Remember when dual-clutch transmissions were all the rage? The promise of increased efficiency over a torque converter automatic and lightning-fast shifts was tempting at a time when normal automatics couldn’t match the efficiency or performance of a manual transmission, but the tech landscape has changed greatly in the past 20 years or so. While these dual-clutch units have their place in certain performance vehicles, it’s not surprising to see many models turn back toward conventional automatics, and the popular Hyundai Santa Fe family crossover is the latest member of the bandwagon.
Up until the incoming 2026 model year, if you wanted to buy a delightfully rectangular new Santa Fe, you’d have to choose between two different powertrains. The more sensible choice here is a 1.6-liter turbocharged hybrid option. It’s smooth, offers excellent fuel economy, certainly doesn’t feel short on power, and is generally the right choice for the school run. However, if you pull outdoor toys or a camper on the weekends, you’d likely want the increased towing capacity that comes with the standard 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-four.
This stout 277-horsepower unit gives this three-row family hauler some serious get-up-and-go, and it comes with up to 4,500 pounds of towing capacity in the XRT trim instead of just 2,000 pounds for the hybrid model. However, it comes hitched to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission that’s had its share of teething issues. Last year, Hyundai recalled 12,349 2024 model year Santa Fes with this transmission due to flawed transmission programming potentially causing transmission failure. As the recall report states:
The Dual Clutch Transmission (“DCT”) in the subject vehicles could become damaged during normal operation due to Transmission Control Unit (“TCU”) software logic that could inadvertently engage the clutches and damage the transmission case and/or parking pawl. A damaged transmission case and/or parking pawl may cause noise within the transmission and/or allow for vehicle rollaway while in PARK.
The solution, as you can probably guess, included a software update of all affected vehicles and the replacement of damaged transmissions. Not a cheap fix, but a necessary one. Since that incident, there have still been NHTSA complaints about the dual clutch transmission, some of which seem genuinely reliability-related and some of which seem to align with the fact that a dual-clutch transmission isn’t a torque converter automatic, so it won’t exactly drive like one.
A dual-clutch transmission is going to creep fairly aggressively from a standstill to engage those clutches compared to the slow roll of a fluid coupling, it’s going to be crisp at the occasional expense of some smoothness, it’s going to require specific fluid and a specific maintenance interval that isn’t quite what owners of vehicle with traditional automatic transmissions have come to expect. I didn’t mind any of this when I drove the 2.5-liter turbocharged Santa Fe, but I can understand that it’s not quite what some shoppers are looking for.
However, that’s about to change. Hyundai has announced that the 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe crossover and the 2026 Santa Cruz small truck with the turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-four will be swapping their eight-speed dual-clutch transmissions out for conventional eight-speed torque converter automatics. This should add a dose of extra smoothness to the driving experience while returning the same EPA fuel economy figures as the outgoing dual-clutch transmission.
It’s a similar story as we’ve seen from the Kia Seltos, the Acura TLX, the Volkswagen Tiguan, and even the BMW Z4. While dual-clutch transmissions have a place, most everyday drivers are just better served by the latest crop of efficient torque converter automatics of many ratios. We’re now in a place where it’s possible to have both traditional smoothness and appreciable efficiency, and although I’ll miss the sheer speed of the shifts, automakers gotta give the people what they want, right?
Top graphic credit: Hyundai
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Great news! Now bring those ankle taillights up to below the glass
Off topic but that Santa Fe has the greatest front end paired to the worst rear end I remember ever seeing. I just can’t get over it. I love it and I hate it when one drives by.
I tend to believe that a DCT doesn’t belong anywhere except a sports car, especially not an SUV/crossover. Does anybody know anything about the Hyundai/Kia CVT? They don’t seem to use it widely. Drove one in a 2024 Rio and surprisingly it wasn’t /that/ annoying like most other CVT’s.
Rental Veloster with the 7 speed DCT… how can a sporter version of my car ( Fit Sport 5AT ) feel so much slower with 25% more power?
Just make it all electric already. These 8-9-10 speed transmissions and turbo engines with their flat torque curves are trying to simulate an electric motor. Skip the complexity and keep it fairly simple.
