Citroen Berlingo — MOT statistics 2024
The Citroen Berlingo failed 41.36% of 188,688 first MOT attempts in 2024 ("first-time", excluding retests). Adjusted for the age of the fleet, its initial-failure ratio is 149.2 (100 = expected for its age profile). This vehicle fails its MOT about 49% more often than expected for its age.
Age-adjusted peer: Volkswagen Caddy (index 109.0) — the two published results are 40.2 index points apart, so read it as the nearest published comparison of the same type, not a close match.
Citroen Berlingo common problems: what actually fails the MOT
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment stand out at 38.5 per 100 tests, against 29.4 per 100 tests across UK vans and pickups of the same ages.
higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests
family vs national — matched to UK vans and pickups of the same ages — top component groups, per 100 tests. Legend: This family · National avg. Combined labels: family / national average. A gap here reflects how these vehicles are driven, used and maintained as well as how they were built — an MOT defect is a test outcome, not a breakdown.
Component-group comparison table
Each ratio carries a 95% interval. With 6 groups compared here, roughly one apparent difference in twenty is chance alone.
| Group | This family | Cases behind it | UK, same ages | Family / national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps & electrical | 38.5 | 419,653 | 29.4 | 1.31×1.30–1.31 |
| Suspension | 16.4 | 178,439 | 22.9 | 0.72×0.71–0.72 |
| Visibility | 14.3 | 156,243 | 15.0 | 0.95×0.95–0.96 |
| Brakes | 14.1 | 153,480 | 19.0 | 0.74×0.74–0.74 |
| Body & structure | 11.7 | 127,420 | 12.0 | 0.98×0.97–0.98 |
| Tyres | 10.0 | 108,890 | 8.1 | 1.24×1.23–1.25 |
| What failed | per 100 tests (this family) | per 100 tests (UK average) | ratio family / UK | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One number plate light out (minor)A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources | 8.40 | 2.83 | 2.97× | Check every number plate light works with the sidelights on; a single dead bulb or LED is a cheap fix. |
| Sidelight, tail or daytime light outA lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning | 5.75 | 2.09 | 2.75× | Walk round the car with the lights on and check every sidelight, tail light and daytime running light. |
| Brake light not workingStop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning | 5.04 | 1.50 | 3.36× | Have someone watch all the brake lights, including the high-level one, while you press the pedal. |
| Driveshaft boot split or missingA transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 4.91 | 1.56 | 3.15× | Check the boot was replaced, then drive slowly on full lock both ways: a clicking noise means the joint itself is worn. |
| Windscreen or window damaged (minor)Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view | 4.74 | 2.36 | 2.01× | Look for chips and cracks across the windscreen: chips spread, and larger damage in front of the driver fails. |
| Number plate not litA rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps | 3.25 | 0.92 | 3.53× | Check the plate is lit with the sidelights on; repeat failures point to damp wiring in the boot lid. |
| Tyre tread below the legal limitTyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements | 5.35 | 3.59 | 1.49× | Check the tread across every tyre with a gauge; wear on one edge points to a tracking fault. |
| Worn suspension bush or jointA suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn | 5.90 | 4.87 | 1.21× | Listen for knocks over speed bumps, feel for the car wandering under braking, and ask which part was replaced. |
| Broken or weakened suspension springA spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened | 3.85 | 2.86 | 1.35× | Look behind each wheel at the coil springs for a snapped end, and check the car sits level from side to side. |
| Wiper missing or not clearing the screenWiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen | 3.08 | 2.22 | 1.39× | Wet the screen and run the wipers: they should clear the glass in front of the driver without streaks or juddering. |
Named defects ranked by how much more often they appear than the national average — not by raw rate.
Citroen Berlingo MOT advisories: what gets flagged
Tyres are highest at 42.5 per 100 tests; Lamps & electrical are lowest at 5.7 per 100 tests — the gap is 36.8 per 100 tests.
higher bar = flagged more oftenadvisory items per 100 initial tests
Advisory rates table
| Group | Advisories per 100 |
|---|---|
| Tyres | 42.5 |
| Brakes | 34 |
| Suspension | 19.1 |
| Emissions & leaks | 9.2 |
| Non-component advisories | 7 |
| Lamps & electrical | 5.7 |
Advisories are wear the tester noted but didn't fail — what will need money soon.
Tyres, brakes and suspension: Citroen Berlingo against cars of the same age
| Age | Part | Citroen Berlingo | Same age, petrol and diesel | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | Tyres | 5.14 | 4.17 | 0.97 |
| 3 years | Brakes | 5.58 | 1.77 | 3.81 |
| 3 years | Suspension | 0.71 | 0.63 | 0.08 |
| 4 years | Tyres | 5.54 | 4.54 | 1.00 |
| 4 years | Brakes | 5.29 | 2.43 | 2.86 |
| 4 years | Suspension | 1.35 | 1.21 | 0.14 |
| 5 years | Tyres | 5.78 | 5.06 | 0.72 |
| 5 years | Brakes | 5.54 | 3.09 | 2.45 |
| 5 years | Suspension | 2.53 | 2.19 | 0.34 |
| 6 years | Tyres | 6.2 | 5.54 | 0.66 |
| 6 years | Brakes | 6 | 3.81 | 2.19 |
| 6 years | Suspension | 4.59 | 3.72 | 0.87 |
| 7 years | Tyres | 6.67 | 5.95 | 0.72 |
| 7 years | Brakes | 6.46 | 4.55 | 1.91 |
| 7 years | Suspension | 7.12 | 5.68 | 1.44 |
| 8 years | Tyres | 6.96 | 6.31 | 0.65 |
| 8 years | Brakes | 6.86 | 5.38 | 1.48 |
| 8 years | Suspension | 10.13 | 7.78 | 2.35 |
Failing items per 100 initial tests, 2019-2024. The comparison group is every petrol or diesel car tested at the same age, so weight and drivetrain show up rather than fleet age.
If a vehicle like this fails, does it fail again?
A failure rate does not say whether a failure is a one-off or the start of something. This follows the same vehicles into their next ordinary MOT a year later — retests after a repair are excluded, because they follow a failure by definition. 2019-2024.
| After this year's test | Fails next year | Vehicles followed |
|---|---|---|
| It failed | 45.0% | 108,237 |
| It passed | 35.0% | 474,300 |
A failed test raises next year's chance of failing again by 10.0 percentage points. The failure most likely to come back is visibility — 42.5% of those vehicles fail again next year. Some of this is the vehicle and some is the owner: a car that was let go once tends to be let go again. One caveat: a car that fails may be sold or scrapped rather than tested again, so these figures describe the vehicles that came back.
Adjusted for how much these are actually driven
The headline index adjusts for the fleet's age. Wear, though, follows mileage: a three-year-old taxi and a three-year-old garage queen sit in the same age band. These two rows compare every vehicle with vehicles of the same age, and then with vehicles of the same age and the same annual mileage, 2019-2024, on 1,084,572 tests. Both stand on the six-year corpus so they are measured on identical data — compare them with each other, not with the headline index above, which is measured on 2024 alone.
| Standardised for | Index | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Age only | 140.7 | fails more often than expected |
| Age and annual mileage | 131.0 | fails more often than vehicles driven as much |
| Share doing under 3,000 miles a year | 4.0% | a normal spread of use |
Mileage matters here: matching on how much these are driven moves the figure by 9.7 points — this fleet works harder than the vehicles it is measured against, so the age-only view penalises it — but it does not change which side of normal the vehicle sits on. One limit to keep in mind: mileage is partly a result of how often a car breaks down — one that spends weeks in the workshop covers fewer miles — so the mileage-matched figure can understate a real weakness. Tests with no usable odometer reading are left out of it.
