"Clunk" when shifting out of park

[Protect1989]

2026 Tahoe Z71 5.3L

When shifting out of park, sometimes my tahoe will make a very audible "CLUNK" sound. I find this normally happens when my car has the parking brake applied/is on any sort of slant (Turn car on, parking brake is already applied, shift into gear, CLUNK, turn off parking brake).


Anyone else experiencing this and is it normal?

 

[Silverado4x4]

2026 Tahoe Z71 5.3L

When shifting out of park, sometimes my tahoe will make a very audible "CLUNK" sound. I find this normally happens when my car has the parking brake applied/is on any sort of slant (Turn car on, parking brake is already applied, shift into gear, CLUNK, turn off parking brake).


Anyone else experiencing this and is it normal?

Next time when you park on a slant do this, foot on the brake apply parking brake then shift to park. If your parking on a slant and putting it in park then applying parking brake the vehicle will move just a little putting pressure on the trans and when you shift out of park your hearing the clunk because it's relieving pressure on the Trans parking paw.

 

[rlhmarines]

Yes, sometimes, as I usually apply the parking brake whenever I park but I’ve noticed that sometimes I may not have applied the brake pedal hard enough before releasing the electronic parking brake but it’s not an every day occurrence. I try and applied the parking brake before shifting into park with my foot firmly on the brake pedal to alleviate binding the transmission park pawl.

 

[Protect1989]

Important to note here, I rarely if ever use the parking brake (i live in Texas, were not known for mountains).

However if the vehicle senses any sort of incline, it will auto apply the parking brake after shifting into park. Its after this scenario when I really hear it

 

[Silverado4x4]

Important to note here, I rarely if ever use the parking brake (i live in Texas, were not known for mountains).

However if the vehicle senses any sort of incline, it will auto apply the parking brake after shifting into park. Its after this scenario when I really hear it

Yes it will auto apply the parking brake if it senses movement but it has already put pressure on the trans to auto apply the brake. So what your hearing is normal under those circumstances.

 

[Protect1989]

Yes it will auto apply the parking brake if it senses movement but it has already put pressure on the trans to auto apply the brake. So what your hearing is normal under those circumstances.

Thank you all for your quick responses and feedback.

Good to know it’s nothing to be concerned of, just slightly annoying.

 

[JayceeP]

Yeah need to make sure parking brake is fully engaged before releasing foot from brake pedal. Stop, parking brake, shift to park, release foot from brake pedal. You don’t need to be in mountains. Most driveways have enough slope on their own. If you’re paying close enough attention you’ll be able to tell whether you have the weight of the vehicle on the parking brake or transmission brake. In that case. Just shift back out of park and repeat the steps.