I purchased a new 2001 325xi with automatic transmission back in October 2000. Love the car except for one thing that had always bothered me and no one could figure out the problem. When the car went from 1st to 2nd there was sometimes a rubbing or squeaking noise and a hard shift into gear. This only seemed to happen when in traffic or when it was warm out.
Well after numerous service centers, newsgroups, mechanics, etc. I finally found someone who knew the problem. Turns out in some early model 2201 325xi's ... they occasionaly used some 330 transmission shims. This casued the problem. BMW flew someone up from NJ to replace the shims and the noise is now gone and the car shifts better than ever.
Just thought this post might help someone else having the same problem. -rw