Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
SIB27021212/01/201210051459Bmw: dsc warning light is on. the warning lamps for dsc, abs and brake warning illuminated. there may also be a warning in the control display for chassis control system failure. *js03/07/2013
POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION
SIB-28-02-0806/01/201010036980Ready04/25/2011
SIB-28-02-0806/01/201010036980Bmw: a new technical process is being used on many models to determine the root cause of double-clutch transmission problems. *rm04/25/2011
SIB-34-078-0711/01/200710032827Bmw vehicles: dsc disabling function. dsc off function has been implemented in m5 and m6 vehicles equipped with the optional 6 speed manual transmissions. no model years listed. *pe05/28/2010

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
POWER TRAIN
10/17/2012780001
 Great car until parked at grocery store and car would not back up when put in reverse. only 75000 miles. bmw dealer wanted $6000 to replace with factory rebuilt transmission. contacted bmw customer service and they refused to participate in repair. offered to contact dealer and ask for 10% reduction. never heard back. last bmw for me. very frequent failure per the internet and this site. *tr
10/17/201278000
 Great car until parked at grocery store and car would not back up when put in reverse. only 75000 miles. bmw dealer wanted $6000 to replace with factory rebuilt transmission. contacted bmw customer service and they refused to participate in repair. offered to contact dealer and ask for 10% reduction. never heard back. last bmw for me. very frequent failure per the internet and this site.
09/13/20121032001
 The car suddenly stopped going into reverse. works in drive. *tr
09/13/2012103200
 The car suddenly stopped going into reverse. works in drive.
11/01/2011125000
 The car transmission will not go in reverse. the issue happens suddenly with no warning, and acts exactly as if you were in neutral gear. there is a dedicated site called http://www.noreverse.org that documents thousands of cases from bmw owners that have the same problem. bmw north america has acknowledged that its transmissions in vehicles 1999-2003 have this issue, but fails to offer any assistance on this huge safety issue. in november, i pulled out of my driveway normally to drive to work. when i arrive at work and attempted to reverse into the space, the car acted like it was in neutral. the vehicle continues to act this way. all other gears work normal (meaning it drives fine forward), it is just that you cannot engage reverse.
11/06/2011139000
 The car all of a sudden stopped going into reverse. i had to push it to get our of the parking spot and went straight home. the next morning, the reverse gear decided to work so i decided to take it for test drive again and it failed to go into reverse again. there are thousands of bmw owners that complain about the same problem with the reverse gear. there needs to be a recall from bmw to take care of this issue.
04/01/201079000
 There is a major problem with the reverse on these vehicles. we thought we had a unique problem but it is a obvious that this is a widespread problem. i found 359 complaints on our yr/make/model on this website alone. also numerous complaints on a website called no reverse.org. our bmw will not go into reverse. i have learned to park on an incline so i can roll backwards out of a parking space. bmw needs to do a recall. they are loosing faithful customers by not addressing the issue. if there is a class action lawsuit, i want to be a part of it. bmw reps at customer service decline to help so far.
08/02/2011132000
 Reverse gear (automatic transmission) stopped working without warning. car acts as if it is neutral, engine just revs. car has been well maintained. was surprised to find it is a very common occurrence with this model, and that there is a website devoted to the problem (noreverse.org). also learned that a recall was issued for cadillacs that used the same transmission and had the same problem.
POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
07/18/2011111000
 With no warning,no indication on dash, no previous problem, car would not back up, fortunately, i was in my own driveway and not in a precarious situation. 2000 323i automatic trans 100000+ mi dealer serviced since new, lifetime fluid no way to check fluid level, dealer saysfluid low clutches burned ??? lifetime fluid . i suspect and will check to find broken clutch drum so common to this trans as indicated in the many websites dedicated to this trans literaly, hundreds perhaps thousands of similar complaints are on line how many not reported? this is a dangerous defect as well as an obvious engineering failure that has nothing to do with the owners failure to service this vehicle or check the fluid level- in fact -the owner has no way to check the fluid level. why has nhtsa not forced the manufacturer to address this potentialy deadly defect ? are we waiting for another ' pinto series of disasters?
