freemansteve

Wow - that looks like a manufacturing fault. I think this has come on the VW Up forum too. What year is car?

It's red tape gone mad! It's obviously OK on C02 and a well-known vehicle! Too many people in jobs where all they have to do is say "the computer says nah...", and not have to add any value....

After 7 years, the car needs a new battery. That and and a few short but regular drives should sort out the stop/start. Everyone is fed up! Best to drink lots of wine!

Yes, indeed, more recent models got fitted with wheel arch liners in the factory - they must have identified the rust problem. I think they can be retrofitted and are good idea. It is not clear exactly what mudflaps your son has, but generally they will need holes drilled, which I for one would not do (more rust opportunities)... In any case, they serve no useful purpose - at least as far as I can tell, as the rear of my car stays quite clean for a small, square hatchback, and I see no significant spray behind me. I'd sell the mudflaps on FaceBook market place, (great for local buyers) or possibly on eBay, and buy the wheel arch liners instead....

I'd buy a few of all of the various plastic clips in advance, if I had the part numbers, since I always break a few. Someone here may be able to say what the P/N's are, or maybe ask on the VW Up! owner's forum - it's maybe 50-100x bigger than this one. And really, a plastic clip removal tool is cheap and well worth it...

Is that Skoda UK or CZ you have been emailing ?

hah! fair enough! I don't see too many 'posh estates' round here! But either way, the app is dead, so we are down to SatNavs with regualarly published lifetime maps....

The Maps & Fun app appears to have stopped working for many people, and I suspect it is no longer supported, i.e. I would not hold my breath for up to date maps. On the other hand, I tend to think that if a "new housing estate was not on the maps", then that is probably a good thing. :)

I've seen this before, either on this site, on the Up! owners club site. Try a search. If it were me, I'd probably try epoxy, but also with stainless screws or pins drilled and screwed in, which you can fill (the holes) and touch up afterwards... Worth a shot, before getting bits from a breaker....?

Yes EVs may be a good choice - I question myself about how often I really need to do 300 mile round trip these days. I am a bit hung up from the days when 750 miles in day across Europe seemed fine..... Things change...

OK - so you don't run/own a Citigo yourself, but at least have driven some.... We've had one for 18 months now, and it's a great, sweet little car so far - it's a shame if manual 'boxes are not viable for some drivers, because the post-facelift versions have excellent clutches/gearboxes, actually shaming a few cars at x5 the price. Not sure about early models - I haven't tried them. At risk of repetition, while some owners are happy, I would not go near an ASG (I have had many 'proper' automatics though, which were mostly good)... But have we frightened off the OP?

So - do you currently run a Citigo, manual or otherwise?

"The Citigo ASG is an automated gearbox which has been used in models such as Vauxhall, smart and others" I thought the Citigo ASG was unique to VW and thus not the same as used in Vauxhalls and Smarts. As I understand it, the underlying gearbox is same as on other Citigos, but the gear selection process and clutch is automated by solenoids to change the gears/work the clutch, and controlled by an additional computer module, which monitors revs, roadspeed, throttle position and more..... If I have this wrong, do say! I do recall our Smart having a sequential gearbox, albeit automatic, so I'm not the 'boxes are all the same... If you are saying the electronic control module and solenoid controller unit is the same across those other cars (maybe developed by a third party?) then that seems quite sensible. And a bit more "safety in numbers" if that is true. Additional electronics and solenoids do not appeal to me though - they are often a pain and comparatively unreliable on 4WD vehicles.

Never experienced a specialist dealership myself, so I don't know good/bad they are - and most of my family can only buy 10th-hand! My cousin, who lost a leg owing to landmines, swears by big, old-school (and old enough to be affordable), Mercedes, and can't really get into a Citigo. It is cool to have met a true hero like Bader though!

No! "Douglas Bader types" is a not uncommon expression that refers to the perfectly able-bodied people who obsessively have to squeeze into any supermarket car park (and disabled & child spaces) simply to save a few yards on the oh so long walk to the supermarket doors! They are also known for putting all those dings into other people's car doors. Apologies if I am not "woke" enough to be perfectly politically correct! And yes, I have disabled immediate family members, so I am not entirely disconnected. Anyway to the main point, I would think someone who does find it hard to get in and out of a car, may well find a Citigo less than ideal, whether 3 or 5 door. And there are plenty of choices for automatics (inc all EVs), most of which are nicer to use and more reliable....

