I have a clunk. Mysterious. It's been present for almost 1.5 years. It used to happen only in reverse. Now it happens both reverse and forward.
Here's what happens...
Car parked. Put in D and It could be 10-100 feet later a clunk from the rear. The clunk will NOT happen again during that driving session. I could drive all day and there will never be another clunk in both reverse or forward. There is a catch, if I put the car in reverse and reverse 100 feet I can almost force a clunk.
Now, car parked..I reverse out of a space and drive forward I can almost get a clunk frequently. But this depends...If the car has recently bee driven and not sat long, there will not be a clunk. Its as if the car has to sit, get cold.
I'm thinking U joints. I've checked all rear fasteners. I see no fluid leaks, hell I just did the rear fluid. Small trace amounts of fluid come out of the rear diff vent but thats expected.
Any ideas guys?

 

it looks like no one has had this issue over here in this forum but I did get a good discussion at this one about this problem.
Escape City - Ford Escape Forums - Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner, Mazda Tribute, Ford Maverick - View topic - 2006 Hybrid Clunk
Hope this is OK but this really is a problem people with AWD should be aware of.