amay9

I picked up a 2016 Acura ILX Aspec and I think it's a good car that does everything well. I was coming from a 2014 Lexus IS 250 awd so i had a question about one thing I wasn't sure about. My previous car was a 6 speed and AWD and this one is a 8 speed DCT FWD. it shifts gears really well but what I was wondering about is sometimes at low speeds when I'm in stop and go traffic when I am feathering the accelerator sometimes I will hear kind of a low soft mechanical clunk in the front. Happens only sometimes when I take my foot off the acelerator for half a second and then lightly put it back on. Now the car seems to be behaving normally and I was just wondering if this was normal due to the higher amount of gears? At first I thought it was just rough shifts but it doesn't jerk the car and doesn't happen all the time, just want to venture if it is just a normal sound from a 4 banger with more gears than the quiet V6 with less gears I used to have. Thanks in advance !

DaIll1

It's a quirk in the programming. I'm sure there will be a re-flash available after they get enough complaints.
On the positive side, it's the best stop-go-slow traffic DCT in any car.

amay9

Ok I figured they could do a software reflash but if I leave it alone there's no harm right? That's my biggest concern because I can easily ignore it and get used to it just want to make sure it's ok to leave be.

DaIll1

It's like lifting your foot on a manual, because that's what it is. The clutches are the weak link, but I think the torque converter takes out most of the hit.

schen72

From what I've read, DCTs are a little clunky at low speeds. Apparently, the Acura DCT is less clunky because of the torque convertor.

Pir8pete

I have a 16 ILX and it does the same as yours with the clunky, and that noise is the same in my 14 manual Si

skylineblue

I think the noise might be from the gas pedal assembly. I kind of hear the same noise, although less noticeable, when getting on and off the gas pedal with the car off. I noticed the noise on my first test drive and tried two other cars just to be sure it's "normal".


I think the DCT only downshifts when the engine RPM matches with the transmission RPM for that gear at that speed. That should reduce a lot of the wear on the clutch packs. People have complained about it being slow to accelerate when you get on the gas. I think that's because it goes out of gear first, waits until the engine revs match, then shifts to the lower gear. It does it a lot faster if you go WOT since the engine will rev faster. You can also use the paddles to go from 7th to 2nd before a turn. I've noticed that you have to get the timing right when using the downshift paddle to go down multiple gears in quick succession. Sometimes I do it too quickly and it doesn't register.

SpraykwoN

Same with mine.

DaIll1

Being my first "throttle by wire" it is annoyingly lacking. It's almost like the computer gives you an "are you sure, I mean really sure?" moment, that can be enough to put you firmly into an ohshit situation.

skylineblue

I wouldn't know since I always go WOT when passing or merging. I redline the thing around 10 times a day. Three times when getting on the interstate (1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear). Usually 3rd gear a couple times when passing on the freeway. Repeat for return trip. The only thing I'm worried about is the newly design DCT. I've done far worse to Honda engine in my gen 6 Accord for over 150k miles. My advice is to just floor it and watch the car go into neutral, engine revs climb rapidly, DCT downshifts when the RPMs match, and the car takes off.

truonghthe

DCT in Acura actually alot better than most DCT on the market, however program all you want and the clunky still present. The problem here is the car computer have a hard time to determine which gear they should down shift to (most of the time its between 2-3-4 gear) The computer collect information from other sensor and finally BAM slam right into gear (3rd gear to be exact). OP funny you compare the IS250 vs ILX DCT, I drove couple ISF with 8spd Direct shift and the result is pretty similar to the 9 spd ZF or the 8spd in ILX, 4 banger TLX.

schen72

The slight clunkiness at low speeds is worth it to me if I can get shift speeds faster than a manual and still have the convenience of an automatic. I'm done with real manuals. Too tiring to drive in a crowded metro area.