Replying to @ExBmwGuy,
I also have the same BMW 220i Gran Tourer from 2016 bought brand new. At 68K miles, it had the same problem as yours. Needless to say, estimated cost was over 10K pounds for a completely new gearbox. The gearbox failed out of nowhere as the car just couldn't climb a gentle slope out of a garage and started rolling back despite me putting in around 5k revs (Usually, it climbs the slope at around 1.5K-2K revs). I actually nearly hit some pedestrian walking behind me as the car just rolled back uncontrollably until I slammed on the brakes.
The thing I'm !Removed! off is that I've been a BMW user for over 21 years. My old 318i Sedan from 2003 was built in South Africa and similar engine/drive train issues started happening around 70K miles. It ended up being written off completely. At that time, I thought perhaps the build quality in South Africa was slightly poorer to ones built in Germany and I decided to purchase my current 220i GT as this one's built in Munich. What I can't believe is how BMW claims it is the "ultimate driving machine" yet the most crucial part of the car (Gearbox) can simply fail within 7 years of ownership and at 68K miles. In other words, a BMW car is unsafe to drive after 68K miles without replacing the entire gearbox.
I emailed my local dealership regarding the issue and they gave the typical customer service response not claiming any responsibility citing the age of the car and mileage. To me this is absurd as I would accept certain failures such as leaks as this is largely considered normal wear and tear. However, a complete gearbox failure is just simply unacceptable for a car of just 7 years.
I've looked at other forums and one in particular caught my attention. A few years back, around 2021 or 2022 I think, around 12-15 BMW owners with the same gearbox issue collectively emailed BMW AG (Germany headquarters) regarding their issues. Their cars had a mileage of around 24-74K miles and BMW AG responded by having each owner's local dealership call them and schedule for a completely free replacement of their gearbox. I was thinking if any of you might be interested in following what this group has done as this gearbox is clearly not an isolated case but more of a manufacturing defect/ quality issue.
What do you all think?