How the Citroen Berlingo compares with cars of its own age and size
Not against the whole fleet — against other light commercials tested at the same age, 2019-2024.
| Age | Citroen Berlingo | Same class, same age | Difference | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | 27.46% | 19.43% | +8.04 pp | 92,043 |
| 4 years | 30.15% | 22.47% | +7.68 pp | 90,389 |
| 5 years | 32.6% | 24.97% | +7.64 pp | 92,553 |
| 6 years | 36.58% | 28.37% | +8.22 pp | 89,190 |
| 7 years | 39.33% | 31.83% | +7.51 pp | 85,535 |
| 8 years | 41.67% | 35.2% | +6.47 pp | 80,190 |
| 9 years | 43.98% | 38.02% | +5.96 pp | 73,477 |
| 10 years | 45.6% | 40.5% | +5.1 pp | 67,390 |
| 11 years | 46.62% | 42.81% | +3.81 pp | 60,072 |
| 12 years | 47.59% | 44.71% | +2.88 pp | 55,933 |
| 13 years | 47.97% | 45.94% | +2.03 pp | 53,607 |
| 14 years | 48.98% | 46.7% | +2.28 pp | 50,339 |
| 15 years | 49.53% | 47.23% | +2.31 pp | 46,858 |
| 16 years | 49.74% | 47.41% | +2.33 pp | 40,843 |
| 17 years | 49.4% | 47.36% | +2.05 pp | 34,420 |
| 18 years | 49.52% | 47.28% | +2.24 pp | 26,889 |
| 19 years | 49.89% | 46.7% | +3.19 pp | 19,038 |
| 20 years | 49.47% | 45.83% | +3.63 pp | 12,964 |
Raw first-time failure rates within each age, so fleet age cannot flatter either side. A positive difference means this model fails more often than its own class at that age.
How does the Citroen Berlingo perform as it gets older?
The Berlingo at age 6 stands out at 37.5%, against 17.5% for all vehicles of the same age.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart axes: vehicle age, years · failure-rate scale 0–54%.
Takeaway: a 10-year-old Berlingo has roughly a 46% chance of failing its MOT; from about age 3 it stays above the national age curve.
Data table
| Age | Citroen Berlingo | All vehicles | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 28.8% | 12.4% | +16.4 pp |
| 4 | 28.7% | 13.1% | +15.6 pp |
| 5 | 28.1% | 15.1% | +13.0 pp |
| 6 | 37.5% | 17.5% | +20.0 pp |
| 7 | 40.0% | 20.2% | +19.8 pp |
| 8 | 40.3% | 23.3% | +17.0 pp |
| 9 | 43.4% | 26.5% | +16.9 pp |
| 10 | 45.9% | 30.1% | +15.8 pp |
| 11 | 46.4% | 33.2% | +13.2 pp |
| 12 | 48.0% | 35.7% | +12.3 pp |
| 13 | 48.4% | 38.2% | +10.3 pp |
| 14 | 48.5% | 40.4% | +8.1 pp |
| 15 | 49.9% | 41.6% | +8.3 pp |
| 16 | 50.2% | 43.1% | +7.1 pp |
| 17 | 47.2% | 43.1% | +4.1 pp |
| 18 | 48.1% | 43.9% | +4.3 pp |
| 19 | 50.4% | 43.5% | +6.9 pp |
| 20 | 48.4% | 41.0% | +7.4 pp |
Is a Citroen Berlingo ULEZ compliant?
The share of classifiable 2024 Citroen Berlingo MOT tests likely ULEZ compliant by first-registration date is 49.8%.
Based on 188,023 classifiable initial MOT tests. This describes the tested fleet, not a specific car. MOT data do not record Euro class, so likely compliance is inferred from fuel and first-registration date. For the only authoritative answer, check the registration with TfL's official ULEZ checker.
higher = larger share likely compliantinferred from fuel and first-registration date; not a recorded Euro class
| Vehicle age at test | Likely ULEZ-compliant share | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 419 |
| 3–5 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 40,924 |
| 6–7 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 27,690 |
| 8 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 14,410 |
| 9 years | 37.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 15,221 |
| 10–14 years | 1.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 52,114 |
| 15–17 years | 16.4% Check a registration with TfL | n = 18,983 |
| 18 years | 16.9% Check a registration with TfL | n = 5,100 |
| 19 years | 0.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 3,787 |
| 20+ years | 0.1% Check a registration with TfL | n = 9,375 |
How dangerous are Citroen Berlingo MOT failures?
Major defects stand out at 78.8 per 100 tests, against 52.8 per 100 tests nationally.
higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests
Severity table
| Severity | This family /100 | National /100 | Family / national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor | 23.28 | 14.22 | 1.64× |
| Major | 78.75 | 52.75 | 1.49× |
| Dangerous | 13.77 | 11.15 | 1.23× |
Chart values: Minor 23.3 · Major 78.8 · Dangerous 13.8.
Per 100 tests on this family. National average: Minor 14.2 · Major 52.8 · Dangerous 11.2 per 100.
Does the month of a Citroen Berlingo MOT matter?
Nov is highest at 42.0%; Mar is lowest at 40.2% — the gap is 1.8 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart scale: 27%–43%.
bars: Citroen Berlingo · dashed: all class-4 cars
Month-by-month table
| Month | Citroen Berlingo | All vehicles | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41.86% | 31.12% | +10.7 pp |
| Feb | 41.17% | 29.99% | +11.2 pp |
| Mar | 40.23% | 28.26% | +12.0 pp |
| Apr | 41.36% | 29.78% | +11.6 pp |
| May | 40.54% | 28.79% | +11.8 pp |
| Jun | 40.61% | 28.15% | +12.5 pp |
| Jul | 41.1% | 29.33% | +11.8 pp |
| Aug | 40.92% | 29.2% | +11.7 pp |
| Sep | 40.55% | 28.19% | +12.4 pp |
| Oct | 41.66% | 30.34% | +11.3 pp |
| Nov | 41.99% | 30.58% | +11.4 pp |
| Dec | 41.55% | 29.33% | +12.2 pp |
Takeaway: the spread between best and worst month is 1.8 percentage points — booking month barely matters for this family. Seasonality partly reflects registration-date clustering, not weather.
Before reading the shape: most of it is not about cars. Britain changes its registration plates twice a year, and 18.9% of these cars were first registered in March with another17.1% in September — 36% in two months against the 17% an even spread would give. An MOT falls due three years after first registration, so the buying calendar becomes the testing calendar. That shapes how many cars are tested each month — not how often they fail: the busiest months here are not the worst ones, so read the failure line on its own and the volume behind it separately.
Citroen Berlingo average mileage by age
At age 8, the middle half of Berlingos runs from 56,602 miles to 112,521 miles, against 82,688 miles as the median.
further right = more milesmedian is the typical car; band is p25–p75
Chart axes: vehicle age, years · odometer scale 0–162k mi.
Does high mileage mean more Citroen Berlingo MOT failures at the same age?
