> Second, there is a tactile (no sound) clunk/click/thunk transmitted

> through the steering system about a second after sarting from a dead

> stop. Sometimes a get the same sensation when turning at low speeds.

> Per the owners manual this tranny shifts automatically to park when

> you come to a full stop and the brake pedal is depressed and I have

> gotten used to that feeling so this one is different. Any ideas on

> what I am noticing here?

One thing that you may be noticing (since I've had the same problem and my guess is that this problem exists for every 01XC owner) is the heat shield problem... In this case there's a heat shield underneath the car that protects the drive shaft assembly from the heat of the exhaust system/catalytic converter. The brackets that hold this heat shield on are tied to the car with bolts/washers/nuts. Well... The washers on my car and all other XC's that came into my dealership are on the WRONG SIDE of the bracket, and when the shield warms up and expands, the bracket actually rubs against the drive shaft assembly, causing a noise the happens only upon acceleration from a standing start. My dealership swapped the washers to the other side of the bracket and the noise went away. (or so I thought... after driving the car for an hour or so continuously to make it heat up quite a bit, the noise returns. I've contact the dealership and they told me that they already made the decision that one washer on the other side isn't quite enough and that they need to add another washer.)

I'm not sure what Bob was refering to regarding the clunk that's related to a service bulletin about the shaft splines on the telescoping steering column, but that sounds interesting too... I'll talk to my dealership about it next week when I bring my XC in for the second set of washers. (thanks Bob)

Good luck!

PS: Does anyone else have a major problem with glare on the windshield of their XC? I've got a white car with brown interior and the glare is too intense to see through the windshield sometimes. My wife has made a temporary felt cover while we wait for one of the dash-topper companies to support the 01 XC. Yeesh.