Hi,

My 2016 citigo has its recirculating air lever stuck on the shut position. Which means any journey over five minutes ends up with steamed up windows.

I'm assuming that a lever is stuck somewhere but don't have a clue where to look.

Does anyone have any ideas? 

Thanks

Short term.

Opening the windows will help with the steaming up.

 

Mine recirculating air lever is stiff to start to move.

Has yours got stiffer or was there a sudden change?

 

Thanks. AG Falco

Hi AG, 

I feel like something has changed behind the scenes that has stopped it moving. I think either something has disconnected or become blocked. I can't move the lever across without fear of breaking it!

For stuck flap if you can see or get at any hinge/slide/wotever point and cable ends then you could try a quick shake 'n' spray of a good long lasting lubricant (not WD-40 Multi-Use) my preference is for GT85 and leave to soak in for a few minutes then try working it in with gentle operation.

 

Only as a general example as your VW Citgo system may well be different. - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3m_mZ8_8EC0

 

 

https://gt85.co.uk/

 

HTH.

Wow thanks, that video looks really helpful.. I have gt85 for the bike, so will go give it a go.

GT85 used to be a British company, I used it on my pushbikes in the 1980s, now it's owned by one of the big invasive American organisations called  .   .  .   WD-40 Company.  There's obviously a reason why they continue to market it to bikes, possibly because they have a WD-40 labelled version, I've no idea if it's the same stuff or as good or if it has the same lavender(?) smell.

 

Same for PlusGas, once British but no more, not sure if PlusGas isn't as good as it used to be or just rose tinted memories.  Instead of Kurust we used to have Trustan 23 (tannic acid) I used that for decades and it worked, put some on a very small chip rust spot once then missed putting paint over it a year later the metal was still fine.

 

We are great in this country at undervaluing local stuff and particularly now going for the brasher presentation, marketing and sales (and higher prices and consumption) that they do so well over the pond.

 

Edited 12 April, 20242 yr by nta16
typos

Just spraying stuff in slots or whatever will be a very bad idea...
You'll need to find out what the problem is first, to work out a solution, and removing the radio is, I think, the fits step.

There will probably be a bowden cable that links the lever to the flap.....

I thought it might involve removing the stereo. Looks awkward now. 😭

16 hours ago, freemansteve said:

Just spraying stuff in slots or whatever will be a very bad idea...

Sorry but I don't see why and I qualified the approach and limitation, I wasn't suggesting flooding the area and spraying willy-nilly.  It's similar to a pushbike with a cable moving something remotely only difference is that it'll probably involve some type of VAG/Bentley fantastic plastic instead of usually metal on pushbikes.

 

It was just to start with the simplest approach first to reduce possibly involving hazards and PITA farting about with removing other bits of plastic on a 7-year old (or even newer) car and where heater items are fitted tend to be cramped and awkward places.  But I admit I haven't a clue with a Citigo and just cleaning and lubricating and gently working this in might not work at all but if it did I would work the flap/knob/cable every time I got in the car for a while and then at regular intervals to keep it moving and check it's not starting to play up again.

 

Its like testing or using items at intervals that may not get much use normally to make sure they work for when you need them, when you put the ignition on you get a test of various warning lights but they don't cover everything.  I almost never sound the horn, unless I accidently lean on the centre of the steering wheel of my wife's 2015 Fabia as I turn to look out the back window, so every once in a while I'll sound the horn to make sure it's working and give it some exercise.

 

We know what the problem is and it's best to know the cause but often if the problem can be resolved by very simple actions then that can be enough for something as minor as this but if regphenna wants or needs to do more the learning process may encourage tackling other jobs with confidence, I'm at the other end of that rainbow.  🙂

 

Edited 13 April, 20242 yr by nta16
spelling

For those like me that end up speed reading responses like the above in the hope there might be something relevant I have created a shortened version -

 

1 hour ago, nta16 said:

I admit I haven't a clue

 

I can see the humour of the post and if it was just that I'd find it funny, but unfortunately it's not just about making a (rather good) joke (that I set the punchline up for).

 

Never mind context. 😉 

 

And off we go again .   .   . 

 

I know stuff I put about VW, the car trade and farting about with cars that might well upset some VW fans, the car pros and those that enjoy fiddling with cars but there are plenty on the other side of the coin so both sides can be appropriate.