Within the same age group, split by odometer (2024 MOTs), so this separates wear from age: at ages 6–9, 24.4% of those with under 40,000 miles failed first time versus 48.1% of those with over 140,000 miles.Inside this age group, higher mileage goes with more failures.
| Age | Odometer | % failing | 95% interval | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3–5 | <40k miles | 21.9% | 21.2–22.5% | 16,021 |
| 3–5 | 40-70k miles | 32% | 31.3–32.7% | 15,286 |
| 3–5 | 70-100k miles | 33.8% | 32.7–35% | 6,792 |
| 3–5 | 100-140k miles | 33.2% | 31.3–35.2% | 2,307 |
| 3–5 | 140k+ miles | 39.1% | 35–43.4% | 506 |
| 6–9 | <40k miles | 24.4% | 23.5–25.4% | 7,951 |
| 6–9 | 40-70k miles | 37.8% | 37–38.5% | 15,529 |
| 6–9 | 70-100k miles | 43.4% | 42.6–44.2% | 16,127 |
| 6–9 | 100-140k miles | 46.6% | 45.7–47.4% | 12,126 |
| 6–9 | 140k+ miles | 48.1% | 46.8–49.4% | 5,573 |
| 10–14 | <40k miles | 27.8% | 26.1–29.6% | 2,514 |
| 10–14 | 40-70k miles | 38.5% | 37.4–39.6% | 7,798 |
| 10–14 | 70-100k miles | 46.6% | 45.8–47.5% | 12,477 |
| 10–14 | 100-140k miles | 50.6% | 49.8–51.4% | 16,032 |
| 10–14 | 140k+ miles | 52.3% | 51.5–53.2% | 13,262 |
| 15+ | <40k miles | 28.4% | 25.4–31.6% | 796 |
| 15+ | 40-70k miles | 39.9% | 38.4–41.5% | 3,949 |
| 15+ | 70-100k miles | 45.9% | 44.9–47% | 8,483 |
| 15+ | 100-140k miles | 51.4% | 50.6–52.3% | 13,598 |
| 15+ | 140k+ miles | 53.2% | 52.2–54.1% | 10,361 |
line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75)
Mileage by age (p25 / median / p75)
| Age | p25 | Median | p75 | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 25,940 | 39,312 | 55,436 | 12,527 |
| 4 | 31,810 | 49,130 | 68,620 | 12,695 |
| 5 | 35,036 | 54,143 | 78,749 | 15,704 |
| 6 | 43,653 | 66,988 | 93,097 | 13,882 |
| 7 | 51,785 | 75,984 | 103,298 | 13,808 |
| 8 | 56,602 | 82,688 | 112,521 | 14,410 |
| 9 | 63,631 | 90,352 | 121,389 | 15,224 |
| 10 | 69,830 | 98,196 | 129,687 | 14,391 |
| 11 | 75,273 | 105,101 | 138,071 | 12,480 |
| 12 | 77,330 | 106,883 | 140,872 | 9,817 |
| 13 | 84,961 | 115,556 | 148,218 | 8,036 |
| 14 | 89,606 | 120,741 | 154,438 | 7,456 |
| 15 | 88,122 | 116,107 | 146,325 | 8,136 |
| 16 | 88,497 | 115,194 | 144,417 | 5,615 |
| 17 | 85,720 | 111,671 | 140,242 | 5,291 |
| 18 | 88,555 | 115,124 | 141,980 | 5,104 |
| 19 | 87,343 | 113,964 | 143,155 | 3,793 |
| 20+ | 88,350 | 115,994 | 145,286 | 9,382 |
A typical 8-year-old Berlingo has ~82,688 miles on the clock. Much more — ask why; much less — check for gaps in the MOT history.
Where in Britain the Citroen Berlingo fails its MOT most
Dundee area is highest at 55.1%; Southend-on-Sea area is lowest at 32.1% — the gap is 23.0 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Toughest areas | % failing | vs model overall |
|---|---|---|
| Dundee (DD) | 55.1% | +14.0 pp |
| Kirkcaldy (KY) | 52.55% | +11.4 pp |
| Truro (TR) | 47.82% | +6.7 pp |
| Torquay (TQ) | 47.54% | +6.4 pp |
| Llandrindod Wells (LD) | 47.18% | +6.0 pp |
| Easiest areas | % failing | vs model overall |
|---|---|---|
| Southend-on-Sea (SS) | 32.07% | -9.1 pp |
| Romford (RM) | 32.18% | -9.0 pp |
| London E (E) | 32.87% | -8.3 pp |
| Enfield (EN) | 33.45% | -7.7 pp |
| Twickenham (TW) | 33.5% | -7.6 pp |
Why do areas differ?
For each external factor we correlate the area fail rate with the factor across postcode areas that have ≥800 tests of this family, then compare the bottom vs top fifth (quintile) of the factor. Correlation, not causation — factors travel together (the north is colder and often poorer; urban areas are denser and less salted). Road surface condition is joined now, for the 91 English areas the DfT publishes, and it explains nothing: the correlation with suspension failures is −0.01 and with body and structure failures 0.07. Potholes wreck wheels and tyres between tests, but by the time a car reaches the bay the road it drives on leaves no measurable trace.
In areas with the highest mot centre density this model fails 7.2 pp more often than in the lowest fifth (r=0.56, n=118 areas with ≥800 tests).
In areas with the highest road-salt proxy this model fails 5.2 pp more often than in the lowest fifth (r=0.43, n=118 areas with ≥800 tests).
In areas with the highest frost days this model fails 3.5 pp more often than in the lowest fifth (r=0.41, n=118 areas with ≥800 tests).
| Factor | Low Q | High Q | Gap | Correlation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOT centre density | 36.3% | 43.5% | +7.2 pp | r=0.56 |
| Road-salt proxy | 38.8% | 44.0% | +5.2 pp | r=0.43 |
| Frost days | 40.3% | 43.9% | +3.6 pp | r=0.41 |
Factors that only mean something combined
Some conditions are useless on their own and informative multiplied together. Frost days alone say little — Britain barely freezes. Salt tonnage alone says little — it tracks frost. Distance to the sea alone says little. Multiply the first two and divide by the third and you get an index of how hard an area attacks a car's underside, and it lines up with the corrosion defects we actually record. We built five such combinations and tested each against our own data. Three survived; two did not, and the failures are listed here on purpose — a proxy that was never checked is decoration. One survivor only survived on the second attempt: built from a crude stand-in for street parking it failed outright, and rebuilt from the census — terraced streets carrying more cars than they have driveways — it works, and carries information the salt index does not.
| Composite | Built from | Tested against | r | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Underbody corrosion | frost days × salt load ÷ (distance to coast + 1) | share of tests with a corrosion defect | +0.42 | holds (116 areas) |
| Tyre wear | rain days × annual miles ÷ age at first tyre advisory | share of tests failing on tyres | +0.45 | holds (116 areas) |
| Overnight corrosion | terraced housing × cars per household × frost days | share with a corrosion defect | +0.41 | holds (102 areas) — and adds signal beyond the first index |
| Deferred maintenance | deprivation × advisory-to-failure conversion ÷ labour rate | cars repeating the same advisory | −0.26 | fails (118 areas) |
| Powertrain stress | engine capacity ÷ kerb weight | suspension, brake and emissions failures | −0.16 | fails (22 models) |
The deprivation result is the one worth dwelling on. The intuition that poorer areas defer repairs is strong enough that most people treat it as established. We tested it twice — once on raw failure rates (r = 0.04) and again, more fairly, on whether an advisory turns into a failure — and it did not hold any of the three times we tried it — on raw failure rates, on advisory-to-failure conversion, and again with deprivation measured properly inside each nation rather than England alone. We are closing it. What does predict local failure rates is the density of test centres, which is a statement about testing, not about cars.