07/15/200996000
 Car does not go on reverse. drive it for about 5 miles or so and the reverse works. leave it turned off and most of the time, the reverse wont work again.. it's frustrating.
10/01/2010100000
 I have a 2000 323ci bmw and all of sudden my reverse stop working for no reason at all. i been up to date with my taking care of it and one day it just stop working, the reverse just doesn't do nothing, i haven't done anything to try to correct it because simply is to much for me the cost for it is 4,000 dollars and i just don't have the money to do it, i feel its not fair what bmw has done, with this problem that bmw 3 series are suspect on doing. i read online this is a common problem with certain bmws and i'm wondering why bmw hasn't issued a recall since this is a safety issue as well as an identified common problem.
06/28/201094000
 Bmw 3 series suddently no reverse gear . no warning no anything just stops working . seems to be a common problem with this series bmw . how is it that bmw/na will not take responsibilty for this . there are no recalls but lots of people are experencing this transmission problem . any advice or help ?
04/14/2010110000
 2000 bmw 323 ci convertible. reverse stop to work suddenly, i parked my car over the driveway yerterday them next day afternoon i went to the store to buy some groceries, i made a bad turn and i was trying to get on the road, my reverse did not work. i never feel a symptom about this problem on the car o gradual failure just stop to work, magic.
03/04/2009100000
 Tl*the contact owns a 2000 bmw 325ci. while turning the vehicle on and shifting in reverse the vehicle would not drive in reverse when the accelerator pedal was engaged. she had to push the vehicle out of the parking space so that she could shift into drive gear. the dealer was contacted and stated that they never heard about the failure occurring on these vehicles. she stated that the vehicle would not shift in reverse gear. no repairs were made to the vehicle at this moment. the failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 106,000.
03/01/20081000001
 Reverse gear of transmission went out around 100,000 miles. no issues prior to failure. transmission was replaced by dealer at consumer's cost. *tr
04/05/2009690001
 My 2000 323 ci bmw no reverse . with only 69,000 miles on it properly maintained and serviced, on april 5 2009 the cars reverse gear won't engage ,its like putting it in neutral but is actually in reverse, the car drives forward without any problems. brought it to bmw dealership and was told i need a new transmission. transmission failure rates of the above car is very high that they have a special website for such trany failure www.noreverse.org. bmw needs to address these complaints and maybe held responsible for defects of the above transmission. *tr
02/15/20091100001
 I went to back my 2000 bmw 323ci into a parking spot and it acted as if it was in neutral. *tr
12/20/20081180001
 2000 bmw 323 ci will not go into reverse. *tr
10/08/20071150001
 No wreck, no previous problem. just no reverse!!!! *tr
09/07/20081330001
 2000 bmw 323i no reverse gear...went to bmw dealer and they didn't want to check what's wrong, all they wanted is to change the whole transmission for $5500...i looked on internet and it seems that thousands of people having same issue with this car...hope something can be done and bmw will call our cars for recall...i thing they should repair it at no cost since it is there pure reverse clutch engineering. thank you *tr
06/24/2008675001
 My transmission stopped working in reverse on my bmw 323ci which only has less than 68,000 miles. there were numerous complaints for the same problem. this should be recalled. i have never heard of a transmission failing so early. *tr
04/01/2008820001
 Car was in perfect condition, taken care of as needed. always oil changes etc. got off of work one day, car does not go into reverse. will go forwards, not in reverse. the only way to fix it is to get a new transmission, a $6000 fix. found a website with over 100 similar incidents. *tr
02/21/200862490108/18/2006
 2000, bmw without warning showed sign of the dreaded no reverse transmission problem documented on several website. for example noreverse.org. *tr
12/15/2007106000110/16/2007
 2000 bmw 323ci will not move when in reverse gear; the car behaves as if it is neutral. this happened suddenly, with no warning. the car had no issues leading up to this, no warning lights, etc. the car has been immaculately maintained and serviced. there are literally hundreds of complaints on the web, including at your forum, about this identical problem. *tr
09/04/200777000106/15/2004
