[yaleen]

Voted No.

I own a TC geared car, Grand i10 AT along with Ignis AGS/AMT. The TC gearbox on i10 has been sufficiently fast shifts in office runs and never felt that gearbox has limited the sharp accelerations required for quick overtakes. AMT gearbox would need a quick shift to manual mode for similar overtakes.

DSG/DCT would be marginally better but brings in the uncertainty over reliability which a regular TC would provide. I am assuming newer TCs like the 6 speed AT in new Polo GT, Ertiga/XL6 would be even better than the old 4 speed TC gearbox in i10 which would reduce the difference even more.

From my price point perspective where I may not be able to afford Wet clutch DSGs from VW stable, only DSG/DCT in sub 20L cars would be in cars from Hyundai, Kia, etc. So in this price range, I would prefer TC, AMT and CVT's in that order over DCG. (Don't want to include Tata yet in the mix given they have just launched their DCT and the initial versions are bound to have some issues.)

[Ashish B]

Hi,

Just chanced on this thread. have been wanting to vent my anger regarding my experience with Ford DCT.

I have been using Ford Aspire 1.5 Petrol DCT for over 6 years now. While the car is fantastic to drive in normal conditions, the 3-4 month summer period (of Delhi) becomes a nightmare when I need to keep an eye on the temp gauge... the moment I am stuck in b-to-b traffic, the transmissions gets jerky due to dry DCT GB becoming overheated. Twice in last 6 years (car has run 88k kms only till now) I have had severe overheating issues causing damage to the engine, as overheated GB transmitted heat to engine assembly, resulting in mechanical failure of various degrees.

While I had the advantage of 5 year extended warranty, and Ford replaced faulty parts under warranty (only after escalation to Ford India management), the fun of ownership was lost.

Off the record I was told by a senior service manager that there were severe overheating issues faced by DCT model owners, which even cause engine failures (as due to constant overheating head-gasket and other parts get damaged and coolant gets mixed with engine oil. Thermostat failure was also common.

Later on in 2018 update Ford replaced the DCT from both Figo and Aspire with conventional TC, however owners like me are left without a permanent solution.

I am surprised to see that many car makers like Hyundai, Kia and Skoda are still selling dry DCT in India and customers are getting into trouble.

As for me, once is enough, I will never ever buy a dry DCT transmission car.

Cheers.

[ashenoy]

I drive a January 2016 Ford Figo 1.5 DCT. It has been a wonderful car to use over he last 6 years and a bit, but the troublesome DCT did raise it's head and cause me some heartburn. Just after second service the DCT displayed problems with judder. When accelerating from a standstill up a slope the gearbox would judder till the car picked up speed and then be completely ok thereafter. This happened mostly during a cold start, or after a long stop.

I reported the problem to the dealership (Cauvery ford) and was told they would installed a software update to fix the problem. The car would work ok for a few weeks after which the judder returned. This went on till year 4 of ownership. I kept the extended warranty going, anticipating a bigger problem somewhere down the road.

In November 2019 (at 39000 km) the judder got worse and more frequent. By this time Cauvery ford had moved on to become a Kia dealership and I was getting the car maintained at PPS Ford. I was able to demonstrate the judder to the SA at PPS ford, and to their credit, they accepted that it was a DCT fault. It took a week for them to completely replace the DCT unit under warranty at no cost to me.

The new DCT unit felt quite different, was a little slower to shift gears, and took me a few days to get accustomed to it. I am still using this same car and it has been completely trouble free since (at 59000 km now). I continue to get the car maintained at PPS Ford and have only good things to say about them. The car is now out of warranty and I intend to use it for at least another year before considering a replacement, that too only because of Ford walking away!

[vinvin]

I test drove the new Venue DCT and was great to ride. I paid a small pre-booking advance for it.

After reading all the posts here on DCT issues - I'm concerned with moving ahead with the booking.

Contacted the SA reg. the DCT troubles. He mentioned that the facelift Venue has a new updated DCT than the older one and Hyundai had addressed the issues. He still mentioned to me that he'd recommend to keep the vehicle in neutral at a signal light rather than holding the brake.

This will be my first car and I'm now wondering if I have other options in my budget of 12-14L.

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by vinvin

I test drove the new Venue DCT and was great to ride. I paid a small pre-booking advance for it.

After reading all the posts here on DCT issues - I'm concerned with moving ahead with the booking.

Contacted the SA reg. the DCT troubles. He mentioned that the facelift Venue has a new updated DCT than the older one and Hyundai had addressed the issues. He still mentioned to me that he'd recommend to keep the vehicle in neutral at a signal light rather than holding the brake.

This will be my first car and I'm now wondering if I have other options in my budget of 12-14L.

Do not get a DCT as your first car. The Hyundai unit is of dry clutch type. And it will be problematic down the line.
Go in for the Brezza AT if you can stretch your budget. If not, and your usage is primarily city commutes, go in for Wagon-R AMT or A slightly used Baleno CVT.

[sbansal]

I have booked Venue DCT because of jerk free gear shift, and after reading this thread, I am worried about my decision, I have to use this car mostly in Bangalore.
Any ownership review of hyundai DCT?

How are other options like Fronx TC or Brezza TC.

[ankurn]

For the last 4/5 years, Hyundai/Kia have been offering 7 Speed DCT in various models like : Creta/Seltos, Venue/Sonet, i20 N, Verna etc.