All external-factor correlations (machine-readable)
| Factor | r | n areas | Low-Q fail % | High-Q fail % | Gap pp | Low-Q factor | High-Q factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOT centre density (per 10k vehicles) | 0.559 | 118 | 36.3 | 43.5 | +7.2 | 5 | 8.9 |
| Road-salt proxy (g/m²-yr) | 0.426 | 118 | 38.8 | 44.0 | +5.2 | 220.5 | 674.9 |
| Frost days (days/year) | 0.410 | 118 | 40.3 | 43.9 | +3.5 | 11.6 | 38 |
| Urban share (0–1) | -0.368 | 118 | 42.4 | 36.9 | -5.5 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Distance to coast (km) | -0.262 | 118 | 43.4 | 40.1 | -3.3 | 5.6 | 78.7 |
| Terrain gradient (% grade) | 0.205 | 70 | 40.7 | 42.9 | +2.2 | 0.5 | 4.4 |
| Income deprivation (score) | 0.012 | 97 | 39.7 | 40.4 | +0.7 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
Deprivation uses England IMD 2019 income score only (Scotland SIMD is a different scale). Salt proxy is a simplified NWSRG-style dry-salt sum from air Tmin; coastalness is distance from the area centroid to the nearest coastline.
Every dot is a postcode area — size = how many were tested there, colour = share failing. These figures are not age-adjusted: coastal and rural areas often run older fleets and salted roads, so higher raw fail rates do not automatically mean a worse local stock of this model.
Map labels: Scotland · N. England · Wales · London · S. West. Colour scale: 34%–47% failing.
Citroen Berlingo survival: which cars are still on the road
By age 19 is well below the reference at 21.0%, against 100.0% at the ages 4–6 reference level.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart axes: vehicle age, years · survival vs ages 4–6 · scale 0–105%.
Survival vs fail rate by age
| Age | Tests | Survival vs ages 4–6 | Fail % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 92,043 | 100% | 27.46% |
| 4 | 90,389 | 99.6% | 30.15% |
| 5 | 92,553 | 100% | 32.6% |
| 6 | 89,190 | 98.3% | 36.58% |
| 7 | 85,535 | 94.3% | 39.33% |
| 8 | 80,190 | 88.4% | 41.67% |
| 9 | 73,477 | 81% | 43.98% |
| 10 | 67,390 | 74.3% | 45.6% |
| 11 | 60,072 | 66.2% | 46.62% |
| 12 | 55,933 | 61.7% | 47.59% |
| 13 | 53,607 | 59.1% | 47.97% |
| 14 | 50,339 | 55.5% | 48.98% |
| 15 | 46,858 | 51.7% | 49.53% |
| 16 | 40,843 | 45% | 49.74% |
| 17 | 34,420 | 37.9% | 49.4% |
| 18 | 26,889 | 29.6% | 49.52% |
| 19 | 19,038 | 21% | 49.89% |
By age 19, only about 21% as many cars of this family present for MOT as at ages 4–6 (reference n≈90,710); survivors still fail at 49.9% vs 30.1% at age 4. Older cars that still appear are a selected subset — weaker ones have already left.
How many miles does a Citroen Berlingo last?
100,000+ miles is highest at 37.2%; 200,000+ miles is lowest at 2.2% — the gap is 34.9 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Odometer | Tests ≥ threshold | Share of sample |
|---|---|---|
| 100,000+ miles | 403,174 | 37.16% |
| 150,000+ miles | 118,043 | 10.88% |
| 200,000+ miles | 24,088 | 2.22% |
Of 1,085,111 tests of this family with a usable odometer in 2024, 37.2% had reached 100k miles, 10.9% had reached 150k miles, 2.2% had reached 200k miles. This is a cross-section of cars still presenting for MOT, not a full birth cohort.
How many years is a Citroen Berlingo likely to last?
Bought at age 5 is highest at 9.1 years; Bought at age 15 is lowest at 3.1 years — the gap is 6.0 years.
bigger number = longer remaining lifeyears on the observed survival curve
| Age now | Typical mileage (p50) | Expected years left |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | — | 9.1 |
| 8 | — | 7.1 |
| 10 | — | 6.3 |
| 12 | — | 5.4 |
| 15 | — | at least 3.1 |
estimateEstimate only — not a warranty: a typical 10-year-old example of this family has about 6.3 expected years of further MOT-present life on the 2024 survival curve. Derived from how many cars of each age still appear for test, not from a longitudinal panel.
Citroen Berlingo faults that come together
Identification + Road Wheels stand out at 9.03×, against 1.00× if the faults were independent.
above 1.0× = more than expectedbelow 1.0× = less
| Group A | Group B | Together | Lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identification of the vehicle | Road Wheels | 29 | 9.03× (rough estimate) |
| Road Wheels | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 158 | 5.12× (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 424 | 4.87× (rough estimate) |
| Road Wheels | Steering | 166 | 4.69× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Road Wheels | 165 | 4.6× (rough estimate) |
| Road Wheels | Tyres | 341 | 4.33× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Road Wheels | 413 | 4.28× (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Noise, emissions and leaks | 409 | 4.04× (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Steering | 391 | 3.92× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Seat belt installation check | 21 | 3.88× (rough estimate) |
| Steering | Suspension | 14,973 | 3.82× |
| Brakes | Speedometer and speed limiter | 22 | 3.69× (rough estimate) |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Steering | 3,436 | 3.58× |
| Brakes | Identification of the vehicle | 966 | 3.56× |
| Road Wheels | Suspension | 448 | 3.55× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Steering | 3,931 | 3.53× |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 3,408 | 3.5× |
| Speedometer and speed limiter | Visibility | 28 | 3.44× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Steering | 10,243 | 3.42× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Tyres | 752 | 3.39× |
| Brakes | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 8,656 | 3.31× |
| Speedometer and speed limiter | Suspension | 25 | 3.2× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Road Wheels | 338 | 3.16× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Noise, emissions and leaks | 9,577 | 3.15× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Suspension | 1,087 | 3.06× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Road Wheels | 740 | 3.06× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 2,069 | 3.04× |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Suspension | 10,316 | 3.02× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Noise, emissions and leaks | 10,206 | 3.02× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 19,562 | 2.99× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Visibility | 1,104 | 2.98× |
| Road Wheels | Visibility | 386 | 2.94× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Identification of the vehicle | 882 | 2.92× |
| Brakes | Suspension | 31,108 | 2.91× |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Suspension | 11,527 | 2.9× |
| Brakes | Seat belt installation check | 42 | 2.89× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Steering | 9,595 | 2.88× |
| Seat belt installation check | Visibility | 56 | 2.83× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Tyres | 18,473 | 2.77× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Noise, emissions and leaks | 20,698 | 2.72× |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Tyres | 5,680 | 2.66× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Suspension | 31,350 | 2.64× |
| Brakes | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 53,549 | 2.62× |
| Steering | Tyres | 6,403 | 2.62× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Speedometer and speed limiter | 39 | 2.61× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Brakes | 23,377 | 2.58× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Steering | 19,383 | 2.58× |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Visibility | 9,177 | 2.58× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 7,492 | 2.58× |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Tyres | 6,405 | 2.58× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Seat belt installation check | 94 | 2.58× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Tyres | 42,429 | 2.54× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Suspension | 64,979 | 2.43× |
| Seat belt installation check | Suspension | 46 | 2.42× (rough estimate) |
| Suspension | Tyres | 20,755 | 2.38× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Seat belt installation check | 38 | 2.35× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Visibility | 9,625 | 2.32× |
| Seat belt installation check | Tyres | 27 | 2.27× (rough estimate) |
| Tyres | Visibility | 20,592 | 2.26× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 50,526 | 2.22× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Visibility | 61,782 | 2.21× |
| Brakes | Visibility | 24,538 | 2.21× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Tyres | 15,875 | 2.14× |
| Steering | Visibility | 8,722 | 2.14× |
| Suspension | Visibility | 28,557 | 1.96× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Visibility | 23,431 | 1.9× |
| Seat belt installation check | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 19 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Speedometer and speed limiter | 18 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Buses and coaches supplementary tests | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 17 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Speedometer and speed limiter | 16 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Speedometer and speed limiter | Steering | 13 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Seat belt installation check | Steering | 13 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Speedometer and speed limiter | Tyres | 12 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Buses and coaches supplementary tests | Suspension | 11 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Buses and coaches supplementary tests | 8 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Speedometer and speed limiter | 7 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Buses and coaches supplementary tests | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 6 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Buses and coaches supplementary tests | Visibility | 6 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Buses and coaches supplementary tests | Tyres | 5 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Buses and coaches supplementary tests | 5 | too few (rough estimate) |
Defects in «Steering» and «Suspension» appear together 3.82× more often than chance (14,973 co-occurrences in the same test; lift≥1.3, n≥500).
