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BMW Transmission Problems

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Wandy of Scarborough, Ontario, Canada (08/11/06)
My BMW was purchased in year 2000, which was a year 2001 model 330i, and was very pleased with the car and service until a few months ago. The car will stall in the middle of the road for no reason. This happened couples times within 6 months, and as of today, the reverse gear is gone. Now, my R is just like N, but all the other gears work fine. I did a search on the web, I found a many posts that indicate the same problem as mine in Consumer Affairs web site.

As indicated by other BMW drivers, the problem is caused by the factory defect on the transmission. However, I have complained to the dealer, and they just ignore me, and say I should be responsible by myself. I can't believe that this is happening on a car worth over 60k in just under 6 years with low mileages (only 80,000+km).Also, I have done all the regular check ups and oil changes as recommended by the BMW technician. This caused me so inconvenience and I need to take bus to work. I think the BMW should responsible to fix the problem at their cost. To this point, I have lost the overall enjoyment of the car and furthermore, I am disappointed in the BMW service.

John of Half Moon Bay, CA July 27, 2006

John of Half Moon Bay CA (07/27/06)
Our 2001 BMW X5 with about 81000 miles on it refused to go into reverse in Cupertino on June 30, 2006. We immediately drove it to Stevens Creek BMW in Santa Clara. We left it with an after hours repair sheet.

A very helpful service department employee gave us a loaner car. For the next two weeks we tried to discover what the problem and the solution was and to get it solved. Tom Zigler said that the automatic transmission was broken and had to be replaced. He said that it could be replaced only with a rebuilt transmission not with a new one. He said that BMW would not sell a new transmission for installation in a new car.

We asked Tom several times if there was any way to get a new transmission. If there was anything we could do to get a new transmission. If there was anyone else we could talk to get at least an option to get a new transmission. Each time the answer was No. I asked Tom at least 2 times what was likely to be the problem. He said he didn't know. They have no instruments or tools to see or get inside the transmission. Finally we agreed to the rebuilt transmission, it was installed, and we picked up the car on July 21.

Tom was as helpful as he could be but he was totally stymied by BMW policy. We have never driven this car off road. We have never towed anything. We have kept up with all scheduled maintenance.

Yang of San Francisco, CA July 16, 2006

Yang  of San Francisco CA (07/16/06)
My 2000 BMW 323i transmission failed at 83,000 miles. It will not go in reverse and it seems this problem is a common one and is a defect in the product that requires a recall. Damage is estimated at 4,800.00 to rebuild the transmission. I looked around at BMW enthusiast forums and many that have the 2000 BMW 323i had to replace their transmission.

Courtney of Baltimore, MD July 7, 2006

Courtney of Baltimore MD (07/07/06)
I parked my 2000 323i (144k miles) this morning in the parking garage and I tried to adjust my car by putting it into reverse. And to my surprise the 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 today 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 because I am now waiting to get my car towed home. The BMW manufacturers should have recalled this vehicle model several years ago.

P. of Washington, DC May 17, 2006

P. of Washington DC (05/17/06)
My 2000 BMW 323i transmission failed at 53,000 miles. It Will not go in reverse and it seems this problem is common and is a defect in product that requires a recall. Damage is estimated at 4,500.00 to replace with a rebuilt transmission. I bought the car from VOB BMW in Rockville, Maryland. I had a lot of problems prior to this one, but this one is extremely expensive to repair. I contacted BMW USA and VOB BMW when I started having this problem. They did not even give me a chance to check the car. Nothing !

Now, I the reverse does not work at all, I have it in the shop for the last 3 days, I do not have an extra car, so I have to go to work by bus and metro.

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