Is the clutch in automatic transmission gearboxes unduly used, as with manual transmission, when a car is driven at ultra low speeds?

Question

I have yet to understand how an automatic transmission gearbox works (not CVT—those are trivial). This question is an attempt to figure out a small piece of the puzzle.

Properly handled, the clutch in a manual transmission car can last hundreds of thousands of kilometers/miles, but one action in particular overly abrades the surface. A driver who needs to proceed extremely slowly on flat ground will keep the clutch semi-released. Dropping the engine's RPM would result in stalling. This semi-released state will wear out the clutch faster than it needs to.

(The other method, to inject a bit of speed on first gear, then release the clutch, and repeat, isn't always suitable if one, say, is going through a tight passage.)

Is the clutch in automatic transmission gearboxes unduly used, as with manual transmission, when a car is driven at very low speeds?

(I understand that some automatic transmission gearboxes have 2 or more clutches. Still, only one clutch is responsible for moving from standstill.)

Related

• Durability of automatic transmission boxes versus durability of manual transmission boxes? Their lifetimes?

Answer 1

The question is too broad, since more than one type of "automatic transmission" (aside from CVTs) exist.

But focussing on one somewhat-modern type of automatic transmission, DSG, makes it possible to answer the question.

The two clutches in DSG are hydraulic clutches. No material gets abraded when shifting to first — nor, for that matter, to second, third, etc. The coupling relies on the viscosity of a hydraulic fluid.

Note also that just like non-CVT gearboxes, CVTs require some kind of clutch, since the min-max ratio is still strictly greater than zero.