Sound when shifting from P->R

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by chrism07924, May 27, 2005.

  1. chrism07924

    chrism07924 New Member

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    I hear a sound within the engine area when I shift from Park to another setting. It's like the sound of a gear being dropped into place but softer. I also noticed that going from Park to Reverse and bypassing Nuetral makes this as well as another noise, but more deep sounding. I'm not sure if either or both are what I should hear or if its normal to hear anything.

    Can another Prius owner tell me first off whether they hear any noise at all when shifting out of Park and whether going into Reverse has an additional noise? Mine is only a month or so old, and I don't recall ever noticing these sounds so easily (however I did always sense a sound when going into Reverse). Thanks.
     
    #1 chrism07924, May 27, 2005
  2. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    Does it sound kind of like a click or a snap?

    The parking pawl is probably about the only thing conventional in the transaxle, except instead of linkages engaging it using a shifter that you control, a servo motor snaps it into place, or disengages it.

    Shifing into R from P shouldn't ordinarily sound any different, but it may be because you are putting a different load on the parking pawl when going into R, so it might have a different timber.
     
    #2 DanMan32, May 27, 2005
  3. chrism07924

    chrism07924 New Member

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    Yes, it's like a <CLUNK> noise. I sat quietly in my office parking lot, with nothing but the wind in the trees and tested. Moving from P->N and P->D makes a higher pitched <SNAP> with an electronic kind of ambience to it. The P->R however does the <SNAP> then <CLUNK>. I'm probably just making a mountain out of a mole hill but I'm paranoid about something going wrong, not because it'll be a bad problem necessarily but because I have little confidence in my Toyota dealer's ability to fix it right, especially given the number they did on my dash
     
    #3 chrism07924, May 27, 2005
  4. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    When you park, do you first engage the parking brake (the ratcheting foot pedal on the far left) before you put the transmission in "P" (or before shutting off the car, which also puts it in "P")? If not, try it. This will reduce any additional loading on the parking pawl caused by the car rolling slightly on a slope or in the wind. And before moving, apply full pressure on the non-parking brake, maintain that while releasing the parking brake, and then shift out of "P".
     
    #4 richard schumacher, May 27, 2005
  5. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    More than likely, it's the parking pawl. If you listen carefully, you can hear this with any conventional automatic transmission too, though some are noisier than others.

    Use of the "parking brake" will all but eliminate this noise.
     
    #5 jayman, Jun 1, 2005
  6. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    Plus, using the parking brake eliminates any roll back or forward when you release the regular brake pedal.
    Thus, my process is:
    • All in 5-6 seconds
     
    #6 bruceha_2000, Jun 1, 2005
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