10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
99,566 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2000 BMW 323 drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2000 BMW 323 Owner Comments (Page 2 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #31

Mar 172013

323 6-cyl

  • 71,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- Biloxi, MS, USA

problem #30

Oct 172012

323 6-cyl

  • 78,000 miles
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.

- Vicksburg, MI, USA

problem #29

Dec 222012

323 6-cyl

  • 61,689 miles
After stopping at a store for groceries I returned to my car and the reverse gear had failed. After a web search I discovered that there are hundreds of similar failures and no action to date that I can find. This is a safety issue for all of us.

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #28

Jul 042012

323

  • 131,546 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2000 BMW 323ci. The contact stated that the vehicle would not respond when engaged in reverse. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was advised that the transmission and the computer board sensor would need replacing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified but offered no assistance. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 131,546.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #27

Nov 022012

323

  • 154,400 miles
Was trying to reverse N it wouldn't it periodically won't reverse until car warms up. Window won't go up without manually pulling it up.

- Richmond, VA, USA

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problem #26

Oct 172012

323

  • 84,000 miles
The contact owns a 2000 BMW 323I. The contact stated that while parked the contact placed the vehicle in reverse and depressed the accelerator pedal but the vehicle would not reverse. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated the reverse drum would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 84,000.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #25

Sep 132012

323 6-cyl

  • 103,200 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The car suddenly stopped going into reverse. Works in drive.

- Flower Mound, TX, USA

problem #24

Aug 192012

323 6-cyl

  • 142,000 miles
I was backing out of a parking space. All of a sudden, there was no reverse gear. I pushed the car, myself. Please recall this car. I read about all of the other owners with the same problem. This is a danger to the owners and everyone around the vehicle. Not to mention, this is extremely expensive to fix. This is my first car. Please consider help with this most dangerous situation.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

problem #23

Aug 042012

323 6-cyl

  • 114,000 miles
Well I had stopped to get something to eat after work. As I was leaving to get in my car, I turned on my engine an placed the car in reverse and I got no response..I here this is an ongoing almost inevitable problem with all 3 series BMW. I strongly feel a recall is needed...

- Kissimmee, FL, USA

problem #22

May 182012

323 6-cyl

  • 88,112 miles
Picking my son up from school and no reverse. No indications anything wrong put into reverse acts like its in neutral. Absolutely no reverse. Drove home and had vehicle towed to transmission shop. Went online and shocked to see the number of no reverse failure online. The no reverse org in 2009 is no longer up but shocked how many people posted the exact problem! BMW North America or corporate says they can't do a recall and to notify NHTSA. Ethically, we both know they should fix these faulty drums they outsourced to GM and did not tell anyone. Please recall the no reverse failure for the 2000 model, thanks for recalling the sub-frame cracking. BMW service centers are a rip off and never tell the owner what's really going on. I am an original owner, have meticulous service records and feel the us needs to make them stand behind their product. Please help us. Getting stuck in a dangerous parking lot at night would not be safe? please ask BMW to fix their faulty drum.

- The Woodlands, TX, USA

problem #21

Apr 172012

323 6-cyl

  • 126,598 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was picking up my daughter from school around 4:30pm on April 17, 2012 and when I put the car into reverse to back into a parking spot...the car had no power. The transmission just revved up like it was in neutral. I could not get the car to back up. I thought maybe I had it in the wrong gear but no it was in reverse. I put the car back into drive and went around the corner to wait for her. When I tried to reverse out of the parking spot it still didn't have any power. Thankful the car rolled back far enough to get out of the parking spot. Once I got home I had to be pushed into my parking stall because once again the reverse was not working. I haven't had any major problems with my car, the miles are low 125,000 and it gets regular maintenance check ups.

- Renton, WA, USA

problem #20

Dec 012011

323

  • 90,000 miles
The reverse gear stop working.

- Great Fall, VA, USA

problem #19

Nov 012011

323 6-cyl

  • 125,000 miles
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 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.

- Ashburn, VA, USA

problem #18

Dec 282011

323

  • 134,565 miles
The car had been running fine. Went to leave a friends house and it would not go in reverse. Had to be pushed backwards, put into drive and forward gears worked fine. Drove about 11 miles, stopped and put it in reverse, and it worked. Couple days later I went to back out of the driveway, and reverse stopped working again. The reverse works on and off. This is extremely dangerous because a traffic situation could arise where reverse is needed to avoid a serious accident. Research has shown that this is an extremely common problem with these cars, yet BMW has failed issue a recall. Please help with this.

- Dunn, NC, USA

problem #17

Jan 032012

323 6-cyl

  • 86,500 miles
The reverse gear does not work this morning when I tried to back the car from the parking lot. The forward gear is good though. My car has a dual transmission.

- Boulder, CO, USA

problem #16

Dec 012010

323 6-cyl

  • 120,000 miles
I have a BMW 323I and the reverse went out. Looks like a common problem with this year make and model. I am dumbfounded that there has not been a recall on this piece of S#!% transmission. BMW has lost me as a customer, since they don't stand behind their product when so many others are having the same problem. Backing out onto a two lane, 55 mph hwy my son and I were nearly killed since the transmission failed. I thought it slipped into neutral. No it failed!

- Willoughby, OH, USA

problem #15

Nov 062011

323

  • 139,000 miles
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.

- Plano, TX, USA

problem #14

Dec 012011

323

  • miles
2000 BMW 323I. Consumer states reverse gear does not engage

- Thousand Oaks, CA, USA

problem #13

Nov 182011

323 6-cyl

  • 128,000 miles
The car will not go in reverse.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #12

Nov 012011

323

  • miles
2000 BMW 323ci. Consumer states reverse did not engage and would not work the consumer stated the vehicle has a dual transmission (step tronic).

- Washington, DC, USA

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