Lift = how many times more often both groups appear on the same test than if independent. A pair is listed from 5 tests with both faults; the lift is shown from 20, and called above chance only when its 95% interval excludes 1 (see rough estimates).
Is low mileage better for a Citroen Berlingo?
Cars driven under 5,000 miles a year is well below the reference at 27.1%, against 44.3% for cars driven 8,000–12,000 miles a year.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Band | Fail % | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| <5k miles/year | 27.05% | 82,523 |
| 8–12k miles/year | 44.29% | 227,412 |
| Gap (low − normal) | -17.24 pp | — |
By fuel and age
Diesel
| Age | Low-use fail % | n | Normal fail % | n | Gap pp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 16.86 | 10,080 | 32.9 | 23,102 | -16.04 pp |
| 6 | 20.22 | 9,369 | 37.94 | 23,963 | -17.73 pp |
| 7 | 22.54 | 9,083 | 40.57 | 24,580 | -18.04 pp |
| 8 | 24.75 | 8,537 | 43.48 | 24,481 | -18.73 pp |
| 9 | 27.04 | 7,719 | 46.59 | 23,486 | -19.55 pp |
| 10 | 30.2 | 6,970 | 48.35 | 22,623 | -18.15 pp |
| 11 | 33.15 | 6,109 | 49.59 | 20,887 | -16.44 pp |
| 12 | 34.66 | 5,516 | 51.09 | 20,103 | -16.43 pp |
| 13 | 36.81 | 5,308 | 51.6 | 19,484 | -14.78 pp |
| 14 | 38.33 | 5,369 | 52.6 | 17,764 | -14.27 pp |
Petrol
| Age | Low-use fail % | n | Normal fail % | n | Gap pp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 16.19 | 976 | 22.92 | 506 | -6.74 pp |
| 6 | 16.01 | 612 | 30.95 | 252 | -14.94 pp |
| 7 | 15.64 | 326 | 34.73 | 167 | -19.09 pp |
| 8 | 19.1 | 178 | 27.87 | 122 | -8.77 pp |
| 9 | 27.67 | 159 | 34.08 | 179 | -6.41 pp |
| 10 | 32.08 | 427 | 47.8 | 523 | -15.72 pp |
| 11 | 29.32 | 740 | 48.75 | 880 | -19.43 pp |
| 12 | 33.8 | 1,154 | 50.21 | 1,193 | -16.41 pp |
| 13 | 30.88 | 1,590 | 50.52 | 1,348 | -19.64 pp |
| 14 | 36.87 | 1,915 | 51.21 | 1,410 | -14.34 pp |
At matched ages 5–14, cars averaging under 5k miles/year fail at 27.1% vs 44.3% for 8–12k miles/year — 17.2 pp lower (n_low=82,523, n_normal=227,412). In this family low annual use is associated with fewer MOT fails, not more — the ‘garage queen’ penalty is not visible in overall fail rates. Diesel alone: 26.9% low-use vs 44.1% normal (-17.2 pp).
Which Citroen Berlingo engine is best?
diesel 1.8–2.0 is highest at 102.1; petrol 1.0–1.2 is lowest at 63.6 — the gap is 38.5 points.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
| Fuel | Capacity | vs own age norm | Raw fail % | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| petrol | 1.0–1.2 litre | 63.6 | 19.48% | 8,882 |
| diesel | 1.2–1.5 litre | 72.3 | 21.97% | 10,318 |
| petrol | 1.5–1.8 litre | 91.9 | 43.56% | 35,041 |
| petrol | 1.2–1.5 litre | 93 | 45.46% | 24,138 |
| petrol | 1.8–2.0 litre | 97.7 | 48.02% | 681 (rough estimate) |
| diesel | 1.5–1.8 litre | 100.7 | 39.8% | 862,035 |
| diesel | 1.8–2.0 litre | 102.1 | 50.32% | 147,070 |
Splitting this model by fuel alone hides the thing that actually differs. Within the same badge, the diesel 1.8–2.0 runs at 102.1 against this model's own age norm while the petrol 1.0–1.2 runs at 63.6 — a spread of 38.5 points between two cars that share a name.
Read this one with more care than the rest of the page. Age is held constant, but who buys which engine is not: the largest capacity in a range is often a performance or executive variant that is garaged, cherished and lightly driven, while the smallest is frequently a fleet or entry car worked hard from new. The gap below is real in the test records; how much of it is the engine and how much is the owner, this data cannot separate. Bands under 100 tests are not shown; bands under 5,000 tests are rough estimates.
