Any fix for the ‘cold clunk’?

Until you go to sell it. Some unsuspecting smuck takes it for a test drive and “thunk”! Smuck says nope, sorry. So years and years of trouble free “thunking” could bite you in the ass.

I’ve had this happen twice. And I’m saying it loosely. I know it’s happened twice but I think I’ve heard/felt it more than that but I’m not positive. Anywho, yeah it’s concerning. And the notion that it’s “tough” and can handle years and years of “thunking” is famous last words.

 

My ‘17 OR is starting to clunk too. Seems like a cold weather issue for me as I haven’t noticed earlier this year.

I also notice a clunk when shifting from D to N. not nealy as bad, but it’s there.

Will be checking the fluid level today as I haven’t heard of them being low from factory before.

 

If you have the tow package (which I believe all TRD packages do) Toyota evidently didn’t account for the extra piping in the transmission cooler on some. I think I read somewhere that they addressed it sometime in 17 (mine was manufactured in March 17’ and was confirmed low by my dealer). So yeah - definitely check it. It’s also supposed to be on the dealer’s delivery checklist - but I think we all know that it’s a crapshoot whether the dealers are doing it or not.

It didn’t help the ‘clunk’ on mine, but who knows if there would have been other damage being nearly a quart low

 

I'm of the belief it is the torque converter clutch acting up.

 

I agree, the clunk could be a problem down the line for resale.

 

Crawled under truck today to Retorque the u bolts, carrier, and u joints.

Two observations:
my u bolts were loose (I didn’t have a 3/8 socket for the bolts that would fit my torque wrench ... but I did with my 1/2. I just gave it a little to lug and I could move them with ease. Hmmm.

Edit: found my old great neck torque wrench (not as accurate as my craftsmen) but those bolts started turning a 30 ft lbs.




Never noticed but my spare tire (never used) doesn’t match my Toyo A30s that came with the truck. ??!! It’s a Firestone. Is that normal?

 

I've got clunk and all sorts of other issues. My clunk happens repeatedly. It never stops. I've had my dealership look at it 4 times and a Toyota tech look at it once. They all tell me it's working the way it's supposed to. ANYONE looking to buy my truck would get out as soon as they heard it. I am taking Toyota to my AG run arbitration because this thing is junk. I too think that it's mostly related to the torque converter.

 

S mode didn't help with my cold clunk here. I was really hoping it would but still doing it. Wondering if the Shift Sense Pro would be another idea?

 

S mode doesn’t help. Shift sense doesn’t either (I have it). It works well, but It just creates a shift pattern in S mode... which doesn’t help the clunk.

I’ve been parking in the garage and it doesn’t do it (so it’s definitely temp related). Either sensor sending a bad signal or cold fluid.... I dunno.

 

It's shifting or torque converter related. If I come to a "slow" stop for the first few stops on a cold morning I won't get the clunk but if I come to a quicker (more normal) stop I'll get the downshift clunk the first stop or two. With Ovtune, the clunk is eliminated which tells me its not hardware related so much as its doing a delayed downshift and clunking down to 1st

 

So you are 100% definitely not getting the clunk with OVTune? What’s the temp where you live?

 

I live in TN so similar to you... around freezing in the mornings when I leave the house.

 

Ok this is good to know. Good info guys!

 

Hmmm so software/ sensor most likely then.

 

What the hell is this “clunk”? Lol sorry but nobody has really explained exactly what it’s doing?

 

First post:

Cold weather there is a hard downshift / clunk into 1st. Only happens after vehicle sits overnight and at the first or second stop.... then gone.

 

Sometimes it's a BANG into 1st like I got rearended then "freewheels" until i brake harder. Other times it's just a clunk

 

No fix but just chiming in, my 2019 MT OR has gotten it since day one. I live in phoenix and it happens in any weather (though I’ve only had it 3 weeks). Mainly in first, if I’m around 3K rpms, hit the clutch, there’s a loud thunk and the truck shakes. I took it to the dealer but they couldn’t get it to happen, and I couldn’t get it to happen that day, so I left defeated.

 

So to add to the S mode I added ECT & so far no clunk. All 3 days where cold days around 20° on the same route home from work. Definitely a programming issue & not entirely a mechanical problem.

 

First time posting here. I have a 2023 TRD OR long bed 4x4 and it does the same thing. It clunks when cold, downshifting into 1st gear. I also have a bit of a clunk when going from P to D… I am of the belief that it is a backlash “issue” in the rear differential. When cold the trans holds gears a LOT tighter applying rotational pressure in the opposite direction momentarily when decelerating thus taking up the slack in the diff. I’ve put a GoPro under the truck to record it and the sound is significantly louder when camera is placed right by the diff vs. the transmission.