Loud thunk when going from R to P

[IndigoZ]

Has anyone else experienced a very abrupt, loud thunk when shifting from R into P? It doesn't happen to me every time, and I'm beginning to think I just need to pause a moment and make sure I've come to a complete stop after backing into the garage, but all the same it's very disconcerting to hear and feel such a loud clunk (I can feel it through the shift lever) when I put it in P. Interestingly enough, it only happens when I back into the garage, and not when I back out of a parking spot. Might have to do with the relative speeds with which I execute those two maneuvers, with backing out of a parking being a slower, more cautious maneuver than backing into my empty garage.

 

[Frank3]

I too was concerned about a clunk in the car when stopping. Turns out it was the 110v charger that was sliding around in the trunk. You may want to check that.

 

[IndigoZ]

It's definitely not an object in the car sliding around. I feel it in my brake foot and hand on the shift lever. I think it actually has more to do with abruptly switching to P. I've only experienced it coming from R, but I wonder if it could also occur coming from D. Not really an experiment I want to try though.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

There is a parking pawl in the gearbox that engages when you go into Park. I have never heard anything when doing this. I only heard the motor engaging the parking brake, when I set it.

 

[snAKes]

I have had this happen as well, but only a few times. I'll take note of what I was doing if it occurs again.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

It might be the doors unlocking? Or the backup camera retracting?

 

[snAKes]

This happened again yesterday.. when I moved the shift lever into Park a little too quickly after backing into a parking space.. apparently I was still travelling -0.1 MPH at the time.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

I think that must be the parking pawl - you gotta' stop doing that!

 

[snAKes]

I noticed that when you are switching from R to P after completely stopping you can feel the torque still on the gears, so it feels sort of like popping a car out of gear under load without pushing in the clutch. Depending on how the parking pawl is lined up with the teeth that it has to pop into, that could cause a bit of a thunk occasionally.

 

[JammingJay]

Also happens to me occasionally. It's a pretty loud thunk with vibrations. Whatever it is, can't be great long term

 

[Skryll]

Also happens to me occasionally. It's a pretty loud thunk with vibrations. Whatever it is, can't be great long term

Yep, just happened today again. Definitely not related to parking brake or objects in the trunk. I don't think I shifted too fast into Park from Reverse but It was definitely from R->P. And it definitely is not the small camera sliding back into place, its a real hefty loud vibrating clunk.

 

[sweetwagon]

I think it's the little latch handle in the back that hides the rear view camera. Gotta check though. Should have somebody stand outside to look.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

The VW handle on the hatch does pop out to let the backup camera into position. It is a slick design - the camera stays clean, which is great.

 

[mocohead]

Mine does this too and it definitely is not the camera. I can avoid it by going to neutral before selecting park.

 

[Jlo]

I've had this happen to me twice - exactly as explained, backed up and then placed on shift lever on P...loud, "thunk" noise, anyone taken to VW yet to ask what the deal is?

 

[cycad1]

I have experienced the loud clunk when I back into the driveway (a small incline) and put it into P. My service guy looked at everything I decided it was something I was doing wrong. It is not the parking brake whirr, it is not anything sliding around in the car, it is not the latch over the camera moving into position, it is a clunk from the motor. Almost like the car is "not totally in gear" and it is "sliding back into gear"

 

[sweetwagon]

I've noticed it too sometimes. No clue how to reproduce it.

 

[Blackgolf]

Same thing happened to my 1 week old egolf too. VW is one of the most unreliable cars. unfortunately.

 

[JoulesThief]

When parking, engage your park brake before shifting the lever from in gear to in "park". Conversely, when driving off, engage your car in gear, with your foot on the brake, at all times, then release the parking brake. That should remove all "clunking' drivetrain sounds.

Any time you put your car in reverse, you'll hear a clunking sound quite a few seconds after taking it out of reverse, and putting it in Park or Drive. That's the backup camera hidden in the "VW" badge, open and closing, right where the hatchback latch handle is.

 

[JoulesThief]

Same thing happened to my 1 week old egolf too. VW is one of the most unreliable cars. unfortunately.

Instead of making blanket statements, take your e-Golf into a dealership, demonstrate what you are talking about, and see if they can address your perceived problem. For all you know, the car is probably functioning as designed.

If you feel VW's are so unreliable, why the hell did you buy one in the first place? Your comments defy logic.