I much prefer my single clutch transmissions. Of course, they are operated by my left foot and right hand, so software isn’t much of an issue.
I rode in a friend’s 2025 Santa Fe and the DCT is fine, but it is not smooth coming from a stop. My parent’s 2025 Santa Cruz is the same – fine, but not smooth. I agree with there being zero reason these vehicles should have DCTs, and I suspect the long-term reliability will show that to be true.
As I’ve said, my wife drives a 2022 Kia Sorento that has the 2.5T + DCT combo. I have to agree the regular auto is probably better for these cars.
On the other hand, it rips and she hasn’t complained about the DCT. She is *not* a car person either. I know some people had issues and we did take it in for the recall to update programming but we never had a problem before or since. They told us ours was not among those affected but they updated the software anyhow. I didn’t notice a difference.
Coulda had a Jatco.
Skull ????
I don’t understand this application. It feels like something you get working backwards from wanting to market your products as having a DCT.
Automatic transmission torque converter creep is a feature that people actually like?!?
I always thought of as an annoying thing to work around.
I like it in traffic.
I certainly consider it a bug, not a feature. And I find it infuriating when transmissions that don’t have it simulate it.
Twice I have seen drivers stop their Prius, start talking to somone for a couple minutes, get out of the car, and after a minute or so the ICE starts up and the Prius drives off on its own. One time it was in front of my house after an accident where another car had gone off the road, and then a Prius driver was talking to a Highway Patrol officer who asked the driver to get out of the car. I guess the guy was a little rattled and forgot the car was not turned off. The car drove itself across the road, missing oncoming traffic and about 20 feet into an almond orchard until it bumped into a tree.
The other time a Prius almost backed over someone getting out of the car.
Good, but I feel like they might as well go hybrid-only on this car. It’s a good system.
Also, this is a really good idea to get the DCT out of the Santa Cruz. The owner of the dealer I bought my Santa Fe from had the turbo Santa Cruz and has blown multiple DCTs already on modest trails.
I believe it was the Acura ILX not the TLX that had a DCT.
And for god knows what reason I believe Honda only used it in that car and then put it out to pasture. It would’ve been great in the Integra and ADX but instead they’re stuck with miserable CVTs. I’d even say it would be cool to have it as an option in the performance Civics but Honda and the JDM bros would consider that a crime worthy of The Hague…
I’ve had similar thoughts about that unfortunate dead end, I feel like more Honda/Acura customers would appreciate the shifting of a DCT, and beefed up would’ve given them an option to make auto Si/TypeRs, sacrilege I know but I’m all for selling more fun cars in any form at this point.
Wilson preselector boxes, think turbohydramatic with a clutch instead of a torque converter, always seemed like a good idea.
Good mention, both the ILX and the 2.4-liter TLX got Acura’s eight-speed DCT.
As one of our resident DCT apologists (there at least like 3 or 4 of us in the world, I think) allow me put this as simply as possible: GOOD
DCTs are dead technology walking. There is absolutely 0 reason to use them outside of sporty cars. The two advantages they give you (one of which is subjective, your mileage may vary) are they make the car faster and they’re more engaging to play around with than a regular automatic with flappy paddles because when you really get on them the shifts reverberate through the whole car similar to a manual.
There is absolutely 0 reason to put them in commuter cars or family haulers. They are very rough in bumper to bumper traffic and parking situations and they’re both more complex and less reliable than regular old torque converter autos and even the newer planetary ones like the ZFs or the Ford/GM 10 speed. It was really fucking stupid that Hyundai put them in the Santa Fe and Santa Cruz.
When is the average soccer mom or Ute enjoyer going to want to bang shifts off redline or go to a track day? Never…so why are you saddling them with a less reliable, rougher transmission that they’ll never reap the benefits of? When you’re at low speeds and a DCT decides to be grumpy (which is often because they need to warm up) it’s like riding in the car with someone who’s learning to drive stick.
