2000 BMW 323I: stuck in gear or won't shift

Filed Apr 29, 2019 · Transmission · 180,000 miles · OR · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 bmw 323i. The contact stated that the transmission would not shift into reverse. On one occasion, the failure occurred and caused a fender bender with another vehicle. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The contact spoke with an unknown bmw dealer and an independent mechanic. The mechanic informed the contact that the reverse drum failed due to defective metal. The dealer stated that the transmission needed to be replaced because the parts were no longer available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 180,000.

Filed Mar 17, 2013 · Transmission · 71,000 miles · MS

Like the hundreds of others on the consumer affairs website, my 2000 bmw 323i wit 71k miles failed to go into reverse. I was at church and proceeded to back out of the parking space when the car would not go into reverse. There were no warnings - ever. The car was running smoothly. I decided to check the web and was astounded that there were hundreds of bmw 2000 323i owners with the exact same problem. I contacted bmw of america via email and was given the same response as the other owners of "normal wear and tear." many owners had less than 50,000 and bmw is not owning up to the problem. Bmw had not and will not acknowledge the problem, but interestingly they are no longer using these transmissions. A class action is being discussed and rightly so. This is a rip off of thousands of consumers and definitely is a safety issue. I can see someone not being able to back up off of a train track, etc. Please issue a recall. Thank you.

Filed Feb 4, 2013 · Engine · 47,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 bmw 323i. The contact stated that the check engine light, eml, and dsc warning lamp illuminated. The contact also mentioned that the vehicle went into limp mode and failed to accelerate over 20 MPH. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the engine throttle body and engine dme needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage and the current mileage was 93,000. Updated 3/8/13 *cn updated 04/12/2013

Filed Jun 21, 2011 · Transmission · 147,000 miles · GA

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 bmw 323ci(na). The contact stated the gear shift selector would not shift into reverse. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired and the manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 147,000.

Filed Mar 6, 2011 · Transmission · WA

My 2000 323i bmw won't go into reverse.

Filed Feb 12, 2011 · Transmission · 140,000 miles · MD

I own a 2000 323i w/140k miles. I pulled into a convenience store (head in). Upon leaving, I put my car into reverse and nothing happened. I thought maybe I accidentally put it in neutral, but no. So I put it back into park, turned the car off and removed the key. I tried again with the same result. It would not go into reverse. Drive worked just fine. There was no warning whatsoever. No lights, sounds, or indication that anything was wrong. I am really ticked off. I had to get pushed back and then I could drive off. Recall please.

Filed Dec 9, 2010 · Transmission · 50,000 miles · OH

We brought our daughter a 2000 323i bmw, a few weeks after purchasing the car the car will not shift into reverse. This was a gift and our daughter was so happy, we spent a good amount of money on this car, it is in excellent condition, only has 50k miles and was garage kept and was never drove in the winter, and now it is sitting in the garage and cant be driven. I would like to become a member of a class action, this is a issue that has been going on for years,a dn bmw needs to recall the cars and fix the problem. Our daughter is so disappointed she cant drive her car. The bmw dealer that looked at the car said it was going to be 4800.00 for the transmission and they can not guaranteed that the new transmission will not do the same thing, and I don't want to have it fixed and it do it again and have to keep repairing the car. I know after all of this I will never buy another bmw. If anyone knows a classaction suit please email me at [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Oct 14, 2010 · Transmission · 155,967 miles · NC

My 2000 bmw 323i at times will not go into reverse. My car has approximately 155,000 miles. I did take it for repair and was given an estimate of about $5000 to replace my transmission. With all the complaints that I have seen with this particular problem with these cars bmw should definitely do a recall and offer to replace these faulty transmissions.

Filed Jun 29, 2009 · Transmission · 72,000 miles · AL

I bought a 2000 bmw 323i in 2004 that had been maintained immaculately. At 72,000 miles, the car simply would not go into reverse. My father took the car to bmw dealership closest to my home and they said it was a transmission problem and repairs were going to be about $5000 for a new transmission. Fortunately, he is mechanically savvy, and found a mechanic to repair the transmission for about $2000. After reading online that bmw will do nothing to help replace/repair the thousands of cars that this problem has occurred in, I have to say I am severely disappointed. What once was my "dream car" has turned into a nightmare.

Filed Apr 27, 2009 · Transmission · 166,210 miles · TX

I own a 2000 bmw 323ci for a little over a year now and I've had to put about $6,000.00 in repairs into it but all in small problems. Last week, with no warning my car would not go into reverse. I went online to see how much a transmission would cost and to my surprise I found thousands of people with the exact same problem and in all cases bmw never admits to a faulty part and a recall on there transmission. I have always taken my car to the bmw dealer and have gotten my work done there but not this time. It would cost me nearly $8,000.00 to fix it there.

Filed Apr 25, 2009 · Transmission · 95,000 miles · CA

My 2000 bmw 323i (95,000 miles) would not shift into reverse. Took it to bmw dealership to find out what the problem was. The dealership said it was the transmission and it would have to be replaced, costing $6000. Did some research on the internet and was surprise to find out that the reverse gear failure is a common problem with the bmw cars during my year. Read thousands of complaints from bmw customers with the same reverse failure problem. The company, bmw, is aware that this is a common problem, possibly a defect, and offers no alternate solution other than to replace the entire transmission at a very costly price when the only problem is the reverse gear and everything else works fine. Knowing that I am not the only one suffering with this expensive problem I feel that the bmw should stand by the quality of their product. It does not make sense to purchase a new transmission, as this is our only recourse according to the dealership, when the reverse failure will more than likely happen again! Thank you very much.

Filed Mar 12, 2009 · Transmission · 66,151 miles · NY

The automatic transmission failed on my 2000 bmw 323 wagon, after having traveled only 66,151 miles. The transmission will not go into reverse. I purchased the car as a certified pre-owned bmw in 2002 from winlsow bmw of colorado springs, co. The car has always been garaged and professionally serviced. Following the reverse transmission failure, gault bmw of endicott ny (nearest to me now) offered that there were no "open campaigns" to fix the defective transmission and estimated (over the phone) that the repair would cost between $4,000-6,000 at their dealership. Gault bmw's service manager recommended a specific local independent transmission repair shop as a cheaper alternative. The repair cost me $3,246.18. I was without the use of the car from 13 dec 08 to 14 jan 09.