Polemicist

Prompted by VW's current media profile, I ought to say that nothing came of Auto Express's initial interest in my issues with the Citigo. I disposed of the Citigo a few weeks ago; the rear brakes were binding after being parked for a day or so. There's now a shiny and reliable Toyota parked where the Citigo once languished - and there's more than a little schadenfreude being enjoyed at VAG's expense.

Update: I received an email this morning from Auto Express, and was asked if I would be prepared to photographed with the car for an article in the magazine. I have said yes.

I did indeed receive a call from my Case Handler at Skoda Customer Services on Friday and requested confirmation by email. The email was received today, after it had been checked/approved by the a third-party at Skoda/VAG. A shame more resources weren't focused upon the quality of the product... "Following our conversation on 12 June regarding your Skoda Citigo, registration: XXXX XXX. I am writing to confirm the outcome of my investigation into the defect that you have experienced with the sunroof seals. After examining the photographs you kindly provided, our Technical Support Team have come to the conclusion that this is definitely not a manufacturing defect. We believe that the damage to the seal has been caused by an external influence. I appreciate that in this instance, you have asked that we advise what external influence we believe has caused this. Unfortunately, we cannot absolutely confirm this. However, if we were to speculate, our Technical Support Team feel that something, possibly an animal, has attacked the seal from the outside. I understand you are not happy with this outcome, but hope you can appreciate that this is our final decision on this matter." So, to all those with a Citigo, Mii or Up! with a panoramic sunroof, I would consider taking precautions to mimimise the exposure of the car and its seals to 'external influences'. If one is considering the purchase of a Citigo, Mii or Up! with a panoramic sunroof, I would reconsider. From my perspective, my Audi A8, and this Citigo, are the very last contemporary VAG products I will own.

If an auto' is a 'must' for city/urban driving, I would stay clear of the VAG ASG. Paradoxically, it's OK when rolling along and for leisurely, low-density traffic use, but my wife finds ours too hesitant for decisive exits from junctions and entry into roundabouts in town and city driving. The ASG and automated manual gearboxes are built to a price. I consider the Toyota IQ with a CVT gearbox the ultimate city tool. A shame Toyota have pulled the IQ from the range.

Thanks for the link. My Case Handler at Skoda UK Customer Services has just telephoned; he apologised for making an error yesterday - apparently the sunroof seals might be covered by the manufacturer's warranty. He also advised that the Skoda Technical Department are investigating what may have caused the disintegration of the sunroof seals - and he is hopeful he may be able to advise me tomorrow of the outcome. I suspect the ultimate cause is manufacturing 'economies' and 'quality', resulting from a component manufacturer screwed to the floor on price by a bean-counter in the VAG monolith...

I have just received a telephone call from Skoda Customer services. The sunroof seals (as are the door seals, and other items) are considered perishable items (seriously!) and are therefore covered by this aspect of the Škoda warranty: Exclusions and limitations Wear and tear components will only be considered under the terms of the warranty for the first of six months or 6,500 miles†. These include, but are not limited to brake linings and disc pads, clutch release bearings, clutch pressure plates and centre plates, tyres, wiper blades, seat and backrest covers, floor coverings, spark plugs, batteries for key fobs and alarms, light bulbs and shock absorbers. The case handler wil discuss the issue with the Škoda technical department and he will call me on Friday 12 June to advise if any contribution towards the cost of replacing the sunroof seals will be made by Škoda UK. I have had fruit in the fridge last longer than the seals on this Škoda Citigo...

You may wish to read my topic about the panoramic sunroof in my Citigo... http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/354070-citigo-panoramic-sunroof/

Sorry for the delay in posting an update to this topic... here's the background and the current status. A few weeks ago, upon arriving home, my daughter mentioned that the Citigo's panoramic sunroof was very slow to close. Upon investigation, it was found to be slow (little evidence of lubricant on the mechanism, despite it recently having been for a dealer service...), but more worryingly, the seals on the fixed area of the sunroof panel and the adjacent area of the opening panel were disintegrating. On the near side of the vehicle, c. 300 mm of the seal on the fixed panel is disintegrating, with a similar amount on the trailing edge of the opening panel seal. My daughter made arrangements to take the car to the supplying dealer for investigation. After the visit, for various reasons my daughter was unable to speak with the service manager, and so in early May I contacted the dealer for an update. I was somewhat incredulous at the explanation, and requested email confirmation of the reason for the sunroof seal damage: 'In my opinion as discussed the seals on your sunroof have been pecked/eaten possibly by a bird or some other animal/creature. Remember the beak is a tool, very sharp and can penetrate much tougher items than rubber !' The bottom-line is that the repair to the seals would be chargeable, as in the dealer's opinion the damaged seals were not a result of a manufacturing defect. I asked for a quotation for the repair work... The image doesn't lie; that's £913.25 for the repair. I would add that several cars have been parked outside where the Citigo parks at my home; a Fiat Punto, two R56s Minis, and an aged Audi A8. All had sunroofs and none displayed any damage or disintegration to the seals. It's absurd (and anything but 'simply clever'...), IMHO, that a the seal on the sunroof of a car a mere 2 and half years old is deteriorating so badly. It's simply not fit for purpose, or there's been an issue with the material the seal is manufactured from. And what's inexcusable is that for a seal in such an exposed position on the roof of car, it has been manufactured so that replacement requires not merely the seals but also a substantial and costly component, which I suspect is the fixed glass panel on the roof that surrounds the opening panel. The rubber seal on the trailing edge of the opening panel appears to be replaceable, albeit at a laughable £72.51 plus VAT for the part. What next? My daughter noticed that the 'intact' areas of the sunroof seal appear to be cracking, so I purchased and awaited the delivery of a rather cool Supereyes UBS microscope. So this morning armed with my Super eyes and a netbook, I took some images of the sunroof seal; sure enough, in numerous areas there are cracks appearing in the material. This morning an email was written, images were attached and it's been sent to Škoda; I await their response...

