Has anyone had an issue with a "clunk" when coming out of park or while braking?

This issue is fairly hard to explain but I will try to describe it. If I am parked on an incline and the car is in park when I enter into reverse or drive it clunks/slams into gear. This is with my foot on the brake of course. The car doesn't move but there is a clunk/slam in the drivetrain. This also happens sometimes while braking. The issue is not the mechanical brakes. I am positive of that. This issue is in the drivetrain it feels like.

I work for a Honda dealer but not in service. My service department is going to look into it next week. I imagine they will find the issue but I figured I would ask here if anyone has had this problem. I am currently at 117k miles and my Honda Care warranty expires at 120k miles. Hopefully the problem isn't anything major but I have a bad feeling the issue is in the transmission/drivetrain. I have changed my transmission fluid many times so I know the issue wasn't caused by contaminated fluid.

I will update this thread as I have more information. If anyone has encountered this problem please let me know.

 

I appreciate your response. I am aware of what you described. Unfortunately that is not what my issue is. My issue is a lot more "violent" than that. Also this issue can happen when braking usually after changing direction. For example, if I was to back out of my drive way and then drive forward sometimes the first time I apply the brakes fairly hard the clunk will happen. After it does the clunk once it won't do it again until I change direction again. Other times it will happen again after some driving. It almost feels like a broken engine mount allowing the drive train to move. One of my mechanics put it on the lift quickly and he believes the issue is play in the drivetrain as well. It is hard to tell though. The service department is gonna look at it next week. I am concerned because we have not seen many Clarity's with issues in our shop. Especially not ones with 117k miles on them. I know tech line will be able to help our mechanics but I was hoping someone here has had this issue to help me point them in the right direction.

Regardless there is something wrong. We have a used 21 Clarity in stock and it does not have this issue. I will update this thread as I learn more.

 

The wheel bearings are dead quiet. I just installed new tires and I can't hear any wheel bearing noise at all. I will check them for play though.

 

It does feel like a broken engine mount but that doesn't appear to be the issue. I will know more next week. I have a bad feeling the issue is in the drivetrain. I will find out soon enough.

 

Nothing yet. I am still waiting.

 

Yes they have but they don't know what the problem is. I was able to duplicate the noise but only by parking on an incline and allowing the weight of the vehicle to be on the parking pawl. I know the normal clunk that type of weight transfer makes. This is more excessive than normal and they all agree. My concern is this same "clunk" happens when braking sometimes. Again, I know the "clunk" is not a hydraulic brake issue. I can feel it and hear it coming from the drivetrain. Well when I say drivetrain I mean the front middle of the engine compartment area. Duplicating the "clunk" while braking I have not been able to do. It has happened many times for me. Even my wife heard and felt it while she was in the passenger seat a week or so ago. Unfortunately I have not been able to duplicate the issue while driving with a technician.
Regardless they are working with Techline but nothing new to report as of now. Hopefully I have some new information soon.
I feel the issue is related to what ever the "parking pawl" is in this drivetrain. The noise is identical when it happens while braking. Maybe the regenerative braking system is catching the parking pawl sometimes but not often? I don't know but that is what is feels and sounds like to me.

 

I appreciate the response. I will try what you mentioned and see if I can consistently duplicate the issue.

 

Update: The issue appears to have been a torn lower torquerod mount.

I have only driving it for about 80 miles but the problem seems to be fixed. It feels much "tighter" when coming out of park or changing from reverse to drive. I haven't heard the loud clunking sound while braking in the 80 miles I have driven so far. I would like to drive it for a few hundred more miles to confirm it is fixed. It does appear to be fixed though. It is obvious the lower torquerod rubber was torn. I can move it with my thumb and you can see where the rubber is torn. The part number is 50890-TRW-A01 in case anyone else has this same issue. It is not that expensive of a part but it was hard to diagnose because when it is installed in the car the rubber didn't appear to be torn. With the lower torquerod removed it is obvious it is bad.

I will update this thread again after I drive it a few hundred miles to confirm it is fixed. I am glad my service department was able to figure it out. This was not an easy issue to diagnose since the clunking while braking was rare and very hard to duplicate. They were able to duplicate the clunk by driving slowly in reverse. It would clunk almost every time when releasing the brake while rolling backwards at about 5 mph. It wasn't as violent as when it would happen to me when braking at speed but the clunking noise was the same. Once they were able to duplicate the clunking noise they were able to narrow it down to the lower torquerod. I really appreciate all the effort my service department spent fixing this issue.

 

Correct MrFixit. You had mentioned it possibly being an engine mount in a previous post. My original thought was that as well. They checked them early on but again with the mounts installed they all looked good. That is why I started thinking it was in the drivetrain or something that had to do with the regenerative braking system. I am glad that wasn't the issue. The fix (hopefully fixed) was an inexpensive simple repair. Hopefully this thread will help someone in the future.

 

I would assume so. It is basically an engine mount that minimizes the movement of the drivetrain regardless of the direction that the torque is being applied. At least I believe that is correct.