Citroen C3 MOT pass rate and common failures
In 2025, 67.0% of Citroen C3 MOT tests were a first-time pass, across 220,206 tests in Great Britain. For all cars it was 71.5%.
Compared with cars of the same age
Older cars fail more often, so a model that’s mostly a few years old will look better than one that’s mostly 12. These figures compare like with like.
At 3–5 years
86.9%
All cars: 86.1% (0.8 points better). 42,642 tests.
At 6–10 years
71.7%
All cars: 76.1% (4.4 points worse). 84,426 tests.
At 11 years and over
53.7%
All cars: 61.3% (7.6 points worse). 93,138 tests.
Pass rate by age
Figures by age, with typical mileage
| Age (years) | Tests | First-time pass | All cars | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 11,950 | 90.5% | 87.8% | 23,750 miles |
| 4 | 12,427 | 88.1% | 86.4% | 28,750 miles |
| 5 | 18,265 | 83.8% | 84.5% | 36,250 miles |
| 6 | 24,430 | 78.9% | 81.9% | 41,250 miles |
| 7 | 20,809 | 73.6% | 79.3% | 48,750 miles |
| 8 | 14,746 | 69.0% | 76.3% | 51,250 miles |
| 9 | 11,480 | 66.3% | 73.1% | 53,750 miles |
| 10 | 12,961 | 63.0% | 70.0% | 61,250 miles |
| 11 | 13,515 | 59.6% | 66.9% | 68,750 miles |
| 12 | 13,624 | 56.2% | 64.4% | 76,250 miles |
| 13 | 13,983 | 54.2% | 62.1% | 81,250 miles |
| 14 | 16,425 | 52.8% | 60.2% | 88,750 miles |
| 15 | 12,807 | 50.4% | 58.6% | 91,250 miles |
| 16 | 4,807 | 50.2% | 57.5% | 83,750 miles |
| 17 | 4,215 | 51.0% | 57.2% | 76,250 miles |
| 18 | 3,959 | 52.5% | 57.0% | 78,750 miles |
| 19 | 3,336 | 51.1% | 57.2% | 78,750 miles |
| 20+ | 6,467 | 49.9% | 61.4% | 78,750 miles |
Typical mileage is the median reading at the test, to the nearest 2,500 miles.
What fails most often
The share of Citroen C3 MOT tests that failed on at least one item in each area, against all cars. A test can fail on several areas at once.
| Area | C3 | All cars |
|---|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 24.6% | 16.6% |
| Suspension | 13.5% | 13.7% |
| Brakes | 9.1% | 10.2% |
| Body, chassis, structure | 8.6% | 4.2% |
| Tyres | 8.1% | 8.4% |
| Visibility | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 5.2% | 4.0% |
| Steering | 3.1% | 2.5% |
Most common reasons for failing
- Stop lamp: not working failed 4.3% of tests · what this means
- Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt failed 4.3% of tests
- Position lamp: not working failed 4.1% of tests · what this means
- Coil spring: fractured or broken failed 3.4% of tests · what this means
- Ball joint excessively worn failed 3.0% of tests · what this means
- Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm failed 2.9% of tests
- Headlamp: not working on dipped beam failed 2.8% of tests · what this means
- Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play failed 2.4% of tests · what this means
- Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps failed 2.3% of tests · what this means
- Individual direction indicators: incorrect colour failed 2.0% of tests
Checking a particular C3?
See its own MOT history, mileage record and advisories in plain English. Free, no sign-up.
About these figures
- They cover every C3 version DVSA records under this name (engines, trims and generations together), on its first MOT test of each visit. A “pass with rectification” (fixed within an hour) counts as a fail, as in DVSA’s own statistics.
- Cars under three years old are left out, because the few tested that young are mostly taxis.
- Fuel mix of the cars tested: petrol 68.9%, diesel 31.1%, liquefied petrolum gas (lpg) 0.0%.
- A pass rate describes the model, not any one car. How a car has been looked after matters more.
Download these figures (CSV) · Other Citroen models · All makes
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data for 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Our own analysis; not produced or endorsed by DVSA.