 I own a 2000 bmw 323ci convertible with automatic transmission, with 77,000 miles on it. the vehicle has had one previous owner and has been meticulously cared for and serviced. last week (9/4/07) the car would not go into reverse. the bmw dealer has told me that the vehicle needs the whole transmission replaced at a cost of $5,000. i did some research on the internet and found that this appears to be a common problem with this vehicle. i cannot afford to pay for this repair. *tr
05/16/200752700108/22/2000
 Automatic transmission on 2000 bmw 323ci with 52,000 miles failed in reverse only. properly maintained and driven less than 10,000 miles per year. initial diagnosis cost $327.00, and told estimated cost of replacing transmission was $5500.00. no reason found as to why the transmission failed. told that if keep driving the car that the entire transmission will eventually fail which was a serious danger on the highway.*ak
07/10/200764000208/14/2000
 A week and a half ago i took the well maintained 2000 323ci bmw to dealer for the 60,000 mile service, costing over $700.00 for normal? servicing. a day after the service i had to return the car as i had found washer fluid pooled under the vehicle in the garage. i was told the washer pump failed, i then paid an additional $100.00 to have it fixed. a week later i put the car in reverse to go down the driveway and heard a loud ?bang. the car would not engage in reverse. i had the car towed to the dealership and today they informed me the transmission failed, which would cost over $5,000.00 for repair. i was just thankful that this didn't happen on the road. the dealership service representative i have been working with stated that bmw was aware that there were problems with the transmission placed in certain bmw vehicles, specifically a transmission used in the 3 series made by gm. i then went on line to consumeraffairs.com and noted hundreds of similar complaints about the 3 series transmission failure and bmw of failing to take responsibility for this. blog entries expressed the obvious frustration, enormous costs and the possibility of filing a class action suit because the faulty transmission was obviously a manufacturing defect and should be recalled. obviously my complaint wa s two-fold: 1. the ultimate driving mechanism had a risk factor in safety in that there was obviously a design defect in the transmissions used, causing the transmission to go out while operating ,and the only other replacement transmission that can be put in was the same type which might suggest the same incident could happen again . 2.) the cost/repair factor was unexpected and ridiculous because this was not a driver or service neglect problem but one of design. was this a matter for recall and or class action suit? *ak
06/03/200773300107/18/2000
 I'm the original owner of a 2000 323i with the automatic transmission. the car is carefully driven and cared for. for the past 7 years, vancouver brian jessel bmw has performed all of the maintenance. it now has 75,000 km. this morning when i went to back my car out of the driveway, it would not go into reverse. it feels like it's in neutral. when i checked on the internet, i was shocked to see how many other bmw owners are experiencing the same problem. it is obvious that the problem is caused by the factory defect on the transmission. bmw should take responsibility to fix the problem at their cost. *tr
04/20/200249123208/15/2000
 Transmission failure twice!! first failure occurred on 4/20/02 with 49,123 miles. from the complaints i've read looks as though the failures all occur between 40,000 - 50,000 miles. the transmission is supposed to good to 100,000 not 40,000!! please help!*jb
POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL)
12/15/2007106000110/16/2007
 2000 bmw 323ci will not move when in reverse gear; the car behaves as if it is neutral. this happened suddenly, with no warning. the car had no issues leading up to this, no warning lights, etc. the car has been immaculately maintained and serviced. there are literally hundreds of complaints on the web, including at your forum, about this identical problem. *tr
POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY
01/26/2007990001
 Sub frame tore from car rear chassis on a 2000 bmw 323ci, very dangerous and may cause serious accident. *jb
POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE
08/04/2008728051
 Differential sub-frame failure. car has independant rear suspension and differential is carried in an aluminum sub-frame that is attached to chassis with four large bushings. driver's side rear bushing has pulled out of frame of car with visible cracking of metal surrounding the area. *tr