Hello everyone,

 

We've had a Citigo (Greentech) for a year and have had no issues with it at all. A great little car.

 

But this morning, something odd happened for the first time. It would not start. At all. For ten minutes. Depress the clutch and turn the key - zip. Ten minutes later, and it was back to normal. Has anyone experienced anything like this?

 

Two things happened that were different before this strange behaviour. One was that the car got its first service yesterday. And the second was that I switched off the passenger airbag, to be able to fit a baby car seat in the front. Neither of those seem to me to be likely to be the cause of this. Obviously, if it happens again, we'll get it looked at, but can anyone offer a theory as to why this might take place? 

 

Cheers all

 

 

If it happens again try the 2nd key ? 

Yes, that's on the list. But I rather hope it doesn't happen again! In this case, it happened just before a return journey - getting there had not been an issue, so the 2nd key was sitting at home. 

I would be suspicious of the servicing.  I get cars serviced, but every time I do I can't help think that sometimes you are better leaving a machine well alone that is working as any tinkering can cause problems.

Was it in gear, my last car would not start unless gearbox was in neutral, even with the clutch pressed! Worth a try, leave car in gear, press clutch and see if it starts

Did the lights on the dash/radio go dim/off and is the trip meter at zero when you tried to start it? Have they loosened the battery connections?

Sounds like a first service, so they only change the oil.

Oh, and hopefully reset the inspection indicator. Could be something to do with that.

Thanks everyone for the replies. The behaviour has not repeated itself, so it remains a mystery. 

I have had the same experience with my (new, June 2015) Elegance - on 3 occasions now when I've turned the key, zippo.  Trying again a moment later, the car fires just as it says on the tin.     The vehicle hasn't been in for a Service, it was just as I'd collected it, but it took almost 5 months (& around only some 2.5k miles) before this weird (& slightly worrying) experience???            After 4 months of totally trouble-free starting, this has now happened on 3 occasions over the space of perhaps 2 weeks, but then the engine fires exactly as I'd expect it to. 

Anyone have any ideas/suggestions.

initial thoughts are to take it to dealers to get it logged as intermittent

 

then gradually build up a history if not resolved

 

clutch switch sticking / faulty?, as on the greentech if the clutch not depressed car won't turn over / start

clutch switch sticking / faulty?, as on the greentech if the clutch not depressed car won't turn over / start

^ This. :yes:

Well Hey Ho & a Hey Nonny No (etc etc) , it's happened again - the car started exactly as it should, when going to collect a prescription, but when exiting the Doctors, it wouldn't  fire, after several attempts - just Zilch!  .       Rang the Dealership, who said that they "thought" that it could be a flat battery (which I found very difficult to accept as my little Tonka Toy is virtually brand new)  & suggested that I call the Breakdown Service.   I did indeed ring them & got an ETA of between 40-60 minutes later.       In forlorn hope (this now being some 15 minutes after the car had first refused to fire) I tried starting it again.    Then it fired up, although to be brutally honest & with my hand on my ha'penny (I mean Heart) I was convinced that it wasn't firing with its usual eager, rorty sound.    Anyway, & to be on the safe side,  I kept the engine running whilst I ran the Breakdown & cancelled the Call Out.  Then I rang the Dealership to say that it obviously WAS NOT the battery, & I have an appointment for 1100 tomorrow - assuming that the car starts & enables me to get there, as it seemed to die on me as I was slotting it into my parking bay, and then wouldn't start again.  All the warning lights on the speedo were bright, & it would appear that you can't disconnect the stop/start if the engine isn't running???

 

So, dear readers, I reckon that it could be a glitch with the ignition, or just possibly, the Bendix sticking.   Hopefully, Mr Skoda will give me the definitive answer tomorrow.   

 

And to cupofassam, it it's happened to you once, then (as the hombre on the PID says) BEWARE!

 

WATCH THIS Space!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It hurts me to be honest (I mean, as a typical husband, it really hurts) but it sounds as though my problem with my non-starting Citigo was basically self-inflicted.

I booled it into the Skoda Dealership, and Mr Skoda (Mrs. Skoda & all the little Skoda's) investigated.   According to them, the Diagnostic showed up no problems whatsoever, and the intermittent non-starting was all down to the fact that on the periodic occasions when it didn't start, it was because the clutch pedal hadn't been depressed sufficiently - apparently even a 1/4" was enough to tell the engine to see its own Arras, and sulk.

In an effort to improve the noise levels, I had bought floor carpets,   As usual for me, I'd gone for "overkill", & again as usual, enthusiasm had exceeded common sense, & I bought 2 complete sets - thus increasing the thickness of the original floor lining, threefold.    One of the carpets (according to Mr Skoda, or it might have been Mrs Skoda) had moved forward over time, & it was this that allegedly made the car think that the clutch pedal wasn't being depressed enough???

The young lady at the Dealer didn't tell me that I was simply a P-R-A-T, (in fact they were, as usual, exceedingly pleasant & helpful) but I certainly felt like one, as I received one of those looks that women seem to reserve for throwing at men..

