P1000 Loud Clunk when shifting into reverse

[wesley2012]

First post, great forum, thank you all for the information so far! I am new to side by sides, always have run Honda atvs. I am looking at purchasing a used 2017 Honda Pioneer 1000-5. Seems like a decent machine, with about 2500 miles on it. Everything looks good except some minor scrapes and scratches. Fluids and air intake are all nice and clean. Took it for a mile ride and shifts good, tracks straight, no issues I can find. Owner states he has had all the recalls and repairs completed at the dealership. Dealership is closed, will verify that in the morning.

Only issue I have is when shifting from park, neutral, high, or low into reverse. There is one heck of a clunk. This is when shifting at a standstill, I never shifted it when moving. Does not seem to matter if on a hill or flat. I shifted into reverse over 30 times, in all modes of 2WD, 4WD, etc. 90% of the time it would make this clunk. Didn't seem to matter whether really babying the trottle or not. Hard to tell, it was windy, but seemed like the sound would come from the rear sometimes and other times from the front. No clunk in any other gear, just in the first couple of feet of travel going into reverse. Also, it seems like the machine starts moving, then clunks and keeps moving. Owner said it has always done that, he has owned it over a year and 1,000ish miles. Drove in reverse quite a ways, no further issue, only at intitial shift.

This happen to anyone else? I did some searching and saw a couple different scenarios, just looking for someone else who has experienced this and what the fix was. Thank you.

Wes

 

[Russ989]

First post, great forum, thank you all for the information so far! I am new to side by sides, always have run Honda atvs. I am looking at purchasing a used 2017 Honda Pioneer 1000-5. Seems like a decent machine, with about 2500 miles on it. Everything looks good except some minor scrapes and scratches. Fluids and air intake are all nice and clean. Took it for a mile ride and shifts good, tracks straight, no issues I can find. Owner states he has had all the recalls and repairs completed at the dealership. Dealership is closed, will verify that in the morning.

Only issue I have is when shifting from park, neutral, high, or low into reverse. There is one heck of a clunk. This is when shifting at a standstill, I never shifted it when moving. Does not seem to matter if on a hill or flat. I shifted into reverse over 30 times, in all modes of 2WD, 4WD, etc. 90% of the time it would make this clunk. Didn't seem to matter whether really babying the trottle or not. Hard to tell, it was windy, but seemed like the sound would come from the rear sometimes and other times from the front. No clunk in any other gear, just in the first couple of feet of travel going into reverse. Also, it seems like the machine starts moving, then clunks and keeps moving. Owner said it has always done that, he has owned it over a year and 1,000ish miles. Drove in reverse quite a ways, no further issue, only at intitial shift.

This happen to anyone else? I did some searching and saw a couple different scenarios, just looking for someone else who has experienced this and what the fix was. Thank you.

Wes

Welcome to the club Wes. I’ve heard of the 1000 making a clunk sound when put into reverse but not clunking while you’re moving for a few feet. It doesn’t sound right to me. My brand new 2019 will clunk every once in a while when being shifted into reverse but not always. Maybe @Hondasxs or @HondaTech will chime in on this one.

 

[JenElio]

Welcome to the club Wes. I’ve heard of the 1000 making a clunk sound when put into reverse but not clunking while you’re moving for a few feet. It doesn’t sound right to me. My brand new 2019 will clunk every once in a while when being shifted into reverse but not always. Maybe @Hondasxs or @HondaTech will chime in on this one.

Hey, welcome to the club. I also have a new 19' 1000-5 and it has a slight clunk but not super loud. Maybe you might need some adjustments on linkage. Anyways I know its not much help but just wanted to chime in and say welcome!

 

[DaBear79]

Anyone have a idea why this is. I am in the same boat right now. I am not sure if adjusting the PLHNR shift cables will help or not. First off I don't know how to adjust the cables correctly.

I adjusted the cable per service manual with no luck. I guess this mean I have transmission issues.

 

[Scott_in-utah]

First post, great forum, thank you all for the information so far! I am new to side by sides, always have run Honda atvs. I am looking at purchasing a used 2017 Honda Pioneer 1000-5. Seems like a decent machine, with about 2500 miles on it. Everything looks good except some minor scrapes and scratches. Fluids and air intake are all nice and clean. Took it for a mile ride and shifts good, tracks straight, no issues I can find. Owner states he has had all the recalls and repairs completed at the dealership. Dealership is closed, will verify that in the morning.

Only issue I have is when shifting from park, neutral, high, or low into reverse. There is one heck of a clunk. This is when shifting at a standstill, I never shifted it when moving. Does not seem to matter if on a hill or flat. I shifted into reverse over 30 times, in all modes of 2WD, 4WD, etc. 90% of the time it would make this clunk. Didn't seem to matter whether really babying the trottle or not. Hard to tell, it was windy, but seemed like the sound would come from the rear sometimes and other times from the front. No clunk in any other gear, just in the first couple of feet of travel going into reverse. Also, it seems like the machine starts moving, then clunks and keeps moving. Owner said it has always done that, he has owned it over a year and 1,000ish miles. Drove in reverse quite a ways, no further issue, only at intitial shift.

This happen to anyone else? I did some searching and saw a couple different scenarios, just looking for someone else who has experienced this and what the fix was. Thank you.

Wes

My brand new 2020 1000-5 has done it several times and only has about 220 miles on it. Really worried I bought a pos. Thought sure it busted something the first time it happened.

