Loud thunk when going from R to P

[Blackgolf]

how can you reproduce it? it happens randomly. dealership can do nothing on it. I buy it because it is cheap, only $13000 out of door. I bought both new mk5 and mk6 GTI because they are fun to drive but both cars had engine and transmission issues and many minor issues, unreliable as I expected.

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.

 

[koifish]

Same thing here. I reverse into my driveway to my charging cords will reach, foot on brake, place in Park, clunk. Maybe has to do with the incline of the driveway? More concerned with my charging issues right now, so the clunk will have to wait.

 

[Ihopethisworks]

how can you reproduce it? it happens randomly. dealership can do nothing on it. I buy it because it is cheap, only $13000 out of door. I bought both new mk5 and mk6 GTI because they are fun to drive but both cars had engine and transmission issues and many minor issues, unreliable as I expected.

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.

The point being made here is, your "VWs are unreliable" statement is an opinion and in no way contributes to helping people in this thread solve their issue. It would great if you saved those statements for the "opinions" section of the forum. :mrgreen:

 

[eGolfJoe]

I noticed it too but don't remember if I was backing up or pulling into a parking spot. What it felt like was as if the motor was 'holding' position and putting it into park de-energized it and the holding torque released. Not saying that's the cause but that's what my brain thought of at the time.

 

[Anonymous]

Time to change your gear oil. G 052 527 A2 HP Transmission Fluid (Part Number from ETKA) needs to be changed every 3 years. Found this info in Shop Manuals downloaded from erWin.VW.com. It worked, thunk went away.

 

[f1geek]

There is no mention of gear oil change in the e-Golf owner’s manual included with my car, so is great for oil company but not necessarily for the car. I would love to see where in an e-Golf owner’s manual this service is mentioned.

 

[Anonymous]

2018 VW Maintenance Schedule – e-Golf MY 2018 Maintenance Intervals - USA
"Front axle differential lock fluid: Change (if equipped) Every 3 years"

I noticed the other day someone had a link to this same VW document. I do not remember which category it was in.

Not from the owners manual but the shop/repair manuals.
For $35.00/24 hrs. you can download many, many PDF documents about service, repair of mechanical , electrical and service bulletins and more.
It is very well worth your time and money to get these documents.
erwin.VW.com

 

[f1geek]

The e-Golf does not have a locking differential. The reference to fluid is for other Golfs. The e-Golf has XDS, a simulated locking differential that is achieved by using the front brakes and the computer. Therefore, no fluid to change. It is possible the fluid in the e-Golf gearbox is different than other Golfs, so don’t damage the car by using unnecessary ICE Golf oil.

 

[user 2305]

I've experienced this just a few times myself. Always when going from R into P. I've tried the suggestion from JoulesThief (engage parking brake before shifting into P). Also being mindful about not throwing it into P the second the car stops reversing. The issue has not recurred, but there hasn't been enough time to know for sure whether that really solved it. The theory of torque being released is also interesting. I'm definitely curious about the source of the noise, but at this point I'm assuming/hoping it's harmless.

 

[buradd]

This happened to me for the first time today.. reversed into parking spot, complete stop, foot on brake, put from R to P and thunk.. it was so obvious that I was like wtf was that! Still stopped, still foot on brake, put it back in R and then back in P, and thunk.. happened 3 times.. the fourth time it did not thunk.. I went to search this forum and found this thread after it happened. I hope it's not something bad or something failing or about to fail.

 

[tripleaardvark]

This happens to me only if I shift into P very quickly after backing in. Like, less than a second between stopping the car and shifting. Try this: back in, brake, wait five seconds, then shift. You shouldn't hear that noise. Alternatively, shift into D after backing in, then P. I'm not sure what causes it, but anything you can do to reduce loud noises is bound to be good for the car.

 

[cccmanhattan]

I've heard this a few times too, definitely alarming, like the car hasn't released the torque of the motor before switching out of gear. It's mostly happened when park on the street in front of my house which is a slight incline. Maybe something to do with an anti roll back feature? a bit of torque applied to keep the car from rolling away and when you switch to park the motor is still torqued?

 

[Waxy]

Going to take mine to the dealer and ask. I need to get my windshield replaced anyways. My luck it won't do it at all for the dealer. I don't care if it's harmless, just don't want it turning into something big.

 

[JoulesThief]

1 Come to a complete stop. Keep your foot on the foot brake

2. Engage electric parking brake.

3. Place shifter in Neutral.

4. Press the "On Off" button.

5. Place the shifter in "Park"


You should never get clunks if you park and shut down in this manner.

 

[Verkehr]

Neutral is not needed so my ideal:
1. Stop with your foot on the brake
2. Engage parking brake
3. Release the foot brake
4. Place the shifter in "Park"

The reason for releasing the foot brake before park is to prevent the car from moving after placing it in park; the front wheels will roll slightly after setting the parking brake (rear wheels only) on a steep hill.

Those of you with "thunks", do it this way and I'd wager no more weird noises will be coming from your parking pawl.

 

[arcticClover]

I experienced this noise when shifting into park soon after I got the car. It may have been habit with my previous manual golf of not depressing and holding the brake to park the car, but I found firmly holding the brake while shifting into park has eliminated the thunk noise for me.

 

[f1geek]

I completely agree. Getting rid of the thunk is very easy, in my experience. Before shifting out of park or releasing the parking brake, I keep my foot firmly pressed on the brake pedal. When about to park the car, I do the same. I have found that as long as I keep the brake pedal firmly pressed when setting or releasing the parking brake, and when moving the shift lever into or out of park, I have experienced no thunk.