Kevin of Everett, WA (04/12/07) On 01/12/07, I purchased a 2001 330i BMW, est. miles 80K, equipped with sports package and steptronic, from a local used car dealer. On 02/20/07, I put the car in reverse with no response.
Thinking that I must have select Neutral, I visually look and No, sure enough it was in Reverse. I pushed the car backwards and put in Drive and it worked fine, then I toggled over the SD and that forward gear work fine and then I shifted in manual mode and all 5 speeds work fine. However, whenever drive forward 5-10mph; I could hear a grinding sound coming from the transmission.
I contacted the BMW Dealer in Bellevue, WA, where the car was original purchased and spoke with a Service Rep. with no help. I was informed that this was not a known problem. The VIN was check for warranty status, (which had expired). The Service Rep. est. the repair cost anywhere from $1500 to $5000. Results: The transmission was rebuilt by a reputable transmission shop. End Result: The Total Cost I had to pay (out of pocket) For a known BMW Premature Transmission Failure was $3325.26
Paula of Collinsville OK (04/05/07)
I have a black 2000 BMW 323i with just over 100,000 miles sitting in the driveway with a bad transmission. I bought this car used 2 years ago and loved it so much that we bought 2 more. A 1999 328i with the E46 chassis and another red 2000 323i.
All these cars were bought before I realized that these cars typically have bad transmissions. I was told by a mechanic that the transmission was going out on the red BMW and any day I could be left stranded. I traded it in right away for a new car(NOT a BMW). And then within a couple months the transmission in the black car went out. I can only hope that the 1999 won't have a problem. All three of these cars have also had air conditioning problems. When you own more than 1 of these, you really notice the things that are of poor quality in the vehicle.
Mitchell of Altamonte Springs FL (03/22/07)
Bought a bmw 323i and only has 70,000 miles on it and the reverse went out last night and now I have to replace the transmission. Seems like this is happening alot and BMW should address the problem!
Over $3000
Julie of Birmingham AL (03/20/07)
Auto accident BMW 330ci - Side airbag failed to deploy in an accident with a direct hit on the driver side door @ approximatly 45 miles per hour.
Benjamin of Toluca Lake CA (03/12/07)
2000 BMW 323i with 92K miles failed to move when the automatic transmission was engaged in Reverse; BMW claims problem is rare.
Cost to replace the transmission was quoted at $6,000.
Felix of Maspeth NY (03/10/07)
i own a 2001 330ci and it only has 55k miles. It has been well taken care of but just yesterday i put my car into reverse and it wouldnt work. Something is obviously wrong with the transmission, i did nothing wrong. There are hundreds of cases all over the internet with many of these people experiencing the same exact thing. Bmw needs to recall these faulty transmissions... I dont believe that i would ever buy a bmw product ever again if i have to spend thousands of dollars to fix this problem.
Keffelew of Port Coquitlam (03/09/07)
My 2000, 323I BMW has 86690 KM and the transmission fail to reverse. Going forward is not an problem but in reverse ther is no oil pressure reaching the system to drive it. The vehicle is well maintained with no damage and all maintainace were carried as per the BMW spec. Now the dealer told me the transmission need to be replaced which costs cnd$6985.24. This happened 6 months after the manufacturer warranty expired. I fell ripped off by BMW who knows the issue with the transmission but never did a recall and shows they are profitabl.
I have to get the vehicle fixed which will put me in a big debte by paying ~cnd$7000 which at first place must be fixed with (covered) big giant BMW.
Chris of Washington Crossing PA (03/01/07)
My 2000 BMW 323CI all of a sudden lost the ability to shift into reverse and instead acts like it is in neutral. The car only has 67k miles and is well maintain. I was told this is a problem that the cars have and BMW refusses to fix it. The bill is going to cost me over $3,000. Is this fair?
I was told it is going to cost been $3,000 - $4,000 to fix. I am out a lot of money for a car that is suppose to last. Walking to work and dealing with the stress and the run around is getting old.
Manuel of Greensboro NC (02/17/07)
We just purchased a 323I BMW sedan (pre-owned, well keep)after two weeks the revers gear faild. We contact the local BMW deal in Greensboro, NC , but the only solution that they offer me is to install a new transmition. However, I just read all these people complained for the same issue, that I thinking in suit BMW of america for negligence. They should recall all 3 series cars and have the problem fix.
New transmission cost $4000 and do not included the labor. Plus, my family needs two cars and now we have to share.
Dana of Citrus Heights CA (01/29/07)
I bought a 1999 323i that just recently will intermittently not go in reverse. I have place my vehicle in many repair shops hoping for a diagnosis, but no one can seem to find out the problem because it is intermittent and there is no code to tell them the issue. I'm frustrated and angry that I have a car I paid cash for, cannot drive and cannot have repaired. I would like some responsibility to fall on BMW since this is a wide spread issue that they are failing to own.
I will never buy or suggest to anyone to buy a BMW and will post as many times as I need to to get the word out that these expensive well manufactured cars are no more reliable than a $12,000 Kia (no offense to those that own a Kia since you can drive your car and I can't drive mine).
Jorge of Sacramento CA (01/26/07)
Transmission problems, after i slowed down to exit the freeway
Alexander of Katy TX (01/23/07)
I drove down to colorado to go skiing during winter break. I had done a transmission flush not too long before, so i was driving up there with new transmission fluid. It drove fine in the cold weather, up until the morning after we arrived. When i started up the car, an exclamation mark came on exclaiming the transmission had failed. I wasn't sure what the problem was, but i figured we were in cold weather so the only plausible answer would be that it had frozen solid so i waited for the car to warm up.