 

[HondaTech]

Do any of your units creep in gear?

 

[DaBear79]

Do any of your units creep in gear?

Nope it dose not creep in gear.

Could it be drive shaft issue?

I have at 4300 miles and all warranty works has been done.

 

[UPPat]

I just purchased a 2016 P100-5 with 4350 miles. Was there ever an answer for this? Mine does the same thing. When you put it in reverse it clunks and it is an awful sound. Other than that is run great.

 

[P1K5Dave]

Any clunks on a Pioneer 1000 should start here. Get it dialed in right so it engages and disengages within a half turn of the wheel.

P1000 - Rear Differential Adjustment

I have seen a lot of posts about Pioneer's making a clanking/banging sound when shifting from 2WD to Turf Mode. I have made a video detailing how to fix this and what causes that. Please like and subscribe and I hope this helps some of you!

hondasxs.com

 

[UPPat]

Thank you I will check that out. It is only when going into reverse. I will check this out though. It is very likely it is out of adjustment.

 

[Nickdartez]

Anybody ever found a solution to this problem??

 

[P1K5Dave]

The reason I posted that you should get your rear differential in proper adjustment is that the Pioneer 1000 locks the diff when you put it in park.

When you drop it to reverse, you are also simultaneously unlocking the differential.

If the diff isn't fully disengaging, it may pop out with a bang once moving.

I suspect it could be more likely to happen in reverse, due to the cut angle of the gears or something. Someone who knows the inner workings of the diff could perhaps chime in on this.

 

[ODAMO]

My 22 clunked loud once and I found the rear locker cable to be way out of adjustment.
The cable system is changed making adjustment simpler, but I believe the clunk is from a misadjusted locker

 

[slowdryrider]

Like others have said make sure the cables are adjusted correctly . One other thing is always make sure the gear indicator on the dash shows which gear it's in and not ---- .I've had mine clunk bad as well but only a couple times. What I've found is that it only happened when I was in a rush and I didn't check to make sure the dash actually showed which gear it was in. If it shows the lines it's not engaged properly. Sometimes a simple jiggle of the shift lever makes it engage properly . This is my experience anyway .

 

[Bighat]

I read your post so I decided to check mine to see if it made a noise. I've never noticed it, so I checked. There is no clunk at all. It only has about 1200 miles on it. I may develop a clunk with time but I have to agree with the others and suggest you look at cable adjustments. When I brought mine home from the dealer I had to adjust the cables for the 2-whl drive and 4-whl drive. That's a shame coming from the dealer and I ask them to make sure to check everything because they were over two hours away. After that I checked everything and what do you know the sub trans oil was low. I called them and let them know about that. That's bullsh?t for the kind of money you drop for one of these things.

 

[Nickdartez]

Every now and then when i put mine in reverse its makes a clunk but its like it pops out of gear and re engages, once it makes that horrible noise and kicks in you can put it too the floor and its like nothing ever happened, im hoping its just an adjustment. I dont want too keep running it like that before something else messes up internally (if it hasnt already)

 

[Smitty335]

Every now and then when i put mine in reverse its makes a clunk but its like it pops out of gear and re engages, once it makes that horrible noise and kicks in you can put it too the floor and its like nothing ever happened, im hoping its just an adjustment. I dont want too keep running it like that before something else messes up internally (if it hasnt already)

Somebody will chime in, but I believe the adjustment needed is between high and low range.

 

[slowdryrider]

Every now and then when i put mine in reverse its makes a clunk but its like it pops out of gear and re engages, once it makes that horrible noise and kicks in you can put it too the floor and its like nothing ever happened, im hoping its just an adjustment. I dont want too keep running it like that before something else messes up internally (if it hasnt already)

a quick way to check is with the machine off [not running ] dont't really even need the key turned on., but you can if you like. Grab the shifter lever and shift between the gears holding the lever over to the right side of the slide .You should beable to hear and feel when the trans is actually in the proper gear. When you hear /feel the trans shift into each gear look to the left side of the lever and see if the lever lines up with the slotted spots. If the lever is higher or lower than the slotted area then you need to adjust the cable for the lever. The adjustment for this cable is under the battery behind the black plastic cover. Either move the cable on the stay bracket by loosening the nuts up or down and once you find the sweet spot where the lever is in the center of the slot tighten them back together to keep the adjusted cable and lever in the proper place.

 

[Hondagord]

Every now and then when i put mine in reverse its makes a clunk but its like it pops out of gear and re engages, once it makes that horrible noise and kicks in you can put it too the floor and its like nothing ever happened, im hoping its just an adjustment. I dont want too keep running it like that before something else messes up internally (if it hasnt already)

Did you ever figure out what this was? My 2016 is doing it now, I use it to plow snow and this winter it started doing the exact same thing as you discribed, it seems to be getting worse on mine so need to figure it out. I hate to take it to the dealer 4 hrs away and have them "play" with it to figure it out on my dime.

 

[slowdryrider]

Did you ever figure out what this was? My 2016 is doing it now, I use it to plow snow and this winter it started doing the exact same thing as you discribed, it seems to be getting worse on mine so need to figure it out. I hate to take it to the dealer 4 hrs away and have them "play" with it to figure it out on my dime.

Have you checked the adjustment of the cable. If the shifter lever doesn't sit center in the slotted spots it's going to act up. Read my post just above yours and see if this is a adjustment that you need to do.
There is also a adjustment under the dump box that should be done and checked as well.