The contact owns a 2000 BMW 328ci. The contact stated that there was a crack in the lower sub panel of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to competition BMW of smithtown (599 middle country rd, St james, NY 11780, (888) 861-6280) where a failure in the rear driver side floor mounts was discovered. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 120,000. The VIN was not available. Updated 9/24/18

- Setauket, NY, USA

I was driving 20 mph and accidentally hit a pot hole in the road. After doing so the 2000 BMW 328I drove normally. However after this incident I began to hear a clunking noise in the rear area of the vehicle every time I put the vehicle in drive. I took it to the repair shop for an analysis and was told there is a tear in the subframe. The mechanic told me the car is not repairable because the 1999 to 2006 BMW 3 series have a manufacturing subframe defect, and that once the differential begins to separate from the defective subframe the vehicle is rendered worthless. He said that the vehicle is totally unsafe to drive been with trying to repair it because of the inherent defect. I called my insurance company, usaa, explained the problem and filed a claim. Their adjuster looked at the vehicle and reported that it is a total loss and is unsafe to drive. However, the adjuster said usaa will not pay anything on the claim because it is a pre-existing manufacturing defect that BMW should be responsible for. I contacted BMW and found that a class action lawsuit was filed years ago because of the manufacturing subframe defect rendering the vehicles unsafe to drive and worthless. BMW paid for repairs to re-weld the subframe but quit paying in 2006. BMW accepts no responsibility for its defective manufacturing of my car, so now I have a car that is totally worthless and can only be sold for parts. BMW's refusal to recall and be responsible for the model years for which it manufactured defective subframes, thereby creating a safety hazard that could end in death for the car's occupants, is inexcusable. BMW should take responsibility and be required to recall all of the affected vehicles and reimburse all persons like myself for manufacturing a defective car that is a serious safety hazard and causes the vehicles to become worthless once a tear occurs in the subframe.

- Snellville, GA, USA

The left rear subframe mount torn away from the vehicle unibody/frame mounting location. The rear body metal fatigue was caused from loading and unloading of the drive train due to an engineering design defect. This occurred under normal driving conditions and is a known defect by BMW. A class action law suit required BMW to fix the problem from 2009 to 2010, but there are still many vehicles on the road that have not been repaired or the metal fatigue showed up after the 2010 deadline for repair. This is a major defect making the vehicle unsafe to drive because the rear axle can separate from the vehicle. This should be a vehicle recall and all BMW E46 3 series should have the rear subframe mounting points repaired and reinforced by BMW at no cost.

- San Diego, CA, USA

I was leaving my driveway when all of a sudden I heard horrible noise's coming from under the driver side rear wheel. I then jacked up my car to see if anything was visually wrong and couldn't believe what I saw the rear subframe that bolts to the bottom of my car had riped through the metal. Scary!

- Molalla, OR, USA

The issue I would like to report with my vehicle is a cracked subframe. The issue has been reported on multiple vehicles and there was a lawsuit created on behalf of BMW owners affected by this issue (see settlement website below). www.E46subframeclassactionsettlement.com the issue I have is that I turned my vehicle in for inspection with my local BMW dealership (East bay BMW of pleasanton, California) well before the expiration of the lawsuit and was told that the subframe issue did not exist. Months later after hearing repeated noises toward the rear of my vehicle, I took my vehicle to a local BMW dealership and they reported the subframe issue existed. I informed them that my vehicle had been inspected before and they did not find the issue. The service department reported the issue to BMW North America to see if the issue would be covered. BMW North America offered to only pay half of the repair cost. This is unacceptable. How does BMW North America offer to have a dealership inspect a vehicle, fail to find the issue, have the actual vehicle problem appear (even worse months later), and then refuse to pay for the entire amount of the repair?

- Livermore, CA, USA

The problem with my 2000 323 ci BMW is, the rear mounting points for the subframe have ripped out from their spots in the sheet metal because the rear differential transmits the torsional load from the engine through the subframe, then into the chassis. The constant loading and unloading weakens the insufficient sheet metal, causing it to fatigue and separate from the chassis. This failure of the chassis threatens the safety of the vehicle. The approximate cost to fix this defect is around $9,000.

- Miami, FL, USA

I own a 2000 BMW 323ci with just over 80K on it and my rear subframe mounts have ripped through the bottom of the car and the whole rear of the car is about to fall off. After some searching I found around 200 fellow 3 series owners who are in the same boat almost all of which are 99 and 2000 models. Bmwna insist this is not a defect but do to aggressive driving or suspenion modes none of which apply to me or the many others who are having the same problem. Its not just about the estimated 3 to 7 thousand dollar repair bill it needs to be addressed mainly for the people on the road endangering themselves and everyone else and the don't even have a clue because the only symptom is S slight rattle one which the average driver wouldn't even notice.

- Cumberland , RI, USA

: the contact stated while driving 35mph there was a noise from the rear of the vehicle that vibrated throughout. The noise became more common at all speeds and while driving in general. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop. The mechanic inspected the vehicle and discovered the sub frame separated from the body along the rear of the vehicle. There were no previous crashes or damage to cause the separation. The vehicle was also inspected by an authorized dealership, but no repairs were made.

- Durham, NC, USA

I was getting a tune up for my car when my mechanic notice a crack with a hole on my rear driverside. Rear driver's side sub frame/ diff. Mounts was torn. Many people have the same issues and have made complaints to BMW manufactures but no responsible actions have been taken by BMW. This is a clear danger to the consumer while operating their vehicle not knowing that there car can been torn apart from underneath. Please help myself and many other innocent victims of this defect on their car so that it can prevent accidents and injuries from accruing.

- Fountain Valley , CA, USA

Sub frame had a crack. As a result, when accelerating and decelerating a loud grinding noise was produced.

- Lemont, IL, USA

My BMW 328ci year 2000 has a factory defect and the manufacturer does not want to take responsibility. Seperation of rear under chasis, my car is in the dealer now at BMW san francisco and they told me that BMW North America does not want to take responsibility and they are charging me $22000 for repair. The car is only 5 years in August and its only 37K miles on it. I talked to the body shop of BMW san francisco and they showed me 3 cars that have the same problem. A $45K car easy to seperated the underchasis and so dangerous to drive. I hope you take a chance to take a look on this problem.

- San Francisco, CA, USA