We have a new xB automatic with 82 miles that we bought less than a week ago. Yesterday, when shifting from park to reverse there was a loud metallic click coming from the drivetrain. Anyone else had this problem? What causes it? I checked all the posts here and on other sites and noted someone else had it but did not post any more info. I bought this car as a replacement for two older cars that I got tired of working on every weekend. Now I have a worse problem on the new car. I did not want to see the dealer again until I needed my free oil change in 6 months. Now my wife has to take time off work to take it in which is what we had hoped to avoid. Any advice on the cause of this problem and how to make the dealer compensate us for the wasted time and mental anguish would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Does it happen only on the shift to reverse, or when moving in reverse? Did it happen only once or does it happen on every shift into reverse?
Do you park on a hill using Park without setting the handbrake first? If so, the weight of the car is resting against a pawl in the transmission and there might be a metallic sound as the pawl is disengaged when the shift lever is taken out of Park.
Wasted time and mental anguish are not covered by the warranty ;-)

 

Thanks for the quick reply. It happens on level ground when holding the foot on the brake and shifting from park to reverse prior to moving. It does not happen when shifting from drive to reverse or reverse to park. It also does not happen when the car actually starts moving. It happens about 1/2 of the time when shifting from park to reverse. THanks.

 

"It happens on level ground when holding the foot on the brake and shifting from park to reverse prior to moving."

So it would not be the parking pawl disengaging against a load.

"It does not happen when shifting from drive to reverse or reverse to park."

So it's probably not the CV axle joints.

"It happens about 1/2 of the time when shifting from park to reverse."

It does sound like a problem inside the transmission.

 

WhiteTurtle, mine also makes a little bit of noise when shifting from park to drive or reverse but that noise (in my case at least) is the sound of the Interlock releasing.

Could this be your problem as well?

I've noticed that in other cars, the release of the interlock is almost silent whereas in my xB, it's clearly audible. If it's your interlock, I wouldn't worry as it's working like it should.

But, it might also be worth a look since you have that new car warranty. Let us know what you find out and good luck!

 

Thanks ZanexGt and Vintage42. My wife takes the WhiteTurtle to the dealer tomorrow. We will see what they say. Thanks again for your suggestions. I will post tomorrow.