Problems with 2000 BMW Z3 POWER TRAIN

On 24jun2011, i swerved from a parallel lane to avoid being sideswiped. no contact was made between vehicles. however, i noticed a noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. the vehile has a manual transmission. i took the vehicle to an auto body repair shop. after examining the vehicle they told me that: the flange/bracket that held the differential in place had a complete hair-line fracture; and, that a substantial number of spot welds holding the body on to the frame had failed. i made contact with the local bmw dealership mcgrath bmw, ocated in westmont, il and told them of the incident. they stated that they did not undertake body repairs and directed me to a firm which did all types of body and structural repairs and was accredited by bmw. i was given an estimate for the repair of between $5,000-$6,000, and was told that there was no program offered by bmw to share in the cost of the flange/bracket and body repair. i went back to my local body shop and told them to estimate the cost and i also reported the problem to my auto insurance (state farm). an adjuster from state farm reviewed the failures and stated that the condition was one of a problem in manufacture and not covered by my auto insurance. my body shop then gave me an estimate of a not to exceed figure of approximately $2,500. i told them to undertake the repair. the flange/bracket has been replaced and reinforced and the body and frame have since been rewelded at a total cost to me of $1600. additionally, i spent an additional $100 for a alignment (firestone of countryside, il) the local body shop is douglas auto body, 4015 eberly avenue, brookfield, il (708) 485-7774 - they are a body and structural repair shop approved by state farm insurance. this vehicle has been used by me as a street vehicle and not for racing or track use of any kind. the failures seem to be a mfg. design flaw. *tr

Niello bmw of sacramento checked my z3 2000 for traction control light is on advise, and some fluttering noise came out during acceleration. they found out that there's metal shavings in the differential. they repaired it and replaced it with new one as what they advised to me, plus they replaced thr brake pads, rotors, sensor drive belts, cover air bag and that cost $3200.18 which i paid. i questioned them if that's still be covered by the warranty since i bought that car in may 1999, and they said," no it's not under warranty." so i paid the whole amount of $3200.18. so i drove my car and in a matter of days the car broke again, stopping in the middle of freeway, and that time i heard some fluttering noise again underneath, which scared me. so i immediately called some help and took my car to niello bmw in sacramento for repair and it them a week to repair my car. after it was being repaired i traded it in with lexus rx 330 in roseville since i'm scared already driving bmw and don't trust that car again. *jb

Bmw saw problem at the bmw z-3 homecoming. said if it was not the computer causing the door locks trapping passengers inside this car, it was a short in the wiring harness. computer changed and the door locks trapped consumer inside the car for 3 days beginning on the n.j. turn pike headed to nova scotia. the only way to get out of this car when the door locks shortened out is to either put down the roof and windows and climb out of the car or roll down the window and take the key out of the ignition and reach on the outside of the car and unlock it from the outside. a nova scotia bmw dealer said locks were going into the double locking position which should never happen from locking this car from the inside. only from the out side. i have written dozens of letters to bmw concerning this serious safety issue but no parts have been changed since october 2000. the door locks trapped me inside this car two weeks ago in augusta georgia and again in brunswick georgia this past weekend. i also have had continuous problems of a leaking roof, a rattling dashboard, radio cutting in and out in the left channel and a lot of other problems. i asked over 2 years ago for this 2000 bmw z-3 to be replaced, but bmw refused. it has been in bmw shops over 7 times for over a month and the problems are still there.*ak *tt

On the z3 2.3 manual transmission model the computer causes the engine to keep revving after the throttle is released, sometimes for 2 or 3 seconds. the dealer said all z3 2.3 moldels do this. i feel this is unsafe as it requires extra attention when shifting because it does not occur consistently. the dealer stated that there are aftermarket computer chips that will fix this, i feel the manufacturer should fix this.*ak