Clunk in rear when going from park to reverse

Has a rear differential case in the back right? AWD If so I'd be looking at that rear jack in the box first. Often times the rubber mounting bushings get crackly crunchy and just slop around. If this is the issue it may be a concealed bushing that is hard to see unless you know the mounting points. Hopefully this is not actually a internal issue with the rear case but it might. Good LucK!

Thanks. I need to return the loaner car tomorrow, so I'll mention this if they haven't gotten it yet. I think mechanics hate when people like me question them. lol

As Brian said, we hope it isn't internal. I was thinking internal slop on the rear diff but Brian brings up an excellent point about bushings that could be bad and allowing it to jar when engaged. I would also think there would be noise while driving if this is the case though. Hopefully nothing is wrong in the clutch pack area on the back of your trans, too. Do you use your ebrake when you park? Or do you put in park and let the weight of the car sag on the trans park lock? If you don't use your hand brake, try it, engage the hand brake, then put it in park (or vice versa) --- either way and then let off the foot brake. When you go to take off again, put your foot on the brake, then either select gear / disengage your hand brake and see how it reacts.

And so...internal or external?

Sorry I haven't responded. Life happens, but in answer to all of you: It has been a week now, and Subaru still hasn't been able to track down the problem. They have a "master mechanic" working on it. Uh-huh. To answer waith: I haven't, as a rule, used the parking brake. I just never got into the habit of it. I guess it's likely that I hosed up the pin or whatever it is. If/when I get it back, I'll start using the brake more often. As to whether it's internal or external, I have no clue. To me, it sounds as though it's inside...between the back wheels (transmission, maybe?). If the dealership can't find it, I may take it to an independent Subie mechanic. Thank you all so much for your ideas!

you...might wanna call and find out how much your bill is up to by now. And try to haggle it down if they "still don't know what's up" and then look for some independent shops around your area that might have previous master techs / import folks that can help you more. Plus, then you can get it and try a couple of my unprofessional theories ;) HTH

Okay. Update time. Got my car back from the dealer. They never did find the source of the clunk. But the ticket they wrote up said that the back brake pads had been out of adjustment. So, I'm left to wonder...could that have caused such a noise? I haven't head it since I got it back, and I've been trying to replicate it.

Drum brake rear? Idk if that would cause it but not saying it wouldn't.

I can't quite envision the relationship between engaging your trans and it causing your brake shoes to unjar. I feel like there would have to be slop in the diff/axle/knuckle to actually be able to turn the back wheel even just a fraction that might dislodge the shoes. Which I think would be highly evident if you had some crazy slop like that. Maybe they fixed it. I'd recommend you use your ebrake to park though. shift to park, pull the handle, then let off the pedal. It's much easier on your trans imo, even on relatively flat ground, not a bad habit to have. come back anytime and let us know if you have additional updates, questions, etc. Subscribed to your question. :)

The e-brake issue is probably a canard: frequent e-brake use (especially if pulled tightly) easily stretches the cables, suggesting tightening the adjuster nut on the threaded cable end below the handle. This is a 5-10 minute job and only need be done if you've now insufficient handle range to activate thew e-brake on your steepest hill. In general I recommend to my clients to NOT use the e-brake routinely, as they lock up with ice in winter so easily. So, the source of your noise remains a mystery....

Further, it's REALLY unusual for a rear hybrid drum-disc rotor have internal mechanical or corrosion issues BEFORE it rusts externally and requires replacement. I suppose there's a chance the e-brake internals are knocked out of alignment, but again that's rare.

I would think more use would reduce seizure of the cable to the sheathe or whatever. Our festiva's notoriously have issues when people either don't use the handbrake or they leave it on and park it for years.

But I'm also in VA and don't drive my festiva when they brine the roads. She doesn't use her handbrake too ern ;)

No; the culprit is pads rust- or ice- seized against the drum.

Thanks for all the advice. I appreciate it very much. I don't fix 'em; I just drive 'em. I do want to get as much out of my car as possible, so all this advice is good. Thanks again.

I am cool with that. I don't expect everyone to work on stuff but it is easier working with folks who want to understand how things work to save money, get more longevity out of something.

Keep your foot on the brake until it engages because their transmissions are delayed. If you don't your rolling back and when it engages it's going to be rough ever reved up a car and put it in gear before idle comes back down?? Same concept, I've seen multiple questions about the same thing now I've had multiple customers complaining about it,

Doesn't describe the thread-head's issue, ST.

If they've done that multiple times couldn't that have caused rear differential issues? Ujoints in axles? Damaging hubs which subs are good for?

As far as we know, her issue went away.

ST: Sure, but a Subie wrench should've spied that stuff easily...especially over three days!

Ack. I'm sorry. I had forgotten that I had posted here. Update: I had it at the dealer for a week, and they couldn't find anything. It sat in their parking lot more than it was in the maintenance bay. When I picked it up, the clunking noises were gone, and they stayed gone until about a week ago. Now I am getting clunking noises again, so I'm thinking maybe it's just due to wear and tear. I sure don't want to take it to Subaru again.

Welcome back. Are you getting email notifications about our replies? I subscribe to everything I answer in case someone replies. Well, I think I'd try to find an independent shop with decent google reviews that will actually investigate the issue.

I just wanted to let everyone know I had the same symptoms, a loud clank when going into reverse with an automatic transmission. In my case having the transmission serviced fixed the problem.

How much did that run ya James?

Just wanted to do an update. Replacing the fluid in the tranny didn't help. I have figured out when the engine is cold it is idling fast and when you put it into reverse you hear the loud clunk. When its idling slow and you put it into reverse no clunk.