# 1999 BMW 323 won’t go in gear

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-bmw-323-won-t-go-in-gear/164803>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** 323, bmw\
**Created:** [May 25, 2020, 2:02am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-bmw-323-won-t-go-in-gear/164803 "2020-05-25T02:02:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MP33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bbe5ce/32.png) [@MP33](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MP33)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 2:02am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-bmw-323-won-t-go-in-gear/164803/1 "2020-05-25T02:02:36Z")

</div>

car wont go in gear,neither reverse .smell comes out when engine on

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 2:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-bmw-323-won-t-go-in-gear/164803/2 "2020-05-26T14:36:45Z")

</div>

Automatic?  
Manual trans?  
Odometer mileage?

And… Can you describe the smell?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Manolito](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/manolito/32/3070_2.png) [@Manolito](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Manolito)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-bmw-323-won-t-go-in-gear/164803/3 "2020-05-26T19:41:18Z")

</div>

With no additional information, I would bet $1 that it is a manual and the clutch is shot.

If I am correct, on a 20-year-old car, if it has typical miles for its age, it would be prudent to replace the dual-mass flywheel and the rear main seal while the clutch is out.

If it is a manual transmission, see if it will go into gear when the engine is shut off, if so, that indicates that the clutch is not disengaging, which can be caused by a failed throwout bearing or chunks of clutch facing floating around between the plates.

Oh, and they used a nylon clutch fork pivot pin. That nylon part can mash down with time so that the clutch won’t disengage. That is a $10 part but several hours of labor so you replace everything while you are in there.