Owner-reported complaints naming the transmission system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the automatic or manual transmission, including shifting behaviour, shudder, slipping and transmission control modules. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2000 BMW 328I submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 18 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
TRANSMISSION IN DRIVE HAS ALL LIGHTS LIT-UP EXCEPT THE DRIVE THOUGH DASHBOARD HAS D LIT UP. I KNOW I AM IN DRIVE MODE. NO PROBLEM DRIVING THE CAR. IT IS VERY CONFUSING AND DEFINITELY VERY CONCERNING. *TR
THIS MORNING I WENT TO BACK OUT OF MY GARAGE IN MY 2000 328I BMW AND PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE...NOTHING HAPPENED, IT FELT LIKE THE CAR WAS IN NEUTRAL. ENGINE WOULD REV UP WHILE APPLYING GAS PEDAL BUT NOTHING HAPPENED. I PUSHED THE CAR OUT OF THE GARAGE, GOT A RIDE TO WORK AND RETURNED 8 HOURS LATER. MY SON HELPED ME PUSH IT INTO STREET BECAUSE DRIVE STILL WORKED. I DROVE AROUND THE BLOCK THEN PULLED IN FRONT OF MY DRIVEWAY TO PUSH IT BACK INTO THE GARAGE AND TRIED REVERSE.......AMAZINGLY REVERSE WORKED. I LOOKED-UP THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT THAT WAS SETTLED IN THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT IN NJ IN 2008, CASE 2:07-CV-05755-DMC-MF. APPARENTLY THERE IS A MAJOR PROBLEM. *TR
I HAVE OWN MY 2000 328I SINCE 2000 WHEN I PURCHASED IT NEW FROM BMW OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS. ON LAST WEEK WHEN PICKING UP MY SON FROM DAYCARE I WENT TO PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE TO BACK OUT PF A PARKING SPACE AND IT IGNORED THE GEAR SHIFT TO REVERSE. I THOUGH IT WAS ME ANT PUT IT BACK IN PARK AND TRIED REVERSE AGAIN ONLY TO GET NOTHING. I PUT IT IN DRIVE AND IT WORKED, I PUT T THROUGH ALL THE OTHER GEARS AND THEY APPEAR TO WORK, BUT NOTHING IN REVERSE. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND THEN BEGAN AGAIN FROM START UP PUT IT IN DRIVE AND DROVE A BIT AND THEN BACK TO REVERSE AND IT REVERSED. NO PROBLEMS AGAIN UNTIL A WEEK LATER AND ATTEMPTING TO BACK OUT OF THE GARAGE AND HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. NO REVERSE EXCEPT THIS TIME I CAN'T PUT IT IN DRIVE AND DRIVE FOR A BIT BECAUSE IT IS STUCK IN THE GARAGE WITH NO DISTANCE TO GO OTHER THAN BACKING OUT. I RESEARCHED THIS PROBLEM ON THE WEB AND SEE THAT THIS IS NOT A SMALL PROBLEM AND THAT SO MANY OTHERS ARE EXPERIENCING THIS SAME THING. BMW REALLY NEEDS TO BE HELD LIABLE FOR THESE DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSIONS. THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS REALLY NOT "CUSTOMER SERVICE" AS THEY REALLY DO NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM OTHER THAN GIVE YOU A BIG FAT REPAIR ESTIMATE. PLEASE HELP !! *TR