 

Most of us can put our side and let others do the same even though we may disagree or strongly disagree but there's only J.R. who constantly trolls (me at least) possibly because of his anonymity and more distant location.

 

As always the OP (regphenna) and others can chose for themselves what they want to read, follow and take advice or information from.

 

Once again J.R. has posted on a thread only to try to belittle me yet offer nothing more to the thread - so once again I asked J.R. to stop doing it, disagree as much as you want but don't just try to shut me down as you should have learnt by now I won't be bullied by you.

 

Edited 13 April, 20242 yr by nta16
wrong word

I intervene when you post nonsense that people might believe, the rest of the time I interact with you as with any other contributor.

 

And to your credit you have (eventually) stopped some of the most repetitive nonsense on your subjects of obsession like:

 

Long low slow battery charge preferably off the vehicle.

 

If the battery has been slowly discharged you should slowly recharge it.

 

You may need to drive at least 20 miles to replace the charge lost when starting.

 

Disconnect your battery to reset the ECU.

 

And my all time favorite, find a 35mm cube of medium density sponge to apply Gummiflege to your door rubbers.

 

Closely followed by the hopefully one off "If vehicle is parked in an underground car park then the brake fluid will need changing more frequently"

Edited 14 April, 20242 yr by J.R.

Now you are what they call "gaslighting" and once again turning a thread into an argument stream.  You do not interact with me you troll.

 

Of course things are repetitive as the same issues often have the same answers, you must be slipping if you think I don't put about long slow low recharges and others when appropriate.  I'm totally lost why using a 35mm cube of old clean sponge (medium density are your words not the type I use) offends you so much but as I put before I'm not responsible for your life and your issues and cannot help you nor no longer want to.  I have no idea if you regret posting some of your personal details to me (and others to see obviously) in a past obscure thread but I have never repeated them so forget that.

 

Or is it that as you have seen in many threads that batteries do actually sometimes need the use of a battery charger and that it's not as you insisted and ridiculed me that the modern alternator can always recharge the battery sufficiently, and that lots of short journeys has no effect.  It is OK if occasionally I get something right and occasionally you get something wrong, you've no need to apologises to me even if you do to others when it happens.

 

You could have private/direct messaged me at anytime previously to sort things or get my explanations or sources of info to agree with or disagree but that boat sailed long ago and instead you keep pestering with targeted posts, it's boring for many as will be my very occasional response posts such as this.  

 

If you disagree with something I put or think its nonsense then just put that and others can agree or make up there own minds.  And to your credit this time was at least humorous, if they were all humorous and instead of vindictive that would be great.

 

s you put you skim read the posts and as I've put before I will no longer justify my remarks to you go do the research but I doubt you'll find much on 35mm cubes of used clean sponge - I've never recommended of Gummi Pflege, which is merely German for rubber care.

 

Sorry all, I know you're not supposed to feed the Troll but sometimes you hope reminds might get some respite.

 

On 11/04/2024 at 10:56, regphenna said:

Hi,

My 2016 citigo has its recirculating air lever stuck on the shut position. Which means any journey over five minutes ends up with steamed up windows.

I'm assuming that a lever is stuck somewhere but don't have a clue where to look.

Does anyone have any ideas? 

Thanks

My ideas are as follows, in order of what I think is the best solution for your problem.

 

1) Take it to a garage, describe the fault and ask them to fix it if economically viable.

Otherwise.....

2) Find out how the recirculating air lever works in the Citigo, determine what fault would cause the lever to jam in the way it has, and then fix the problem yourself, with the assistance of Briskoda members who may help by explaining how to solve specific issues like taking out the radio, etc.

Otherwise....

3) Simply drive with the windows open a crack and the heater turned up a bit.

And finally...

4) Hope that it's just some silly feature you didn't know about and the solution is simple, easy and free, and all you have to do is ask the right person to explain it to you.   <--- I suspect you are here. It's always a good point to start at, as sometimes it is just a silly feature you didn't know about.

 

Hi there (Regphenna), did you get the problem sorted as it’s just happened to my Citigo?  Lever is stuck in one position (happens to be recirculating air).  Thank you.