Best year for a Citroen Berlingo, and the years to avoid
Build year 2018 is highest at 109.6; Build year 2019 is lowest at 96.4 — the gap is 13.2 points.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
build year vs the same model at the same age · 100 = as expected
Every build year with its confidence interval
| Build year | vs own age norm | 95% CI | Raw fail % | Tests | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 101.8 | 99.5–104.1 | 28.4% | 25,711 | no different |
| 2019 | 96.4 | 94.7–98 | 28.03% | 48,378 | better |
| 2018 | 109.6 | 108–111.1 | 33.77% | 57,908 | worse |
| 2017 | 100.4 | 99.2–101.7 | 32.4% | 75,233 | no different |
| 2016 | 99 | 97.9–100.1 | 34% | 91,538 | no different |
| 2015 | 100.2 | 99.1–101.2 | 37.15% | 96,625 | no different |
| 2014 | 100.6 | 99.6–101.6 | 39.91% | 92,302 | no different |
| 2013 | 99.6 | 98.5–100.7 | 41.92% | 80,685 | no different |
| 2012 | 100.4 | 99.2–101.6 | 44.14% | 64,461 | no different |
| 2011 | 101.6 | 100.4–102.9 | 46.2% | 54,685 | worse |
| 2010 | 101.1 | 99.8–102.3 | 47.23% | 51,306 | no different |
| 2009 | 98.9 | 97.7–100.1 | 47.19% | 57,446 | no different |
| 2008 | 99 | 97.7–100.3 | 47.99% | 44,557 | no different |
| 2007 | 97.9 | 96.6–99.2 | 48.05% | 47,838 | better |
| 2006 | 96.9 | 95.6–98.1 | 47.95% | 47,098 | better |
| 2005 | 99.4 | 98–100.9 | 49.69% | 36,931 | no different |
| 2004 | 100.1 | 98.6–101.5 | 50.22% | 35,405 | no different |
| 2003 | 101 | 99.4–102.6 | 50.71% | 29,697 | no different |
| 2002 | 100.2 | 98.1–102.3 | 50.12% | 18,005 | no different |
| 2001 | 98.7 | 95.9–101.5 | 49.61% | 9,593 | no different |
| 2000 | 101.9 | 97.3–106.5 | 51.44% | 3,740 | no different |
| 1999 | 97.1 | 89.9–104.3 | 49.23% | 1,424 | no different |
| 1998 | 97.8 | 87.8–107.8 | 49.73% | 742 | no different |
The best build year here is 2019 and the weakest is 2018. Comparing build years sounds simple and is not: within a single year of testing, a car's build year and its age are the same number, so a naive comparison of years is a comparison of ages wearing a disguise. Each year below is measured against the same model at the same age in other cohorts, across six years of testing — 5 of 23 years come out distinguishable from their own model's age norm.
Two limits worth knowing before you act on this. Age, test year and build year are locked together by arithmetic, so the test-year effect is taken from the observed national failure level of each year rather than estimated — it is an adjustment, not a solution.
Citroen Berlingo MOT repair costs
The MOT-failure repair budget per test runs from £113.57 to £215.78, against £54.85 for the test itself.
bigger number = costs morepounds per test, MOT-failing faults only
| Component | Fails per 100 tests | Typical repair | Its price | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 38.5 (nat. 18.09) | Battery replacement (standard 12V lead-acid) | £140 | £53.90 |
| Suspension | 16.4 (nat. 15.36) | Suspension coil spring (single corner) | £180 | £29.52 |
| Brakes | 14.1 (nat. 11.25) | Front brake pads (parts + labour, typical hatchback) | £150 | £21.15 |
| Tyres | 10.0 (nat. 8.7) | Tyre (single mid-range 16" fitted) | £90 | £9.00 |
Multiply how often each component fails on this model by what that repair usually costs, and you get the amount an owner should expect to budget per test for MOT-failing faults only — roughly £114 to £216, on top of the test fee itself. It is a budgeting figure, not a quote: the spread between a set of pads and a set of discs is most of the range.
Prices are modal quotes from a hand-kept catalogue of published UK garage guides — we do not scrape the booking sites, their terms forbid it, so this list is short and updated by hand with a source and date against each line. Each line prices one typical repair in that group, not a full remedy, and only groups our catalogue actually covers are counted. The contrast worth noticing is the second card: the legal maximum for the test has been £54.85 since 2010, while the repairs it uncovers have followed inflation the whole time.
For scale from a different direction: Warrantywise, which sees used-car warranty claims rather than test failures, puts the average claim at £2,052 across the ten highest-claim models it ranks and £539 for Honda, the lowest-claim make in its index (Warrantywise index 2026, 1.6 million claims, cars aged 3–15). Those sit an order of magnitude above the figures in this table, and the gap is the point: a warranty claim is a gearbox or an engine, which almost never fails an MOT, while the faults that do fail one are corrosion, lamps and tyres, which no warranty pays for. The two numbers answer different questions and neither replaces the other.
Citroen Berlingo running costs for a fleet
Vehicles failing at age 10 stand out at 46.0%, against 28.0% at age 5, tested in the same year.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Failure rate and typical odometer by age
| Age | Fails | Median odometer | Tests | Gap vs age 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 28.79% | 39,312 | 12,527 | +0.7 pp |
| 4 | 28.66% | 49,130 | 12,695 | +0.5 pp |
| 5 | 28.13% | 54,143 | 15,704 | +0.0 pp |
| 6 | 37.46% | 66,988 | 13,882 | +9.3 pp |
| 7 | 39.99% | 75,984 | 13,808 | +11.9 pp |
| 8 | 40.31% | 82,688 | 14,410 | +12.2 pp |
| 9 | 43.43% | 90,352 | 15,224 | +15.3 pp |
| 10 | 45.86% | 98,196 | 14,391 | +17.7 pp |
| 11 | 46.41% | 105,101 | 12,480 | +18.3 pp |
| 12 | 47.99% | 106,883 | 9,817 | +19.9 pp |
| 13 | 48.43% | 115,556 | 8,036 | +20.3 pp |
| 14 | 48.51% | 120,741 | 7,456 | +20.4 pp |
| 15 | 49.85% | 116,107 | 8,136 | +21.7 pp |
| 16 | 50.2% | 115,194 | 5,615 | +22.1 pp |
| 17 | 47.23% | 111,671 | 5,291 | +19.1 pp |
| 18 | 48.12% | 115,124 | 5,104 | +20.0 pp |
| 19 | 50.44% | 113,964 | 3,793 | +22.3 pp |
The number a fleet manager needs is not the failure rate, it is the year the car starts costing more. Between cars aged 5 and cars aged 6, both tested in 2024, the failure rate of this model is 9.33 percentage points higher — the steepest one-year step in this cross-section of different cars, and a natural planning point for replacement.
Repair spend uses the same modal prices as the section above, so it inherits the same limits: one typical repair per component group, not a full remedy. Downtime is the gap between the failed test and the passed re-test, which is the window a vehicle is legally off the road.
Citroen Berlingo rust problems: where they corrode
Age-standardised corrosion susceptibility stands out at 1.7×, against 1.00× for the national age-standardised rate.
above 1.0× = rusts more than averagebelow 1.0× = rusts less
This Citroen Berlingo fails on corrosion far more often than average once age is held constant, and its owners live in areas that are saltier than most for the models we publish.
Corrosion is the one failure mode that is as much about geography as about the car. We keep the two apart on purpose: a model can look rusty simply because it is popular in Scotland, and a model can look clean simply because it is bought in Surrey. Blending them into a single score would hide which of the two is doing the work.
Exposure is this model's tests weighted by an area corrosion index built from frost days, salt load and distance to the coast — the composite validated at r = 0.42 against corrosion defects we actually record. It is published as a rank, not a raw score, because every mainstream model skews towards low-corrosion areas for the simple reason that most of Britain's cars are in the south. Susceptibility is standardised to the national age profile, so an old fleet does not get labelled a rusty model.
Does a Citroen Berlingo advisory become a failure?