HAVE A 2000 BMW 328I. TRANSMISSION BEGAN SLIPPING A FEW WEEKS AGO. WHEN I DRIVE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS FOR A PERIOD OF TIME, I GET TRANSMISSION INDICATOR LIGHT THAT COMES ON. AS EXPLAINED IN THE MANUAL, I STOP, TURN CAR OFF FOR 30 SECONDS THEN RESTART AND IT GOES OUT. THEN LAST WEEK AFTER DRIVING HOME, WHEN I WENT TO GARAGE TO GO BACK OUT, THE CAR WOULDN'T GO INTO REVERSE. I PUSHED IT OUT OF GARAGE AND IT DRIVES FORWARD FINE. AFTER A MILE OR 2 I PULLED OVER AND IT WENT INTO REVERSE. NOT HAPPENING ALL OF THE TIME, IT'S HAPPENED 3 TIMES IN PAST 5 DAYS. HAVE NOT TAKEN IT IN FOR SERVICE OR ANYTHING YET. *TR
NO REVERSE ON 2000 BMW 328I. WENT TO GET THE OIL CHANGED AND PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE AND LET OFF THE BRAKE THEN GAVE IT GAS TO PULL OUT AND INSTEAD ROLLED FOREWORD AND BUMPED ANOTHER VEHICLE. *TR
2000 BMW 328I TRANSMISSION WON'T GO INTO REVERSE. *TR
MY 2000 BMW 328I WILL NOT GO IN REVERSE. IT SEEMS TO BE A COMMON FLAW WITH THE BMW'S AS LISTED ON THE NOREVERSE.ORG SITE. BMW REFUSES TO RECALL THE TRANNY. NO REVERSE IS A SAFETY ISSUE. I PERSONALLY FELL DOWN TRYING TO PUSH MY CAR OUT OF A PARKING SPOT. *TR
PLAIN AND SIMPLE, SOMEONE NEEDS TO LOOK INTO THIS TRANSMISSION PROBLEM THAT EVERYONE SEEMS TO BE HAVING! THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF ARE LOSING THE REVERSE GEAR AND FACING $5000 PLUS IN REPAIRS. YOU CAN FIND WEBSITE AFTER WEBSITE AND PAGE AFTER PAGE OF PEOPLE THAT ARE FACING HARD ECONOMIC HARDSHIP AS IT IS, THEN GETTING SLAPPED IN THE FACE BY RIDICULOUS REPAIR COST FROM BMW. THIS IS AN INJUSTICE TO ALL THOSE WHO TRUSTED IN BMW TO DELIVER THE QUALITY PRODUCT THEY BOAST ABOUT! THINK OF IT THIS WAY, YOUR WIFE OR DAUGHTER IS STUCK IN A DARK PARKING LOT AND CAN'T MOVE HER CAR BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION WON'T GO INTO REVERSE. NOW SHE HAS TO SIT AND WAIT FOR A TOW TRUCK TO COME TO HER RESCUE. NOW HERE'S THE KICKER, ITS IN A BAD LOCATION AND HER SAFETY IS THREATENED! HMM, WOULDN'T IT HAVE BEEN NICE IF SOMEONE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN OFF THEIR BUTTS AND DONE SOMETHING TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM? THINK ABOUT IT.......THEN PASS IT ALONG TO THE PEOPLE WHO CAN HELP US INNOCENT VICTIMS!! *TR
PLAIN AND SIMPLE, SOMEONE NEEDS TO LOOK INTO THIS TRANSMISSION PROBLEM THAT EVERYONE SEEMS TO BE HAVING! THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF ARE LOSING THE REVERSE GEAR AND FACING $5000 PLUS IN REPAIRS. YOU CAN FIND WEBSITE AFTER WEBSITE AND PAGE AFTER PAGE OF PEOPLE THAT ARE FACING HARD ECONOMIC HARDSHIP AS IT IS, THEN GETTING SLAPPED IN THE FACE BY RIDICULOUS REPAIR COST FROM BMW. THIS IS AN INJUSTICE TO ALL THOSE WHO TRUSTED IN BMW TO DELIVER THE QUALITY PRODUCT THEY BOAST ABOUT! THINK OF IT THIS WAY, YOUR WIFE OR DAUGHTER IS STUCK IN A DARK PARKING LOT AND CAN'T MOVE HER CAR BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION WON'T GO INTO REVERSE. NOW SHE HAS TO SIT AND WAIT FOR A TOW TRUCK TO COME TO HER RESCUE. NOW HERE'S THE KICKER, ITS IN A BAD LOCATION AND HER SAFETY IS THREATENED! HMM, WOULDN'T IT HAVE BEEN NICE IF SOMEONE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN OFF THEIR BUTTS AND DONE SOMETHING TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM? THINK ABOUT IT.......THEN PASS IT ALONG TO THE PEOPLE WHO CAN HELP US INNOCENT VICTIMS!! *TR