Well, yeah, but I have never been in a standard supermarket car parking space that allows me to open any door enough, so I just park away from the Douglas Bader parking brigade. And don't forget that with a three-door, the "usable aperture" is pretty much the same as a 5 door, even if the angle of the door is less on the 3 door in a given space. I have recently tried both, in Sainsbury's, and getting in and out is the same. The seatbelt is just as easy to reach if you use your right hand. The big issue with 3 doors is getting objects onto the rear seats - you have tilt the front seat which annoying, but on the plus side, the 3 door has far better visibility at angled junctions (no B pillar in the way). IQ and Smart - similar propositions, with regard easy access, but you can still buy the latter new. As far as I know Smarts don't have those appalling whiny CVTs either, which have mostly died out for good reason! If the OP needs auto, and wants a Citigo/Up rather than a Kia, IQ, Smart or whatever, an EV might do it if one can be found, used, at a good price with battery warranty...

My late father was a very portly 80 y.o. and of all the cars my wife and I owned over the years, he greatly preferred her Smart over all others, saying it was by far the easiest to get in and out of, and he'd also been given rides in Range Rovers and other SUVs which often had cluttered cabins... The smart was an automatic which had become his preference, and was by far the easiest to slip into any space. Mind you, he had a Peugeot 406 for many years which was a terrible car! My point is that "small" does not necessarily mean car is hard to get in and out of - a lot depends on the door aperture size (3 doors are best, as the b-pillar is a foot rearwards), and the seat height is important.

Yes - I wasn't sure. My last car had 3 resistors (!) mounted on the back of the switch itself. But it is bound to be the problem (unless the blower is slightly blocked and only spins up on full power)

Normally, the blower speed is controlled by resistors (bizarrely, as it is inefficient) and they do burn out occasionally. I think they are built into the switch itself, which will need replacing. Shouldn't be too costly, but I'm not sure how easy it is to get to..... A reason why they can blow up is dirt and debris being able to get to the fan and causing a slight physical resistance, drawing more current. Change the pollen filters regularly, and be careful to not let dirt and bits fall into the blower, and make sure the scuttle under the windscreen is kept clean (and drain holes). You can get water, and water-borne debris into the cabin via the blower if the scuttle gets stuff in it.

The search facility on this site is not great, but people have sorted the issue. Also, check on the VW Up owners forum - it's a far better and more popular site, and Citigo owners are welcome there!

A problem with leaving a drain plug out could be that water can also get in from the outside, especially in this wet weather with lots of standing water.... I'd dry as above, and leave the plug alone...

Nice. I have a similar thing on my EV: (it's only lockdown amusement!)

Main thing is: problem identified and sorted! Watching this issue on this site - and also on the far bigger VW Up! site - I'd venture that for every big water ingress issue, 90% are blocked scuttle drain holes. The other 10% appear to be: seals around rear screen, seals around spoiler or wiper, and sunroof leaks are negligible. I also do not recall a leaking heater matrix so far, but it may only be a matter of time!

I found this, which covers some recent models - see attached brochure_citigo.pdf

The Citigo Automatic (and Up! and Mii) has an "assisted gearbox", and is unique in the VW range. It's not like the "DSG"-type autos, or the "Torque Converter"-type autos. Older cars do seem to get issues that seem difficult to fix with the ASG box, although no doubt, many owners on here will say that their own ASG cars are fine - but that's anecdotal and not statistical. ASG is a cut-price auto in my book, adding complexity and therefore risk, and being quite rare, that means it's harder to find someone who can fix it without expensive guesswork..... Just my view here, but if you have to have an automatic, I'd look elsewhere. Maybe Kia/Hyundai, or if you have budget, get an electric car. The Citigo/Up!/Mii does have a good and easy to use manual gearbox and light clutch, if you can use a manual - far less likely to go wrong and far cheaper to fix if it does.