Hi there

 

I'm new to the forum and would really value input. I've owned an ex-demonstrator Citigo 1.0 MPI SE 3dr (2012) since February 2013 and it's my first ever Skoda. The first year or so? No issues. However, for the last nine months, I've been experiencing the following issues intermittently:

 

Handling/ steering
The car no longer handles the road very well, particularly at speed, and, at times, it feels like I'm about to lose control of it. I can’t identify any obvious triggers for the change from handling fine one minute to feeling almost out of control the next. It happens in all weather conditions, whether the tyre pressure needs checked or not and before and after having new tyres fitted.

 

It feels a lot like driving on ice one minute e.g. light, unpredictable handling, little grip on the road and oversteering to driving in windy conditions the next e.g. the car and steering both feel heavy and intractable, and the steering wheel feels ‘locked’ in position and slow to respond.

 

It's also evident when driving into a bend, either to the left or right, particularly at speed, no matter how gentle the bend. Also, periodically, when I think that I have turned just enough to drive into a bend, the steering wheel feels like it comes ‘unstuck’, moves on its own and causes the car to veer to the left or the right. Occasionally it also pulls to the left or right when driving on a straight road too.

 

Condensation
This wasn’t a problem last winter but, for the last couple of months, the condensation in the car has caused huge problems with visibility. Irrespective of what the weather is doing, the windows are constantly covered in condensation, which significantly obscures my view. I’ve tried everything from the constant use of demister pads to having the air conditioning or heating on or off. I’ve had to resort to using internal dehumidifiers and I’ve even being using one that plugs into the cigarette lighter but, while there is water gathering in them indicating condensation, it’s not helping. As a last resort, I’ve had to drive with the windows open even when it’s cold and/ or raining.

 

There is also a green, moss-like substance growing on the rubber seals around the driver’s and passenger’s window, the footwells are damp to the touch and one passenger commented recently on how damp the interior smelled.

 

If you have experienced similar and you can advise me on what I need to get my garage to check, it'd be much appreciated. I know very little about cars! So far, my garage has insisted on me driving the car before they will inspect it but, of course, the problems are intermittent so there isn't always something to show them!

 

Thanks.

They're doing an update at the moment on Citigo steering. See if your car has to have it.

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If you have condensation that does not clear by the normal use of the demister and/or air con then you probably have a leak that is flooding the interior of the car.

 

 

There is also a green, moss-like substance growing on the rubber seals around the driver’s and passenger’s window, the footwells are damp to the touch and one passenger commented recently on how damp the interior smelled.

 

 

 

It does sound like you have a leak somewhere.  unless you are getting in/out of your car a LOT with wet shoes.  Leaks can be a real pain in the neck to find to be honest as water 'tracks', so it seems like its from one place but is actually tracking from another.  Check your coolant isn't low, which would indicate a leaking heater matrix.  Often leaks are window/door/sunroof seals, or blocked drains.  I've had 2 leaks over the years, 1 was from the bonnet release catch gaiter, water tracking, the other was a poorly fitted 'plug' in the foot well.  

 

I did see on wheeler dealers the other week a clever way to find a water leak.  Rather than try to find water leaking in they filled the car full of smoke (no idea what variety) and looked to where it was leaking out.

 

So far as the steering goes, as it was fine and now isn't i'd be looking at getting this sorted asap, you've changed the tyres and you said it isn't tyre pressure i'd guess its the power steering, does the car have speed dependent power steering? (I've looked at a lot of cars over the last few weeks and I remember reading one did, was it the citigo?), if so then if the power steering 'computer' was getting confused then it would explain the symptoms?

Most of your topics have been covered so I can't add anything but I have seen the green algae on cars (not just Gitigo) that have been parked under trees  or adjacent to a hedge. During a walk this morning I went down a long street with trees on both sides and most of the cars had this on the side furthest from the road. I assume that air circulation of passing vehicles prevents the "spores?" settling? 

I think Autoglym sell a rubber sealer that might prevent this.

 

Fred

Green algae I had on my Citigo window seals, the bottom of the front windows. Now and again I scrub with an old toothbrush with soap and water clears it.

My Citigo was bone dry inside BTW, no issues at.

 

I notice it forms now on my Toledo window seals in the same area.

 

I've got it on the very bottom of my driveway and on fence panels they never get any sun and for the most part are always in the shade.

 

So in winter this algae will form anywhere with poor light conditions or constant wet/damp.

Edited 2 March, 201511 yr by MickA

The handling issue sounds proper scary - I'd be taking it to the garage asap.