MY 2000 BMW 328I REVERSE GEAR JUST WENT OUT. WHEN I PUT IT IN REVERSE TO BACK UP THERE IS NO POWER. I REV THE ENGINE AND IT DOESN'T MOVE AT ALL. I HAD TO PUT IT IN NEUTRAL AND PUSH IT TO GET OUT OF A PARKING SPOT TODAY. I HAVE READ THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE SAME YEAR OF BMW CARS. THE SOLUTION IS TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION WHICH RUNS 4-7 THOUSAND DOLLARS, RIDICULOUS. *TR
NONE, NO ACCIDENTS. A FEW DAYS AGO MY CAR DID NOT GO INTO REVERSE IN THE MORNING AND I THOUGHT MAYBE IT WAS TO COLD OR MAYBE I PUT IT IN REVERSE TOO SOON. SO I TRIED SWITCHING THE GEAR INTO PARK OR IN DRIVE AND BACK TO REVERSE AND NOTHING. I EVEN RESTARTED THE CAR AND STILL NO REVERSE. SO I JUST SAT THERE FOR A FEW MINUTES AND TRIED AGAIN AND IT REVERSED VERY VERY SLOW EVEN WHEN I TAPPED THE GAS. ANYWAY, SO CAR HAD BEEN GOING INTO REVERSE FINE UNTIL THIS EVENING. I HAD MADE A MORNING TRIP AND AN AFTERNOON TRIP AND REVERSE WAS WORKING BUT THIS EVENING I GOT IN MY CAR AS USUAL AND PUT MY 00' BMW 328I INTO REVERSE AND NOTHING. I CAN'T EVEN FEEL THE GEAR SWITCHING LIKE USUAL BUT ALL OTHER GEARS ARE WORKING. I HAVE READ A LOT OF COMPLAINTS SO BMW HAS HAD TO HAVE BEEN AWARE OF THIS ISSUE FOR SOME TIME NOW CONSIDERING THAT MOST COMPLAINTS COME FROM BMW CARS THAT WERE MADE IN 99' AND UP. QUESTION IS, WHEN IS BMW GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. IF IT IS A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM LIKE SO MANY OTHERS IT WOULD COSTS THE BLUE BOOK VALUE FOR MY CAR JUST TO FIX AND ITS NOT WORTH IT. MY FIRST BMW AND PROBABLY MY LAST IF "BMW" DOES NOT FIX THE PROBLEM AS THEY SHOULD! I MEAN IF MY REVERSE GOES OUT WHAT'S NEXT TO GO? I AM KIND OF AFRAID TO DRIVE NOW. *TR
REVERSE DOES NOT WORK; THIS IS INTERMITTENT. IT IS NOT CONSISTENT AND THE BMW DEALER SAYS THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE AND CANNOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WHEN RESEARCHING THIS ON THE INTERNET, I PRINTED OUT INFORMATION FROM ONE SITE AND GOT 98 PAGES OF RESULTS FROM PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. *TR
THE REVERSE ON MY 328I SERIES BMW WENT OUT WITHOUT ANY WARNING. IT CAME BACK ON A DAY LATER AFTER HAVING TO BE PUSHED OUT OF THE PARKING SPACE. IT HAS SINCE GONE OUT AGAIN WITH NO WARNING. AFTER RESEARCHING REASONS WHY ON THE INTERNET, I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT THIS HAS ALSO HAPPENED TO THOUSANDS OF OTHER BMW OWNERS WITH A 2000 328I SERIES. BMW DOES NOT CLAIM ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR A DEFECTIVE PART WHICH HAS SINCE BEEN UPDATED. THE ONLY RECOURSE FOR THE BMW OWNERS IS TO HAVE TRANSMISSION REBUILT OR A NEW ONE PUT IN AT A VERY HUGE COST, OFTEN TIMES MORE THAN THE CAR IS EVEN WORTH. BUT YOU CANNOT SELL A CAR WITHOUT REVERSE. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A RECALL ISSUED FOR THIS DEFECTIVE ENGINEERING DESIGNED PART. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF OTHER OWNERS EXPERIENCING THIS SAME FRUSTRATION AND EXPENSE. I WAS TOLD THAT BMW NORTH AMERICA WILL DO NOTHING AND DOESN'T EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE A PROBLEM ON THEIR PART. THIS IS A FAULTY DESIGN ISSUE. CAN SOMETHING BE DONE? *TR
I AM AN OWNER OF A 2000 328I BMW WITH 112,000 MILES. I AM VERY METICULOUS ABOUT THE CARE OF MY CAR. MY CAR LOOKS AND RUNS EXCELLENT. LIKE MANY OTHER OWNERS OF A BMW, I ALSO SUDDENLY LOSS THE REVERSE GEAR AFTER ARRIVING TO WORK ONE EVENING RECENTLY. MY VEHICLE NEVER SHOWED ANY SIGNS OF TRANSMISSION TROUBLE. THE VEHICLE GOT GOOD GAS MILEAGE AND NEVER SLIPPED. LATER THE NEXT DAY, THE REVERSE GEAR IN THE CAR WORKED FINE. I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO AAMCO TRANSMISSION TO HAVE IT SERVICED. THE MECHANIC ON DUTY SAID THE TRANSMISSION WAS FINE. AFTER TALKING WITH THE MECHANIC, HE AGREED TO KEEP THE CAR FOR THE DAY AND DRIVE THE VEHICLE. THE NEXT DAY I GOT A TELEPHONE CALL FROM THE MECHANIC TELLING ME I NEEDED TRANSMISSION WORK. HE SAID THE REVERSE GEAR WENT OUT ALONG WITH 5TH GEAR. THE ORIGINAL ESTIMATE WAS $1,400.00 BUT AFTER THEY PULLED THE TRANSMISSION OUT THE CAR, THEY REALIZED THE TRANSMISSION WAS MADE IN FRANCE. THE NEXT ESTIMATE WAS FOR $6,300.00 DUE TO THE TRANSMISSION BEING MADE BY GENERAL MOTORS FRANCE.(ZF5HP19 ) AFTER RESEARCH I FOUND OUT THAT THIS TRANSMISSION HAS THE SAME COMPLAINT BY MANY OTHER PEOPLE. THE REVERSE GEAR GOES OUT WITH NO WARNING AND WILL OCCASIONALLY WORK BUT WILL CONTINUE TO NOT WORK. THE BMW DEALERSHIP REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM AS WELL AS BMW NORTH AMERICA. THE FACTORY HAS RELEASED AN UPDATED PART THAT SO FAR APPEARS TO BE A PERMANENT FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM ON THE ZF5HP19. *TR
NO REVERSE IN MY BMW!!!! I AM THE 2ND OWNER OF A 2000 BMW 328I. WHEN I PURCHASED MY VEHICLE, THE PREVIOUS OWNER SUPPLIED ME WITH ALL BMW DEALER MAINTENANCE/SERVICE RECORDS. AS THE 2ND OWNER, I NEVER HAD ANY MAJOR REPAIRS. ONLY SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE. MY CAR LOOKS AND RAN IMMACULATELY UNTIL, OUT OF THE BLUE, MY CAR REFUSED TO GO INTO REVERSE. THIS HAPPENED WHILE PULLED INTO A PARKING SPACE AT A DEPARTMENT STORE. AFTER SHOPPING, I WAS NOT ABLE TO GET OUT OF THE PARKING SPACE...MY CAR WOULD MOVE INTO DRIVE JUST FINE BUT NO REVERSE. THERE WEREN'T ANY NOISES OR ANY WARNINGS THAT I HAD A TRANSMISSION FAILURE. PEAKE BMW OF KENNER, LA WILL REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION FOR $5,854.90. BEFORE PUTTING MY CAR IN THE REPAIR SHOP, I DID SOME RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET. I DISCOVERED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR THE BMW 3 SERIES YEARS 1999-2001. I ALSO LEARNED THAT DESPITE THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS, BMW REFUSES TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FAULTY TRANSMISSIONS AND WILL NOT EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE'S A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM. I'M TRULY APPALLED AT BMW'S LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY. IT'S OBVIOUS TO ME THAT THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL ON THE FAULTY GM 5L40E TRANSMISSION AS IT HAS FAILED IN OTHER MAKES OF CARS AS WELL LIKE CADILLAC. RIGHT NOW, I'M TRYING TO DECIDE IF I SHOULD ALLOW THE BMW DEALER TO REPAIR MY CAR OR TRY TO FIND AN AUTHORIZED BMW REPAIR SHOP THAT'LL HOPEFULLY SAVE ME A LITTLE MONEY. *TR
TRANSMISSION SUDDENLY WOULD NOT GO INTO REVERSE. TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. *TR
I OWN A 2000 BMW 328I. AROUND FEBRUARY 2007, I PARKED THE CAR IN A PARKING STALL. WHEN I RETURNED, THE CAR WOULD NOT GO INTO REVERSE. I HAD TO PUSH THE CAR OUT OF THE STALL. SINCE THEN, THE CAR EITHER HESITATES TO REVERSE OR COMPLETELY FAILS TO GO IN REVERSE ABOUT HALF THE TIME I DRIVE IT. MY MECHANIC INFORMS ME THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. I AM ABOUT TO HAVE IT REPLACED AT A COST OF $4,000. I DISCOVERED TODAY THAT THIS PROBLEM IS WIDE SPREAD IN CIRCA 2000 BMW 3 SERIES CARS. ONE WEBSITE I FOUND CONTAINING OVER ONE HUNDRED SIMILAR COMPLAINTS FROM THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY IS: WWW.CONSUMERAFFAIRS.COM/AUTOMOTIVE/BMW_TRANS.HTML. THERE IS APPARENTLY A DESIGN DEFECT IN THE TRANSMISSION. BMW N.A. DENIES ANY PROBLEM, DESPITE THE FACT THEY DISCONTINUED USE OF THE PARTICULAR TRANSMISSION IN LATER MODELS. I AM INFORMED THAT IF THE TRANSMISSION FAILS WHILE DRIVING, THE CAR WILL SUDDENLY STOP. THE DANGER IS OBVIOUS. PLEASE INVESTIGATE. *TR
MY 2000 BMW 328I WITH 85000 MILES WILL NOT GO INTO REVERSE ANYMORE. A SEARCH OF THIS PROBLEM AT CONSUMERAFFAIRS.COM SHOWED THAT THIS SEEMS TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS YEAR AND MODEL OF CAR. HERE IS THE LINK. *AK HTTP://WWW.CONSUMERAFFAIRS.COM/AUTOMOTIVE/BMW_TRANS.HTML PLEASE NOTE THIS CAR IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN MAINTAINED ACCORDING TO BMW GUIDELINES AT EITHER A BMW DEALER OR A BMW SPECIALIST. ALSO THIS CAR IS DRIVEN BY ADULTS ONLY AND IN A GENTLE FASHION. THIS PROBLEM IS NOT A RANDOM PROBLEM BASED UPON THE INTERNET SEARCHES I HAVE CONDUCTED. I'M QUITE SURE THERE ARE MANY MORE FOLKS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM AND HAVE NOT REGESTERED A COMPLAINT ON THE INTERNET.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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