Once it reach normal temperature, i turned off the car, started it back up and the transmission was fine. Still i was worried. This was the winter of 2005. Just two weeks ago, i took my car in to the dealership because i heard strange sounds coming from the engine compartment which sounded like grinding and clicking. They said they found nothing wrong with the transmission and racked up a bill of $3000. I asked the dealership to give me a detailed list of the problems they found with the car to decipher what was critical to fix (also, i wanted to get a second opinion from our mechanic). I did not recieve a list upon recieving the car, nor did i recieve the list upon calling them and leaving five messages.
Just this weekend, i had our mechanic take a look at the car, i listed every problem i could remember bmw mentioning. He fixed a couple hoses, changed my breaks, and the next day when I was pulling out of a parking lot, my car jumped and it sounded as if i had hit something. I slammed on the brakes and hopped out of the car, but nothing was there. I got back in the car and drove home.
When i was planning on driving back to Austin from Houston, i placed it in reverse, stepped on the gas but the car did not budge (as if it was still in neutral). However, i could heard what sounded like grinding gears below me, and much louder than before. I'm lucky that i realized it had broken when i did; driving at speeds over 70 miles an hour with a busted transmission can't lead to anything good. That's an accident waiting to happen that BMW didn't help me avoid.
Brian of St. Charles IL (04/26/06)
After having my 1997 BMW 540i (E39) serviced for a persistent and recurring airbag indicator light at least twice, the front driver's side, door-mounted airbag detonated while the car was at rest in a parking lot. No accident or impact caused the airbag to deploy. I only turned on the car and closed the door. My 3-year-old son who was in his booster seat in the left rear side of the vehicle was hit by flying pieces of hard material from inside the door, causing several slight cuts to his face and hand.
Neither my wife or infant daughter were injured, but all of us -- and passersby -- were shocked by the unexpected deployment. I was hit in the left arm by the airbag and bruised when the airbag flung my arm and watch into my body. I took the car in for service and did not think of the problem further at this point.
Later, the unexpected airbag deployment prompted me to contact BMW of North America who logged my problem and indicated that someone from BMW would contact me to investigate the matter. Within 48 hours, Derek of BMW of North America contacted me to understand the problem. I indicated that the spontanious airbag problem was a safety-related concern. Derek/BMW requested the technician to send him the airbag, sensor, and control unit for investigation/analysis.
My car was repaired, and the BMW diagnostic software showed that the system was not throwing a fault code. Derek/BMW contacted the technician and indicated that based on the system's current performance he could return the car to me. When the technician started the vehicle, however, the driver's side airbag deployed once again on him!
The technician contacted Derek/BMW and informed him of the 2nd airbag deployment. Derek/BMW indicate to me that BMW would fly an engineer from New Jersey to Illinois to inspect the vehicle. April 20, 2006: I learned from the technician that the BMW engineer had inspected the vehicle over two days on April 18 and 19 but did not indicate the source of the problem to the technician or how to resolve it. BMW instructed the technician to leave the vehicle alone and await further information after they reviewed their findings.
April 26, 2006: Between April 21 and April 26, I have contacted BMW/Derek several times and requested information or status on the vehicle, indicating that I would like to resolve this safety-related concern quickly and amicably so that I could receive my vehicle back in proper working order without fear of future, possibly dangerous airbag detonations. As of today, I do not know the condition of my vehicle and whether or not it is repairable. BMW/Derek has maintained contact with me, but has indicated only that the enginers have not concluded their analysis.
Scott of Papamoa, New Zealand (03/24/06)
i have recently had a road traffic accident in my BMW and accrued serious injury due to the fact my air bag never went off?? I am looking for some answers or infomation to explain this. Injuries included broken and dislocated collarbone, ribs and front teeth with other head and body injuries.
T of Murrieta CA (01/30/06)
Bought a new BMW from Savage BMW in 2004. Complained twice that the air bag warning lights were on. They fixed everything but the air bags. The second time they said they would order parts and call me, but again they never did. So from the time the car was new, I always had air bag warning lights. On December 13th, I was hit in the rear from a car doing about 55 miles per hour. That hit launched me into another car who hit yet another car. It totaled the car in front of me and yet the air bags never deployed.
$8300 in damage on my car and it's still in the shop. I have contacted BMW at least 3 times + my service requests before the accident. BMW could care less. They said they were sorry and to give them my VIN # etc. I have never heard from them since and I have emailed them twice more after this response. At this point I have a car when it comes out of repair from the accident that still has defective air bags and BMW has no interest in fixing the problem.
Mario of Bronx NY (11/25/05)
I have a 2001 325i I just bought. I had it about 1 week. I was driving on the I-95 highway when I hit a pothole in the road. At that time the driver side door airbag and the top airbag deployed, the car then shut off and did not want to turn on. I was almost hit by passing cars. It was the most frightening thing i have ever been involved in.
Julie of Alhambra CA (12/11/01)
I was driving 65 mph on the 10 fwy in Los Angeles at 12:30pm on a sunny day. My 2000 BMW 528i had an unexpected deployment of airbags. I did not get into a car accident, hit anything, or run over anything. The driverside head airbag and side impact airbag deployed and hit me on my left arm and my left thigh. The engine would not accelerate and I pulled over to the right shoulder with my remaining speed.
My car is in the dealer waiting for investigation. BMW is denying malfunction. I suffered bruises and cuts on my left arm and my left thigh. My back hurts and I am scared to drive.
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