Clunk when putting car in Reverse

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Old 01-07-2004, 10:20 PM
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Clunk when putting car in Reverse

Hey guys,

it's the first time I've experienced this, but I parked the car in a parking lot for the day and picked up my A-Spec later on this evening. The car sat for about 13 hours, where it reached a low of -12 Celcius outside, which is somewhere in the 5-10 degree Fahrenheit range. Anyways after cleaning off the windows, I started her up, she took a few more turns then normal, but started on the first shot, I didn't have to turn the key a second time. Anyways everything was fine, I waited about 25 seconds, to get her going, and then gently placed it in reverse, and at this time felt a harsh clunk. So I continued back in reverse, put her in Drive and continued driving. the car felt fine after that, I drove it sooooo slowly, until she cooled off about 10-15 min later. I didn't pass 2200 RPM with it, and was very easy on the brakes.

Now I would assume the clunk was from the tranny being soooo cold. Is this a normal feeling in the car when it's exceptionally cold? The car felt completely normal after that, just everything reacted a lot slower since it was soo cold.

Normal or abnormal?
Old 01-07-2004, 10:21 PM
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Re: Clunk when putting car in Reverse

Originally posted by sc354
Hey guys,

it's the first time I've experienced this, but I parked the car in a parking lot for the day and picked up my A-Spec later on this evening. The car sat for about 13 hours, where it reached a low of -12 Celcius outside, which is somewhere in the 5-10 degree Fahrenheit range. Anyways after cleaning off the windows, I started her up, she took a few more turns then normal, but started on the first shot, I didn't have to turn the key a second time. Anyways everything was fine, I waited about 25 seconds, to get her going, and then gently placed it in reverse, and at this time felt a harsh clunk. So I continued back in reverse, put her in Drive and continued driving. the car felt fine after that, I drove it sooooo slowly, until she warmed up about 10-15 min later. I didn't pass 2200 RPM with it, and was very easy on the brakes.

Now I would assume the clunk was from the tranny being soooo cold. Is this a normal feeling in the car when it's exceptionally cold? The car felt completely normal after that, just everything reacted a lot slower since it was soo cold.

Normal or abnormal?
Old 01-07-2004, 10:28 PM
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That happens to my TL-S sometimes when it's cold as well. Don't be too concerned about it.
Old 01-07-2004, 11:32 PM
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def don't be it is common on the tl's
Old 01-08-2004, 02:01 AM
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Happens on my TL as well ... not always when it is cold.. also when I park it on an incline. Happened in my 99 Accord... but then again... it ended up needing a new tranny. Not to scare you but take it for its worth. I think its common on Honda's.
Old 01-08-2004, 07:19 AM
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Thats very common on TL'S .......Use the hand brake when parking and let the engine warm up before you engage in gear....it does help Jeff.
Old 01-08-2004, 07:36 AM
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giovanni is right. The best thing to do when you park your car is:
put the car in neutral
engage the E brake
put the car in park.

That way you are not relying on the tranny to lock the car in place. I have noticed that practice making a big difference in how the car sounds when I first put the car in gear.

Axe
Old 01-08-2004, 08:12 AM
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That's funny you posted it because it happened to me this morning. I know I felt a few times before but today I was actually going to post to ask if anyone knew what it was. My 4-runner did this when I was parked on an incline. I'm pretty sure it is normal and only happens on inclines.
Old 01-08-2004, 03:32 PM
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That noise you hear is totally normal. If you go to the Acura website and go to the tranny recall, there is some information and that noise is supposed to be normal.
its all good
Old 01-08-2004, 08:13 PM
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Originally posted by axeman
giovanni is right. The best thing to do when you park your car is:
put the car in neutral
engage the E brake
put the car in park.

That way you are not relying on the tranny to lock the car in place. I have noticed that practice making a big difference in how the car sounds when I first put the car in gear.

Axe
I wouldn't advise someone living in a very cold climate to park using the e-brake. I've heard of incidents where the brake shoes stick to the drum because water got up in there and iced up (yes - our e-brakes are drums).

I'd avoid using the e-brake when parking in freezing temps. You might find that you can't drive anywhere!
Old 01-08-2004, 08:39 PM
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Originally posted by fla-tls
I wouldn't advise someone living in a very cold climate to park using the e-brake. I've heard of incidents where the brake shoes stick to the drum because water got up in there and iced up (yes - our e-brakes are drums).

I'd avoid using the e-brake when parking in freezing temps. You might find that you can't drive anywhere!
Exactly. I had a friend who always used the hand brake, and one day he couldn't get his car out of the driveway until the brakes thawed out.
Old 01-08-2004, 10:37 PM
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Originally posted by kennelm
Exactly. I had a friend who always used the hand brake, and one day he couldn't get his car out of the driveway until the brakes thawed out.
how do you have the brakes thaw? I would think that the only way to heat up the brakes would be to use them, but if they're stuck...then what?
Old 01-08-2004, 10:41 PM
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Hear the same clunk in my CL-S
Old 01-09-2004, 06:22 PM
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Originally posted by sc354
how do you have the brakes thaw? I would think that the only way to heat up the brakes would be to use them, but if they're stuck...then what?
I guess it depends on the temperatures. If it's never going to get above freezing I imagine the easiest way would be to use a hair dryer - or the chemical (I believe it's a type of alcohol) that people use to unfreeze locks.

Otherwise, wait until they heat up by rising temps/sunlight. Just don't try anything that could damage them (like hit them with a hammer, etc). I guess you could try releasing the brake and tapping the drum with a hammer - but no big hits...
Old 01-09-2004, 06:32 PM
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By the way. I started hearing a pronounced clunk when going into reverse about 2 months before they replaced my transmission.

FWIW
Old 01-09-2004, 09:21 PM
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Re: Clunk when putting car in Reverse

Originally posted by sc354
Hey guys,

it's the first time I've experienced this, but I parked the car in a parking lot for the day and picked up my A-Spec later on this evening. The car sat for about 13 hours, where it reached a low of -12 Celcius outside, which is somewhere in the 5-10 degree Fahrenheit range. Anyways after cleaning off the windows, I started her up, she took a few more turns then normal, but started on the first shot, I didn't have to turn the key a second time. Anyways everything was fine, I waited about 25 seconds, to get her going, and then gently placed it in reverse, and at this time felt a harsh clunk. So I continued back in reverse, put her in Drive and continued driving. the car felt fine after that, I drove it sooooo slowly, until she cooled off about 10-15 min later. I didn't pass 2200 RPM with it, and was very easy on the brakes.

Now I would assume the clunk was from the tranny being soooo cold. Is this a normal feeling in the car when it's exceptionally cold? The car felt completely normal after that, just everything reacted a lot slower since it was soo cold.

Normal or abnormal?
I see you were only dealing with -12, however this AM in our area it was -22 and this clunking is not unusual. Its damn cooold.
Old 01-10-2004, 12:10 AM
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once again, that noise you hear when you put it in reverse, or back into drive is NORMAL!!!! at least for our car, cant say it is normal in my eyes but its not supposed to be a problem...dont worry so much
Old 01-10-2004, 12:17 PM
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Originally posted by axeman
giovanni is right. The best thing to do when you park your car is:
put the car in neutral
engage the E brake
put the car in park.

That way you are not relying on the tranny to lock the car in place. I have noticed that practice making a big difference in how the car sounds when I first put the car in gear.

Axe
Good suggestion
Old 01-10-2004, 03:25 PM
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Happens to me too. Just let it warm up...
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