Control apparatus and method for lock-up clutch of vehicle

A control apparatus for a lock-up clutch of a vehicle having a hydraulic torque transfer device equipped with the lock-up clutch between a power source and an automatic transmission, for controlling a hydraulic pressure of a hydraulic oil supplied to the lock-up clutch when the lock-up clutch is in a slip region, comprising:

• a hydraulic oil temperature determining unit that determines whether an oil temperature of the hydraulic oil is lower than a predetermined temperature;
• an input torque change calculating unit that calculates a change in input torque of the lock-up clutch;
• an input torque change determining unit that determines whether the change in the input torque calculated by the input torque change calculating unit is larger than a predetermined value;
• and
• a hydraulic pressure changing unit that changes the hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic oil supplied to the lock-up clutch to a predetermined pressure for a predetermined length of time, when the hydraulic oil temperature determining unit determines that the oil temperature of the hydraulic oil is lower than the predetermined temperature and the input torque change determining unit determines that the change in the input torque is larger than the predetermined value.