Soooooooooooooooooooooooo, if anyone else has gone down the same path as moi, then periodically ensure that the clutch pedal can travel all the way down to the floor, otherwise it ain't not not gunna not fire up.

 

Always look for the simple solution first!!!!!!

Glad it's sorted for you, much better than an intermittent fault.

Mine doesn't need the clutch down to start.

Posted Today, 21:37 (VRS Mike)

Mine doesn't need the clutch down to start.

 

Well, ain't you the lucky one - but in all honesty, I was brought up in the days of when "dipping the clutch" (like always ensuring that your pistol was aimed at the RSM, when checking whether it was loaded or not) was a safety precaution that was drilled into me, and the lesson has stuck - well apart from when I've had cars with automatic gearboxes.

 

On reflection, I still think that it's a highly sensible habit to get into -as obviously does Mr Skoda.

 

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Posted Today, 21:37 (VRS Mike)

Mine doesn't need the clutch down to start.

 

Well, ain't you the lucky one - but in all honesty, I was brought up in the days of when "dipping the clutch" (like always ensuring that your pistol was aimed at the RSM, when checking whether it was loaded or not) was a safety precaution that was drilled into me, and the lesson has stuck - well apart from when I've had cars with automatic gearboxes.

 

On reflection, I still think that it's a highly sensible habit to get into -as obviously does Mr Skoda.

 

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I too also dip the clutch to start, apparently it means the starter motor has too work less to turn the engine over, I actually on purpose tried it last night without the clutch down to see if it would start.

 

Does yours have start stop? I'd imagine cars with start stop need the clutch dipped.

(enlarged print at the special request of one of the Readers with difficulty in reading small print)

Yeah, VRS Mike. it's a Greentech, but I have this notion (dating back to my first test drive in a non GT model)  that even non-Greentech models need the clutch dipping when firing up.

Son has a NGT, so I'll ask him later today. 

Wasn't aware of (although it does indeed sound logical) that dipping the clutch meant less work for the starter motor.

Some "expert" out there will have the definitive answer.

Edited 12 November, 201510 yr by Michaelski

I would have thought that the clutch switch would operate on the very first bit of downward pedal travel, not the very last bit.

Have you experimented and tested Skoda's theory?

Edited 12 November, 201510 yr by Wino

I would have thought that the clutch switch would operate on the very first bit of downward pedal travel, not the very last bit.

Have you experimented and tested Skoda's theory?          

 

 

Hi, Wino.

Apparently notski - according to the Dealership, it's the very final pressure: my guess is that there's some sort of sensor in the floor, and if a connection isn't made, then no fire-up.  That would certainly explain why I had the intermittent non-starting.

& you certainly have to fully depress the clutch (even when the car is working exactly as it says on the tin) before the engine will fire - I've just tried it out: a "partial" depression of the pedal brings not nuffinski.     I reckon that this is a (highly recommended) "safety" precaution, and to my mind, it does all make sense. 

 

If it prevents me from having a repeat of the will it/won't it start, then I'll dip like a good 'un.

Fair play.

No 1 Son (who has a 60 SE) says that his starts without having to depress the clutch, so it sounds as though it's only the Greentech versions which won't start without (fully)dipping the clutch pedal.

Damned fiendish, these Chinese/Czechs/ etc

Happened to me too a couple of mornings ago and hasn't done it again since. Rather disconcerting. The noise I got was very different to normal start up - something was happening but it was very lightweight, as if only part of the normal start up mechanism was operating. I have a 2014 Greentech. At the time I switched off the stop/start and it fired up.

I have had the same problem twice, when you crank itsounds like the starter hasnt engaged properly and what is even stranger is that when I turned the key back from the crank position the starter kept on spinning! I switched off completely and it stopped. A second attempt was the same but I left it spinning and heard it get faster until the engine started and all has been well since. If anyone else has had this and got it fixed any advicewould be appreciated.

It sounds as though scgf & SJRT "may" have the same problem? In my case of not-firing, I got not nuffinski when experiencing the fault - just a muted "ping".

To my mind, their more-or-less identical issues sounds like a Starter-related problem - perhaps the Bendix not disconnecting, when switching the ignition off again. It reminds me the time (in a previous existence) when I had a clapped-out Vauxhall Viva SL90, and this experience was ALWAYS happening, and it turned out to be a lack of lubrication on the shaft that the Bendix spun up - it meant that either the Bendix never connected with the starter motor, or that it didn't DISconnect, when it should have done. Or it could have been that the teeth on the Bendix were all worn out?

It was easy enough to fix - all that it needed was some money (which I never had in those days) throwing at it, but I always took the easy option, & carried a tow rope: a set of jump leads. & a "motorist's Bible" - which contained many "prayers for the engine to start" to quote.

In these days of reliable diagnostics, the fault should be pin-pointed quite quickly, & remedial action taken.

Hope that it all gets sorted for you, though: it my pioneering years, one never really EXPECTED a car to start first time, and if it then got you to the end of the street, and was still running, one thought that they'd really cracked it.

Oh, Happy Days!

Edited 22 November, 201510 yr by Michaelski