Method and apparatus for clutch control in a vehicle having an engine start-stop powertrain and a dual-clutch transmission

A vehicle includes an engine that shuts down and restarts at idle, a dual-clutch transmission (DCT) having a controller and two input clutches for connecting the engine to respective evenly and oddly numbered gears of the DCT. The controller has a shift algorithm for shifting the DCT to achieve a predetermined engine load state during an engine autostart/autostop cycle, with the load state being unloaded or partially loaded. A DCT for the vehicle includes the input clutches and controller. A method includes shifting the DCT to the predetermined engine load state while the engine is off and an engine restart is commanded, and restarting the engine in the engine load state. The method may also include maintaining the clutches at a first point relative to a kiss point of the input clutches when the load state is unloaded, and at a second point when the load state is partially loaded.