With that out of the way, when they beef this transmission up and program it for use in the N cars it’s absolutely fantastic. I’ve certainly been critical of Hyundai as a manufacturer and critical of my own Hyundai product, but the N DCT is the best automatic this side of PDK and the ZF8. It’s that good.
And before the VAG fanboys go BUT MUH DSG IS GOD’S OWN TRANSMISSION please take an N out for a test drive. I owned a DSG GTI and have driven a DSG MK7 Golf R. It’s a great transmission, but the Hyundai one runs laps around it. The shifts are faster, the kick down is faster, it’s not as antsy to get you to the highest gear for efficiency, and when you take control it gives it to you.
You can bang it off redline to your heart’s content and it’ll give you monkey brain downshifts without complaining. With the sporty Golfs you’re not doing that without a tune. Trust me, I’ve tried it.
I’ve only driven two vehicles with DCTs. A VW Jetta and a Ford Escape. I disliked both. As Thomas notes, creeping is not their forte.
Side note: My mind always misreads the author’s name as “Thomas Hyundai.” Sorry.
I do too, but if he were Thomas Hyundai this site would be much more lux.
Not sure about more lux.. but definitely more fires and engines with inspection ports.
Then he should dress up as the Noid with a big N on his shirt.
The Ford Focus or Fiesta had the DCT, the Escape only ever had a conventional planetary automatic transmission or E-CVT
It would make me so happy if someone named “HyundaiDCTFANatic” stepped up to defend the DCT.
The brothers at CarConfections bought one and Hyundai bought it back within a few months. The guys were polite about the whole affair but it’s nice to be a well read reviewer.
The 1.6t/DCT combo is excellent but not in an application like this. As Thomas pointed out, DCT’s are finicky and don’t suffer poor maintenance and driving habits gladly. Mine is too new to speak to its longevity but it’s properly fun to drive and I went into my purchase knowing that “lifetime transmission fluid” is not a thing with DCTs. A lot of people don’t.
Is this a wet or dry clutch? For a dry clutch I would expect the trans fluid to actually last longer than a conventional auto, since the transmission part is essentially a manual, with no friction material particles in the fluid and lower operating temps. I do agree they don’t tolerate some driving styles and like sharper inputs.
Mine is the 7-speed, which is a dry clutch. The 8-speed is a wet clutch. The DCT is okay in traffic (I keep auto-hold engaged to stop myself from inadvertently creeping) but it lives to play.
You want to change DCT fluid at 45-60k miles-ish depending on your driving and the transmission. If you don’t you’re asking for trouble. For nerds like us it’s no big deal. For the average Santa Fe buyer it absolutely is.
Exactly. Plus at 45-60k miles a lot of cars are on the second owner, who is probably even more likely to balk at a relatively aggressive maintenance schedule. I’d never buy a DCT-equipped car used if I wasn’t sure I was getting it from someone who was as big a car geek as I am.
A heavier vehicle with a smaller engine that does a lot of city driving seems like exactly the wrong application for a DCT. I’m sure it made sense at the time somehow.
It was strange that they even kept trying to make the DCT happen again after issues and complaints in different models over the years. Seems like they were trying to use up a bunch of stock. The Sorento supposedly hangs on to it, but 2026 updates haven’t been announced so that could change.
I like a good DCT. The problem is that Hyundai doesn’t make one.
Yep, VW and Porsche are still at the top of the dual clutch club.
Aren’t they all ZF transmissions?
I have no idea, and I won’t pretend I know what I’m talking about.
I just know I love my GTI’s DCT.
They absolutely do, it’s just only programmed correctly in the N cars.
The problem with the DCT in the 2024 model was that people were just overdoing in. They’d be out in public, see someone they knew, then try to get out of there before the person saw the car. Hopefully the blur upon departure would just leave them guessing, but the “Hyundai” name on it inevitably made people think it was some kind of shipping container. And you were a weird hippie making your family live inside one.
OK, I’m biased as someone partial to the previous generation, and also possessing eyeballs, but this seems like a good move considering how much of a cointoss that DCT was. It always felt like overkill — that 2.5t could really scoot, but the chassis wasn’t ready for it.