Shuggie

An update on this. After 3 years of no progress whatsoever with the local Skoda dealer in trying to resolve the gear engagement problems that have plagued the car since it was new, I finally took it to a local transmission specialist. They agree with me - it is the clutch, they said, and added ' we can do that for you'. So, the Citigo has had a new clutch, at a cost of a little under £400, and I'm pleased to report that I can now engage all gears at all times without difficulty. It is very odd to be able to engage reverse gear without hearing gears grinding. What this proves is that Skoda fitted clutches of variable quality in the factory. Since the clutch hydraulic system has no adjustment, a new (premium quality) clutch pack was required, and it works perfectly at all times. So, for anyone still battling to get their Citigo into first, second and reverse gears, my advice is to badger the dealer to replace the clutch with one that engages and disengages properly - this is all that is required. My Citigo is now the car that I expected it to be over 3 years ago and it's annoying that I had to pay for the cure. I will write to Skoda UK but I very much doubt that I'll receive any compensation or apology.

Definitely Bosch Aero over the OEM wipers. My car was only 1 year old when I changed the juddering and noisy OEM wipers for Bosch Aero and they're still fine and silent 2 years later.

That pretty much confirms my thoughts. There are many examples of senseless cost-cutting in these cars, so I'm not unduly surprised by this. I will get my car's clutch circuit checked and bled by a local independent. It would be interesting to see the state of the slave cylinder from my car, and particularly the end of its actuator. Quite clearly it doesn't push far enough.

The dealer has already 'adjusted' the gear linkage. As I stated in the opening post, the clutch pedal occasionally feels soft and squidgy, and that coincides with gears grating. There must be adjustment somewhere in the clutch mechanism, either at the pedal or at the gearbox.

I am becoming more convinced that ongoing gear engagement problems with my Citigo are due to inconsistent clutch operation. Sometimes the pedal feels a little 'odd' and this coincides with grating gear sounds. I know that the clutch operation is hydraulic, but I can't see any fluid reservoir, and various online searches have yielded no information about how to adjust the Citigo/Mii/Up clutch. Does anyone know how to check/adjust the Citigo clutch?

Yes, I know about the nut at the bottom, which is clearly annotated in the technical diagram. The problem is that I don't seem to be able to release the poppers and I'm wondering if there is a special type of trim tool for these cars.

Can anyone point me in the direction of the correct tool (or tools) for releasing the Citigo door trim poppers? I have a tool that's worked well with all previous cars, but the Citigo has defeated me.

That is wrong, but maybe your car was built properly in the first instance - I always leave mine in first gear when parked. A complete change of gearbox oil has definitely helped with my car's gearchange, and maybe this information will help others with the same problem.

My 2013 Citigo has always suffered from problems engaging first gear when the car is stationary, and occasionally grating badly when going from first to second gear, indicating a synchromesh issue. My local dealer has been very understanding, but couldn't do anything that made the problem any better. Last week, they had the car for a few days, and this time drained the gearbox oil completely and re-filled it, and adjusted the gear linkage (again). Following this work, the first gear engagement problem is still there, but it's now reduced to an occasional annoyance rather than an ever-present reason to hate this (otherwise agreeable) little car. Once warm, the gear change action on the other gears is definitely improved too. Yesterday I undertook a long journey, and was very pleased to note that the previous gearbox whine at 70mph has been reduced significantly. It can still be heard, but it no longer intrudes. Similarly, gearbox rattle and chatter when driving at low speeds is much reduced. So, I'm inclined to think that some of the Citigo/Up/Mii gearbox issues reported may have been cause by nothing more significant than insufficient or incorrect lubrication at the factory. Not a great endorsement of VW Group manufacturing quality for sure, but I hope that my experience might help others with the same problem.

I read through that thread, which started with an obvious and dangerous steering fault which my Citigo has never displayed. This post towards the end of the thread may shed a light on the odd and inconsistent feel that I experienced: I think this may explain why my car's steering is no much better with the new Goodyear tyres - the steering ECU is maybe receiving more consistent readings with the better quality Goodyear tyres. I'm convinced that the Falken Sincera tyres are of poor quality, since fine cracking in the grooves of the front tyres should not be occurring after just 30 months and 20k miles. It's interesting to see in another thread on here that MOT inspections are picking up tyre cracking on Citigos, presumably the same as I have observed on my car.

My dealer denied any suggestion that there was a known fault with the Citigo steering bits, but the important thing here is that the 'problem' disappeared after fitting some quality tyres.

My horrible Falkens are SN831A. They'll be replaced by either Goodyear Efficient Grip or Continental EcoContact5. I've had the Continentals before and like the way that they deliberately trade some sportiness for a quiet and more comfortable ride, with truly astonishingly low rolling reistance.

My 2013 Citigo SE 60ps has always had an odd feel to its steering, mostly manifesting itself as an occasional reluctance to self-centre after turning at junctions, but it has never been light or communicative. My local dealer (Robinsons in Norwich) looked at it and found no issue, but they did suggest that I had a full alignment check done. I fid that, and the check showed that the castor angle was out of spec on both front wheels, by exactly the same amount. I'm still waiting for a response from Skoda, and Robinsons are chasing them, since castor is not adjustable and the car must have been made that way. Anyway, I've now put a new set of steel wheels with Goodyear Ultra Grip 9 winter tyres on the car, and I'm astonished to find the steering magically lighter, linear in feel, and self-centreing properly. So, odd castor angle aside, the problem seems to have been the truly horrible Falken Sincera tyres that it came with. Interestingly, there is fine cracking in the continuous grooves of both the front tyres. I would never buy a cheap Far-Eastern tyre like this, but since the car came with them I've tolerated them so far, but when the regular wheels go back on in the spring, the Falkens will be getting binned for something of better (European) quality. All that aside, plus an occasionally obstructive gearbox and the sheer inconvenience of the single window switches, the Citigo is great. I love its refinement, settled ride, good seats and (most unusual in a newish car) the good rear visibility. Servicing has been inexpensive and Robinsons have been really good too.

Hi from lovely Norfolk. I'm currently driving a Citigo SE 5 door (60ps) and it's a cracking little car, although let down by obvious penny-pinching inside, and an occasionally obstructive gearbox. For all its faults, I can't imagine anything else being so spacious, refined and comfortable.