Globally, Hyundai/Kia 7DCT is also offered in some other markets like UAE. Hyundai/Kia has also developed 8 Speed Wet DCT which is said to be more reliable. I believe, 8 speed wet DCT will become mainstream once they hit the mass-market cost level.

I would like to know from the Hyundai/Kia 7 Speed DCT owners in India about their experience with this transmission - how is the drive experience, have you faced any transmission malfunction (especially sudden and abrupt)?

Buying a Hyundai/Kia car in 2024, with the goal of keeping the car for at least 10 years; is it advisable to go with 7 speed dry DCT? I am ok with shelling out big bucks for repair/replacement after 7 years of extended warranty. My biggest concern is the car's transmission giving up in the middle of now-where, when I am travelling with my family.

[motorworks]

Tata has also been using their own version of the DCT gearboxes in the Altroz and now available in the new Nexon as well. And this is a wet clutch unit, made by a third party manufacturer—Punch Powerglide. However, Tata hasn’t sold as manyDCT geared cars as VW or Hyundai, so im not sure about the long term reliability. In any case we have just brought home the Nexon DCA and im hoping that its largely trouble free!

[voldemort]

Voted NO.

I'm simply not at a point in life where I can take transmission failures in its stride.

I'm sort of thinking about replacing my manual City with an automatic because it's cumbersome in heavy traffic. In that scenario a DCT is highly likely to fail.

I wouldn't touch a VAG DSG car with a barge pole. Heck I wouldn't even go near a torque converter VAG car, let alone one with a DSG . But that's a separate matter.

Perhaps if I only had to do highway runs I would consider a DCT, or even simply a manual. But that's not my current situation.

[schumi_pete]

Are the DSG gearboxes that bad in India? I wonder if they are of a different spec to the European ones because you never get to hear any complaints about the DSG gearboxes over here in Europe.

In any case, a dual clutch box needs tending to, and some manufacturers never recommend even oil changes for these boxes for fear of the service guys breaking something that wasn't broken in the first place. The Renault Clio Sport I own has a DCT from Gertrag and Renault reckons the oil is good for a lifetime ! Unsurprisingly, when you drain the oil after 60,000 kilometers, you can see that it was about time to replace it.

These kinds of manufacturer-related service bulletins don't help with the perception of reliability either when a gearbox fails.

[ampere]

If one is planning to drive daily in a bumper-to-bumper traffic, I would always suggest a non-DCT if it's a small car. Simply because it would be a dry clutch.

But the only hitch is; smaller cars we dont find many of them with classic AT transmission but more of AMT.

[ankurn]

I think my use case is DCT-friendly:

1. No bumper to bumper traffic in the place I live. Living in a small town I enjoy the perk of free-flowing traffic. However I encounter slow-moving traffic once/twice a month when I visit the nearby "cities".

2. My annual run will be on the lower side - 8-9k KM in a year. So I hope to complete not more than 1L KM before selling off the car by tenth year mark.

However, it is very difficult to take a data driven decision for buying a DCT car. We can not estimate what percentage of DCT car owners are facing transmission failure issues in India. But I think the number of DCT car owners are rising in India, as in the case of Hyundai/Kia you don't have other choices (IVT being offered with NA engines and TC being offered with diesel ones).

According to me fundamentally there are two classes of DCT issues:

1. Class 1: Performance/Drive quality related issues - Occasional judder, perceptible noise while gears are shifting etc. Such issues do not require urgent attention.
2. Class 2: Catstrophic transmission failures - Transmission getting stuck, only odd or even gears working, reverse not working etc. Such issues render the vehicle unpliable in the middle of the road.

I believe class-1 issues are related to gradual wear and tear of the DCT and can be rectified by planned visit to a service center, although it might be costly.

Class-2 issues are red flag reliability concerns. I wonder what percentage of DCT owners have faced class-2 issues with recent crop of Hyundai/Kia cars or how likely is the occurance of class-2 issues with DCT.

I recently test-drove a Venue N8 DCT. I liked the way the vehicle drove with smooth gear transitions. But DCT reliability issues are making me consider MT version of Venue N instead.

[mrstealthy007]

Originally Posted by schumi_pete

Are the DSG gearboxes that bad in India? I wonder if they are of a different spec to the European ones because you never get to hear any complaints about the DSG gearboxes over here in Europe.

In any case, a dual clutch box needs tending to, and some manufacturers never recommend even oil changes for these boxes for fear of the service guys breaking something that wasn't broken in the first place. The Renault Clio Sport I own has a DCT from Gertrag and Renault reckons the oil is good for a lifetime ! Unsurprisingly, when you drain the oil after 60,000 kilometers, you can see that it was about time to replace it.

These kinds of manufacturer-related service bulletins don't help with the perception of reliability either when a gearbox fails.

They're the same spec, but apparently one of the reasons Indian (dry-clutch) DSGs are more affected is stop and go traffic and a hotter climate, which can cause the gearbox to overheat. I suppose the latter isn't true in most of Europe. Additionally, in Europe and NA, VW swiftly issued recalls and fixed a lot of the issues, but they didn't do the same in India. Their handling of the situation was pathetic, which has left a bad taste here.

[Bhodrolok]

Voted - Yes;

Been using one for more than 8 years in Bangalore traffic without any issues & that too the "notorious" DQ200. Also, with available extended warranty these days, it's a no brainer for a self drive car.

[clix22]

Had a Jetta Diesel DSG as my daily driver for 9 years. 30km bumper to bumper traffic 5 days a week. Not one issue with the gearbox. Luck? Maybe. But, has me biased towards a DSG.