mellonc

I get this somewhat loud "THUNK" sound whenever I get the transmission out of Park. it happens when the car is ever so slightly parked up or downhill without the parking brake firmly engaged.

Is this a problem? Dealer can't duplicate it because the the shop floor is perfectly level, of course. Thoughts?

mellonc

I meant SHIFTING out of Park.

belarus27

Make sure you apply the foot brake before you put the car in park.
or
press down the brake pedal , put the car in Park and then apply the foot brake as hard as you can.
those are the ways that work for me.

belarus27

Unless there is something is up with suspension parts.

thefisch

I get the same sound in the situations you described and have thought it was normal. Not a common occurrence here in Florida given how flat it is. But when I've parked on inclines I have had success applying the parking brake before shifting to park to avoid the issue.

LemonSqueezy

You are basically putting a little more stress on the transmission when it's parked on a hill. I live in a city where every other corner is a hill. I will automatically step on the parking brake every time, otherwise I will feel the same clunking sound shifting out of park gear, the sound isn't very pleasant either, sounds like the everything underneath is about to blow.

I shift to park, brakes still engaged, step on parking brake, then disengage brake pedal.

JohnnyC

same here on GLK350. I step on the brake pedal before i shift into drive, then I pull the parking brake release handle, finally brake slowly off and then drive off.

user 58362638

+1 on what everyone said, but a little more flavor to my technique:

Depending on inclination if parked next to curb
Come to a complete stop, turn wheels (inside or outside)
holding the brake, shift car into neutral
release brake slowly until car tire makes contact with curb then press brake again
push in parking brake
release brake slowly again until car settles
then push in park

or

Standard Parking
Come to a complete stop
holding the brake, shift car into neutral
push in parking brake
release brake slowly again until car settles
then push in park

In either case, the drive train isn't under load or tension as the car is in neutral when the parking brake is applied. Never had a "thunk" or any drive train noise using my technique.

Suerte!
Greg