Again with the steering issues, if it's intermittent it will depend on how often it happens, chances are if you take it to the garage and they "find nothing wrong" they won't do **** about it, if it's a common thing I suggest taking it out with a mechanic and showing him the problem then letting him drive it whilst you are still in the car so you can be sure he knows exactly what the problem is, the only other thing I can suggest is to have the tracking checked if you've knocked any curbs at all

Had a similar problem with my Citigo steering when it would suddenly pull left.If I switched the engine off and restarted the fault cleared until the next time it decided to play up.Local main dealer was great and able to fix it really quickly.

 

CUSTOMER WARRANTY REPORT....SKODA TPI  2035704/2 VEHICLE PULLS TO ONE SIDE  (CITIGO).

Car falls within TPI. Removed surrounding parts and removed steering column.Replaced CONTROL UNIT.

Carried out CODING of new unit.

 

Since then car has been driving great.Hope this helps you.

My Mii seems to have an intermittent issue with steering assistance, often when starting up the car after it's been left overnight, the steering is very heavy and doesn't lighten up much throughout the whole journey, then when you turn the engine off and back on after a few mins, the steering is fine.

 

I have also disconnected the battery for a minute which seemed to sort things for a few days but back to problematic now. The car is currently in for other investigations but I've mentioned the steering issue, can't say I've encountered the veering to the left yet but the following might be of interest:

 

http://www.carbuyer.co.uk/news/146087/watchdog-volkswagen-up-owner-down-on-his-luck

 

As for the damp interior, only very very recently has someone actually found a possible cause, and it turns out it's a German car magazine report after 60k miles of having an Up!, so I've only read what others have posted about it:

 

"The A/C unit on the panel inside the car and A/C unit (water outlet) in the under-bonnet area are connected with an O-ring. If this O-ring is mounted wrong, condensed water from the A/C can come inside the car.

If a service only checks the A/C unit without de-mounting it, they will not find the mistake!
It is the O-ring between under-bonnet area and inside the car ..."

 

 

Finally, as obvious as this sounds, make sure you do continue to use A/C during the winter and also make sure the you have the vents set to fresh incoming air and not recirculation

Edited 16 March, 201511 yr by Barnsey84

Might be worth checking if yours need the steering update [emoji106]

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My steering woes seem to be a result of a discharged battery, dealer was unable to diagnose so I got my cheap multimeter out and checked the battery. Have driven the car in an enthusiastic way past couple days and steering from the off is much lighter. No software update was available. Think I'll still put a new varta one in as don't think my original battery is in the best condition (ex demo car)

Funny you should mention this. The MIL polo had to go into the dealers with a dead alternator (it has the same engine as the citigo but with stop start) and VW reckon they have changed quite a few alternators on these. Don't know if it extends to the up as well?

Now that's interesting, have read on the "other" forum about defective alternator belts slipping and causing issues under load, there's also a recent TPI for a cover modification to prevent water getting onto the belt. I'll do some more multimeter fiddling to see if I can round it down.

Thank you to everyone for your input.  The garage has finally relented and the car is booked in for a week today.  I'll go armed with all your suggestions.  Only problem being?  The courtesy car is a Superb...  Could be tricky to go back to my Citigo after that, which leaves me with a whole other problem 

Insist that they at least try to look at VW tpi info on steering as when I asked Seat dealer they said sometimes VW don't release updates to the other 2 straight away as you might otherwise expect.

Apparently there is indeed an issue with the ECU misreporting voltage and reduces/shuts down steering assistance intermittently but have only seen successful updates for VW customers.

Green algae I had on my Citigo window seals, the bottom of the front windows. Now and again I scrub with an old toothbrush with soap and water clears it.

My Citigo was bone dry inside BTW, no issues at.

 

I notice it forms now on my Toledo window seals in the same area.

 

I've got it on the very bottom of my driveway and on fence panels they never get any sun and for the most part are always in the shade.

 

So in winter this algae will form anywhere with poor light conditions or constant wet/damp.

I have the algae on my door seals but,now the seals are rotting away.

See this photo

This on the passenger door after I cleaned.Have left the drivers side mouldy!.

How old is your car? That is not good.

How old is your car? That is not good.

Just under 18 months old.

That shouldn't happen on a car of that age; what have you been cleaning it with? Acid?

I do not think my Citigo can be the only car with this problem.Check your cars next time you wash them!.

I do not think my Citigo can be the only car with this problem.Check your cars next time you wash them!.

 

I will certainly be keeping an eye on mine.

Just taken the car into Alex Lawries,basically they were not interested started by accusing me of 'using chemicals' on the car! and then when I explained it was a common problem with the green mould/algae growing on the seals I was accused of not cleaning the car properly.Have to take the car in again next week for the 'warranty guy' to have a look.Waste of time and petrol.