NHTSA Complaint #10209179 — 2000 BMW 328I

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