Before progressing the matter with an alternative dealer, I will be contacting Skoda UK to make them aware of the issue and the supplying dealer's position. This was the same dealer that I had issues with the transmission control unit enhancement; they failed to check the new TCU was operating correctly before returning the car. Furthermore, I have looked at the sunroof seal again today, and on the OS leading edge, it's evident the seal is breaking down, with cracks in the material.

Significant parts of the seal on the trailing edge, and the seal on the NS edge of the opening glass panel are disintegrating. There is no mechanical damage evident. The seal damage came to light a few weeks ago when my daughter said the sunroof was becoming difficult to close; when I investigated, it appeared to me that there was little lubrication on the mechanism, despite only having been serviced a short time previously. It was then I noticed the disintegrating seal. The car was taken by my daughter to the supplying dealer to be inspected by the service manager. Despite several attempts to speak with the service manger by my daughter, I spoke with him on Friday. In his opinion the damage to the seal was caused by birds pecking at it. Apparently when he inspected the car there was evidence of seeds on the roof and near the sunroof aperture. The damage to the seal is therefore not a result of faulty workmanship or materials and is not covered by the warranty. Here is the services manager's comment: 'In my opinion as discussed the seals on your sunroof have been pecked/eaten possibly by a bird or some other animal/creature. Remember the beak is a tool, very sharp and can penetrate much tougher items than rubber !' Now for the good bit. The sunroof seals are not a separate item and must be purchased with the glass sunroof panel: 'Total cost for replacement of damaged seals £913.20 inc parts labour and vat' This is absurd. I have no idea if the service manager's hypothesis about the cause of the damage is correct or otherwise, but even if correct, the seals are simply not fit for purpose.

The dealer has rejected the problem and has stated that the issue is one that is not covered by the vehicle's warranty; it is a chargeable 'repair'. I refute this entirely. I want 'all my ducks in a row' before I escalate this with a Skoda UK, and determining which company manufactures the sunroof and components will allow me to make further investigations. I will be contacting Skoda UK in due course, and hopefully there will be a more rational response than from my dealer, and subsequently I will be in the happy position to post on here the details of the problem and the favourable outcome. If not...

I have some issues with the panoramic sunroof in my 30 month old Citigo; does anyone know who the OEM manufacturer of the sunroof is? TIA Mark

The Citigo was collected by the dealer, punctually, yesterday morning and returned mid-afternoon. I have been advised a new code was input for the TCU. All now sorted and the manual mode display for the transmission is now working correctly. The MPG of the car will continued to be monitored.

Confirmation today that the car is being collected from home next week... ... but somewhat frustratingly, it hasn't been a smooth process to do so. At the end of May 2014, the dealer was visited, by me, in person, to change the ownership details from my deceased mum's, specifically as the vehicle has a Skoda prepaid service plan and 5 years extended warranty. I was advised by the Silbury Service Adviser that the change of owner for the service plan and warranty could only be carried out by Skoda UK, and it would be necessary for me to contact them. Which I did. At this visit to the dealer, I provided the service adviser with my name, address, and contact details to ensure their database was updated. The details were written down by the adviser to make the changes. Fast forward three months and when telephoning to book in the car for its recent inspection, the service adviser said the registration for the vehicle was under a different name and address; once again I provided my details as the new owner. When physically booking the car in for its inspection service, when I gave my name, there was no record of it. The service adviser located the documentation by the car's registration number; the ownership details were incorrect, they were still my late mum's. I again asked for the database record to corrected. To ensure this, my name, address and contact details were written down, on the booking documentation, to be changed. And today, when confirming with the service manger the collection address for my car, the service manger has said that the vehicle is 'in our system under a different name and address'. FFS

I emailed the service manager yesterday and received a reply this morning. My car can be collected on 8 October and a courtesy car left with me until my own is sorted. I will update when there's more to tell.