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I have Honda Accord 2008. I park my car on my driveway (slope). When I shift from parking to reverse I hear a loud clunking sound. The sound does not come when I park my car on even flat surface. What does the sound mean?
Now, I have started parking on the street instead of the parkway.
You should be setting the parking brake after you've put the car in park, but before you take your foot off the brake. That takes all the pressure off of the transmission. That clunk is not a good thing. I don't remember what part causes it, but it indicates the transmission being under load when it shouldn't be.
Thanks for the fast reply! I first engage the brake and then put the car in park. When leaving I change from park to reverse (loud clunking sound) and then take off the emergency brake.
I will setup an appointment with the dealership! Hopefully, they can fix this series issue. From now on I am parking on the street.
Being front wheel drive I would begin with the CV joints and see if they are worn. If those are ok then it might be something internal in the transmission. These kinds of trans problems typically show other problems as well. Delay in going into gear, lazy shifts or very hard shifts.
Could also be as simple as a motor or trans mount has gone bad and the motor is hitting something when you put it in gear.
I would try releasing the brake pedal after setting the parking brake, then put it in park.
This may just need a adjustment on the parking brake. If you have 4 wheel discs many makes use internal brake shoes inside the rotor for parking brakes.
I park my pickup on my somewhat sloped driveway. When I first got it several years ago, I had the same problem-a little bit of a thunk when taking it out of park, and the shift lever moved stiffly. Once I started setting the parking brake before taking my foot off the brake and before putting it in park, the problem stopped. It took all the pressure off the parking pins ( I looked it up). That clunk doesn't happen as much on level ground because there's much less pressure on the pins or pawl.
From Wiki:
Park (P)This selection mechanically locks the output shaft of transmission, restricting the vehicle from moving in any direction. A parking pawl prevents the transmission from rotating, and therefore the vehicle from moving, although the vehicle's non-driven roadwheels may still rotate freely. For this reason, it is recommended to use the hand brake (or parking brake) because this actually locks (in most cases) the rear wheels and prevents them from moving. This also increases the life of the transmission and the park pin mechanism, because parking on an incline with the transmission in park without the parking brake engaged will cause undue stress on the parking pin. An efficiently adjusted hand brake should also prevent the car from moving if a worn selector accidentally drops into reverse gear during early morning fast-idle engine warm-ups[citation needed]. It should be noted that locking the transmission output shaft does not positively lock the driving wheels. If one driving wheel slips while the transmission is in park, the other will roll freely as the slipping wheel rotates in the opposite direction. Only a (properly adjusted) parking brake can be relied upon to positively lock both of the parking-braked wheels. (This is not the case with certain 1950's Chrysler products that carried their parking brake on the transmission tailshaft, a defect compounded by the provision of a bumper jack). It is typical of front-wheel-drive vehicles for the parking brake to be on the rear (non-driving) wheels, so use of both the parking brake and the transmission park lock provides the greatest security against unintended movement on slopes. A car should be allowed to come to a complete stop before setting the transmission into park to prevent damage. Usually, Park (P) is one of only two selections in which the car's engine can be started, the other being Neutral (N). In many modern cars and trucks, the driver must have the foot brake applied before the transmission can be taken out of park. The Park position is omitted on buses/coaches with automatic transmission (on which a parking pawl is not practical), which must be placed in neutral with the parking brakes set. Advice is given in some owner's manuals [example: 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme owner's manual] that if the vehicle is parked on a steep slope using the park lock only, it may not be possible to release the park lock (move the selector lever out of "P"). Another vehicle may be required to push the stuck vehicle uphill slightly to remove the loading on the park lock pawl.
I'll say a "thank you" to the responses. We live on a steep hill and I was getting the "clunk" when I parked on the driveway. Got something new to try!
A good friend of mine with a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado never uses the parking brake, just puts it in "Park," sometimes on some very steep hills and the truck rolls forward until it catches. Sometimes, it actually feels like it is "rocking" against the parking pawl.
Can one break this mechanism in the transmission by keeping this practice up? He also has a bad habit of hitting the gas before the transmission completely engages in drive or reverse when shifting from one of these gears to the other (not helped by left foot braking).
A good friend of mine with a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado never uses the parking brake, just puts it in "Park," sometimes on some very steep hills and the truck rolls forward until it catches. Sometimes, it actually feels like it is "rocking" against the parking pawl.
Can one break this mechanism in the transmission by keeping this practice up? He also has a bad habit of hitting the gas before the transmission completely engages in drive or reverse when shifting from one of these gears to the other (not helped by left foot braking).
Your friend is the poster child for how not to treat a transmission.
Yes he can break it, but I don't think that happens often. Not an expert though.
You are absolutely right. A poster child for what not to do to an automatic transmission. In fact, I'm going to inform him of this next time I ride with him.
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