Has the DCT had its day?, fingers crossed!

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Fri 4 Dec 2020 16:19
Has the DCT had its day?, fingers crossed! - badbusdriver

I was reading an article about the iminent new BMW M3 and M4. Not only will neither be available with a manual box (in this country), but the two pedal option will now be a t/c auto.

According to the M Division bod,

"A dual clutch system has no real advantages anymore. We have been able to achieve the shift times and manage the behaviour in manual mode so that hardly anybody would miss the dual clutch gearbox. It was an easy decision; no disadvantages on the performance side and lots of advantages in the everyday side".

Presumably that last point was in reference to smoothness and reliability. But with advances in t/c auto technology, there aren't the same economy benefits there once was, and with Ford and the PSA group reverting back to t/c auto for the reliability, here's hoping VAG won't keep persisting through pride/arogance (but I'm not holding my breath!). Not sure about Hyundai/Kia though as they have only relatively recently started using DCT's in their mainstream offerings.

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Fri 4 Dec 2020 17:13
Has the DCT had its day?, fingers crossed! - bathtub tom

Daughter has just bought a KIA Niro DCT hybrid, despite my warnings. Let's hope it doesn't end in tears.

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Fri 4 Dec 2020 18:01
Has the DCT had its day?, fingers crossed! - badbusdriver

Daughter has just bought a KIA Niro DCT hybrid, despite my warnings. Let's hope it doesn't end in tears.

Well she has 7 years warranty (assuming it is new), so should be safe until then anyway!.

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Sat 5 Dec 2020 14:46
Has the DCT had its day?, fingers crossed! - Engineer Andy

Daughter has just bought a KIA Niro DCT hybrid, despite my warnings. Let's hope it doesn't end in tears.

It'll probably be ok, given their better warranty and that, thus far, the Hyundai/KIA DCT hasn't had any issues of significance, at least not reported here or elsewhere as I can see.

As long as she doesn't abuse the gearbox by putting it under a lot of strain on a regular basis, it should be fine. I agree that, given the choice, I'd still always go manual or TC auto, or at a pinch, CVT, given the right make.

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Fri 4 Dec 2020 19:29
Has the DCT had its day?, fingers crossed! - Metropolis.
Good riddance! Having driven a few DSGs I found they were generally in the correct gear, but then sometimes it will not be and it reacts with a thud. Particular gripe is exiting from a steep road and hill starts generally. The way it bites the clutch to pull away, it feels so granular like it is programmed to give the absolute bare minimum of slip, which is understandable but unpleasant. I much prefer the slippage of an old school torque converter auto. That said, I think Honda did a dual clutch gearbox connected to a torque converter for the North American market? I would like to try one, although I am happy with my 4 speed ZFHP22. Maybe I will upgrade the internals to ZFHP24 at some stage. I cant be the only one who prefers a 4 speed with lock-up (like 5th), the way it kind of drones along consistently in one gear rather than constantly chipping and changing like the modern 8 speeds do. Drove a RRS and it seemed to kickdown 3 gears to make progress!
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Fri 4 Dec 2020 20:41
Has the DCT had its day?, fingers crossed! - SLO76
Wish they’d replace the single clutch versions on our coaches too. Jerky, dim witted and prone to slipping back on hill starts especially with inexperienced drivers and although reliable they’re more complex to fix when they do fail.
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Fri 4 Dec 2020 23:55
Has the DCT had its day?, fingers crossed! - Avant

It was only 2 or 3 years ago that BMW, having been faithful to torque converters for a long time, changed some of their models to DCT. Presumably it hasn't proved to be a good experience.

BMW seem to have a rather better record of listening to their customers than many others. They way they give you the choice of touchscreen or physical controls could well attract a lot of customers to the 1-series instead of the new all-touchscreen VW Golf.

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Sat 5 Dec 2020 14:52
Has the DCT had its day?, fingers crossed! - Engineer Andy

I'm wondering if it wasn't just their 'own' range, but also their experience of Minis as well, given they don't exactly have the best track record for reliability. I'm alawys amazed at how many Minis end back up at dealers for sale after a short time from new (not showroom/ex-demo/pre-reg cars).

They appeared to have listened on the 1-series, as the latest version is a far better looking car than the previous ones. Now if only they'd improve the dashes of their cars to make them a bit nice to look at (without compromising much [if any] on ergonomics)...

What I've been surprised at is that many 'mid-level' makes cars, including many Japanese makes, are getting rather close in RRP price to that of their BMW equivalents, which in my eyes is asking for trouble (for them, not BMW), especially as the Beemers are almost invariably a good bit quicker, and not quite so poor on standard spec (in comparison) as they used to be.

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Sun 6 Dec 2020 21:13
Has the DCT had its day?, fingers crossed! - movilogo

I have a Kia Ceed DCT - 6 year old car so still within warranty.

My previous car was 1st gen Ceed with TC auto. It had problems on 8th year! However, due to its having FSH from main dealer, Kia contributed partial payments towards fixing it. When that car was written off, I bought another (current) Kia - though by then they moved to DCT.

Fine so far, rarely use the pedal shifters though.

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