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment are highest at 33.6%; Identification of the vehicle is lowest at 3.9% — the gap is 29.7 percentage points.
higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability
chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now
| Component | Fails next time | Typical lead time | Miles of warning | Advisories tracked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 33.6% | 12 months | 7,072 | 34,338 |
| Suspension | 24.1% | 12.1 months | 6,123 | 93,917 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 19.6% | 12.1 months | 4,788 | 25,677 |
| Visibility | 17.8% | 12.1 months | 7,720 | 650 |
| Steering | 16.3% | 12.1 months | 5,144 | 18,355 |
| Brakes | 13.9% | 12.1 months | 6,172 | 167,998 |
| Tyres | 9.8% | 12.1 months | 6,840 | 213,220 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 9.7% | 12.1 months | 6,160 | 8,438 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 7.0% | 12.1 months | 5,810 | 67,104 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 3.9% | 12.1 months | 6,422 | 15,862 |
This is the question an advisory note actually raises, and it needs six years of test history to answer. We followed the same vehicles from one MOT to the next across 2019–2024 and measured how often a component that was merely advised came back as a genuine failure at the next test.
Read it as a budgeting horizon, not a prophecy: the most likely component above turns into a failure for about 34 in 100 cars, and the median gap is 12 months and roughly 7,072 miles. The rest were repaired, sold, scrapped, or simply held. Rows with fewer than 500 tracked advisories are not shown.
What will fail next on a Citroen Berlingo?
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment after a failure at age 12-14 are highest at 32.7%; Tyres after a passed at age <3 are lowest at 4.2% — the gap is 28.5 percentage points.
higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability
| Age | Last test | Most likely next failures | Cars tracked |
|---|---|---|---|
| <3 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 10.4% · Visibility 8.2% · Tyres 4.2% | 31,931 |
| <3 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 14.4% · Visibility 11.8% · Brakes 6.4% | 11,001 |
| <3 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 18.6% · Visibility 12.3% · Brakes 6.8% | 15,022 |
| 3-5 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 12.9% · Visibility 7.2% · Body, chassis, structure 5.1% | 100,753 |
| 3-5 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 18.0% · Visibility 10.1% · Body, chassis, structure 7.0% | 46,467 |
| 3-5 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 24.0% · Visibility 12.4% · Body, chassis, structure 8.6% | 69,306 |
| 6-8 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 16.2% · Suspension 7.9% · Visibility 7.8% | 73,172 |
| 6-8 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 22.4% · Visibility 10.9% · Suspension 10.8% | 44,710 |
| 6-8 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 29.8% · Suspension 14.3% · Visibility 13.7% | 79,407 |
| 9-11 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 18.4% · Suspension 11.4% · Body, chassis, structure 9.1% | 42,840 |
| 9-11 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 25.6% · Suspension 15.8% · Visibility 12.9% | 35,534 |
| 9-11 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 32.3% · Suspension 19.3% · Visibility 15.4% | 65,946 |
| 12-14 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 18.6% · Suspension 14.1% · Visibility 9.7% | 28,808 |
| 12-14 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 26.0% · Suspension 19.9% · Visibility 14.5% | 32,293 |
| 12-14 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 32.7% · Suspension 23.0% · Visibility 16.7% | 55,616 |
| 15-19 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 17.8% · Suspension 15.0% · Visibility 9.5% | 22,423 |
| 15-19 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 24.7% · Suspension 21.2% · Visibility 15.4% | 30,619 |
| 15-19 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 32.4% · Suspension 25.0% · Visibility 18.4% | 49,611 |
| 20+ | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 16.4% · Suspension 13.8% · Brakes 10.7% | 2,375 |
| 20+ | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 24.8% · Suspension 18.0% · Visibility 16.2% | 3,647 |
| 20+ | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 31.8% · Suspension 23.8% · Brakes 19.9% | 5,504 |
The same chains, cut differently: given a car's age and how its last test went, which component most often causes trouble at the following one.
The pattern that repeats across every family: a failure at one test roughly doubles the chance of a failure on the same component at the next one, and an advisory sits about half-way between a clean pass and a failure. Age bands in years; probabilities are per car, not per defect item.
Citroen Berlingo ownership: what six years of MOTs show
The ten-day re-test pass rate is highest at 52.1%; The later re-test pass rate is lowest at 3.0% — the gap is 49.1 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Failing is usually a same-week event, not a disaster. Of 299,179 failures followed through to their re-test, 44.89% were repaired and passed the same day and 52.09% within ten days; the median gap is 1 day. 924,859 defect items were cleared in the process.
Per mile driven, not per year. Dividing failures by the miles that actually went onto the odometers between consecutive tests gives 0.507 failures per 10,000 miles, on a median of 6,401 miles a year across 219,715 chains. This is the number to compare between models — an annual rate quietly rewards cars that barely leave the drive.
Two populations hide inside one model. 32.22% of these cars strung together three or more tests with nothing recorded at all, while 31.23% carried the same advisory three times or more — the same fault, noted, ignored, noted again. When you buy used you are buying one of those two histories, and the MOT record shows which.
Odometer anomalies: 1.533% of 220,116 chains show a reading lower than the previous test, with a median drop of 28,253 miles. We call this an anomaly and not fraud on purpose — instrument swaps, imports, unit mix-ups and keying errors all land in the same bucket. Obvious typos (drops under 100 miles or over 90% of the reading) are already excluded.
Citroen Berlingo safety recalls and how to check yours
DVSA recall campaigns stand out at 51.
bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone
recall campaigns launched per year
| Reference | Launched | Vehicles | Concern |
|---|---|---|---|
R/2026/184 | 27/04/2026 | 2,869 | BCM software missing telltale if LKA unavailable |
R/2026/110 | 13/03/2026 | 729 | Water Pump Pulley |
R/2026/021 | 21/01/2026 | 5,475 | Citroen Cross carline Fuel injection common rail. |
R/2026/006 | 02/01/2026 | 33 | Citroen Berlingo (K9) Wrong Wheel Bolts. |
R/2026/009 | 19/12/2025 | 5,476 | Citroen Spacetourer (K0) Berlingo (K9) IVI software via OTA update. |
All 51 campaigns
| Reference | Launched | Build dates | Vehicles | Concern |
|---|---|---|---|---|
R/2026/184 | 27/04/2026 | 24/02/2024 – 19/03/2025 | 2,869 | BCM software missing telltale if LKA unavailable |
R/2026/110 | 13/03/2026 | 15/10/2025 – 02/03/2026 | 729 | Water Pump Pulley |
R/2026/021 | 21/01/2026 | 26/07/2025 – 08/10/2025 | 5,475 | Citroen Cross carline Fuel injection common rail. |
R/2026/006 | 02/01/2026 | 18/12/2023 – 30/09/2025 | 33 | Citroen Berlingo (K9) Wrong Wheel Bolts. |
R/2026/009 | 19/12/2025 | 25/08/2023 – 08/05/2025 | 5,476 | Citroen Spacetourer (K0) Berlingo (K9) IVI software via OTA update. |
R/2025/346 | 18/08/2025 | 06/09/2017 – 20/10/2017 | 1,030 | Emission recall – On Board Diagnostics |
R/2025/296 | 28/07/2025 | 27/11/2023 – 13/03/2025 | 590 | Citroen Berlingo Tyre Pressure Label |
R/2025/247 | 03/07/2025 | 04/10/2017 – 20/10/2017 | 32,360 | Citroen DV5R Engines Camshaft Chain. |
R/2025/122 | 24/03/2025 | 06/05/2022 – 30/11/2022 | 946 | Traction Battery software |
R/2025/126 | 17/03/2025 | 13/05/2024 – 08/10/2024 | 6 | Autonomous Telematics Box connection |
R/2025/091 | 04/03/2025 | 07/03/2024 – 03/09/2024 | 1 | Citroen Autonomous Telematics Box failure after OTA update |
R/2024/396 | 11/10/2024 | 07/01/2024 – 02/02/2024 | 6 | Citroen Berlingo (K9) Front Brake Discs. |
R/2024/242 | 03/06/2024 | 12/09/2023 – 22/01/2024 | 70 | Citroen Berlingo -K9 Engine Software |
R/2023/250 | 02/08/2023 | 03/10/2022 – 15/03/2023 | 210 | Affected vehicles may have a tyre load index reported on the vehicle s CoC lower than the |
R/2023/141 | 09/05/2023 | 31/03/2021 – 11/11/2022 | 6,867 | On affected vehicles the AC compressor stator wiring could develop a fault leading to curr |
R/2023/010 | 17/01/2023 | 06/09/2022 – 01/12/2022 | 1,254 | There is an error in the software calibration of the traction battery control unit which c |
R/2023/036 | 13/12/2022 | 03/04/2017 – 28/10/2020 | 13,740 | On the affected vehicles the operation of the brake vacuum pump may be affected by materia |
R/2023/046 | 13/12/2022 | 07/03/2017 – 01/04/2017 | 652 | On the affected vehicles the operation of the brake vacuum pump may be affected by materia |
R/2022/299 | 17/10/2022 | 08/11/2017 – 21/09/2021 | 630 | THE LOWER METAL ENGINE PROTECTION GUARD AND THE UNDERSIDE OF THE ENGINE EXHAUST SYSTEM CO |
R/2022/158 | 23/05/2022 | 13/11/2021 – 17/11/2021 | 3 | POTENTIAL DAMAGE TO THE TYRE STRUCTURE AROUND THE TYRE BEAD |
R/2020/327 | 20/01/2021 | 20/03/2013 – 01/04/2017 | 21,226 | THE BRAKE VACUUM PUMP MAY BE AFFECTED BY MATERIAL DETACHING FROM THE TIMING BELT |
R/2020/209 | 16/07/2020 | 02/12/2019 – 18/01/2020 | 428 | THE INNER TIE RODS ARE NOT CORRECT TO SPECIFICATION |
R/2019/449 | 06/02/2020 | 26/11/2018 – 26/11/2018 | 1 | POTENTIAL BLOCKING OF THE UREA INJECTOR |
R/2019/401 | 17/12/2019 | 30/06/2019 – 15/07/2019 | 111 | STEERING COLUMN MAY NOT BE CORRECT TO SPECIFICATION |
R/2019/393 | 26/11/2019 | 01/07/2018 – 08/11/2019 | 12,796 | THE PASSENGER OUTER SEAT BELT MAY NOT BE CORRECT TO SPECIFICATION |
R/2019/137 | 26/04/2019 | 05/01/2018 – 03/05/2018 | 148 | A PLASTIC COMPONENT INSIDE THE EXHAUST LINE COULD DAMAGE THE DIESEL PARTICLE FILTER |
R/2019/133 | 25/04/2019 | 07/11/2017 – 08/01/2019 | 744 | A COMPONENT OF THE HANDBRAKE MECHANISM MAY NOT BE CORRECT TO SPECIFICATION |
R/2018/128 | 10/05/2018 | 13/11/2017 – 20/11/2017 | 110 | AIRBAGS MAY NOT BE TRIGGERED IN THE EVENT OF A COLLISION |
R/2017/339 | 15/12/2017 | 01/10/2017 – 30/11/2017 | 75 | ENGINE COMPONENT MAY NOT BE TO SPECIFICATION |
R/2017/339 | 15/12/2017 | 01/10/2017 – 30/11/2017 | 75 | ENGINE COMPONENT MAY NOT BE TO SPECIFICATION |
R/2017/126 | 07/04/2017 | 26/04/2016 – 29/08/2016 | 16 | GEARBOX ACTUATOR AY NOT BE TO SPECTIFICATION |
R/2016/232 | 06/10/2016 | 28/04/2016 – 23/08/2016 | 767 | BONNET MAY OPEN WITHOUT WARNING |
R/2016/171 | 20/07/2016 | 26/04/2016 – 02/05/2016 | 967 | AIRBAG MAY INCORRECTLY DEPLOY |
R/2014/025 | 26/02/2014 | 07/01/2014 – 15/01/2014 | 279 | FUEL MAY LEAK AND CREATE FIRE RISK |
R/2012/026 | 08/03/2012 | 22/11/2011 – 22/11/2011 | 88 | SEAT BELT FIXING BOLTS MAY LOOSEN |
R/2010/159 | 11/10/2010 | 04/09/2008 – 10/12/2009 | 16 | ROOF FLAP MAY DETACH |
R/2010/134 | 09/09/2010 | 03/02/2010 – 11/03/2010 | 336 | AIRBAG MAY OPERATE INCORRECTLY |
R/2009/153 | 01/12/2009 | 20/01/2009 – 18/08/2009 | 157 | TAILGATE MAY NOT OPERATE CORRECTLY |
R/2009/099 | 09/10/2009 | 03/04/2009 – 15/04/2009 | 54 | REAR DAMPER MAY BECOME INSECURE |
R/2009/067 | 03/07/2009 | 01/11/2007 – 31/07/2008 | 4,440 | SPARE WHEEL CARRIER HEAT SHIELD COULD BECOME DETACHED |
R/2009/058 | 08/06/2009 | 25/03/2009 – 25/03/2009 | 6 | SEAT BELT MAY NOT PERFORM CORRECTLY |
R/2009/059 | 08/06/2009 | 05/12/2008 – 29/01/2009 | 10 | LH SEAT MAY BECOME DETACHED IN A COLLISION |
R/2008/199 | 24/12/2008 | 01/02/2008 – 14/06/2008 | 6,031 | WIPERS / LIGHTS/ BATTERY CHARGING MAY BE AFFECTED. |
R/2008/096 | 03/07/2008 | 10/03/2008 – 11/03/2008 | 45 | WIPERS LIGHTS AND BATTERY CHARGING MAY BE AFFECTED |
R/2005/095 | 13/07/2005 | 01/12/2002 – 30/09/2003 | 163,446 | SUSPENSION SPRINGS MAY BREAK |
R/2005/097 | 13/07/2005 | 01/12/2002 – 30/09/2003 | 50,357 | SUSPENSION SPRINGS MAY BREAK |
R/2005/095 | 13/07/2005 | 01/12/2002 – 30/09/2003 | 163,446 | SUSPENSION SPRINGS MAY BREAK |
R/2005/097 | 13/07/2005 | 01/06/1999 – 30/09/2002 | 50,357 | SUSPENSION SPRINGS MAY BREAK |
R/2005/061 | 16/05/2005 | 01/07/2004 – 30/09/2004 | 13,624 | AIRBAG CONTROL UNIT MAY NOT BE TO STANDARD |
R/2000/006 | 01/02/2000 | 01/09/1999 – 31/10/1999 | 1,070 | POSSIBILITY OF LOSS OF BRAKE SERVO ASSISTANCE |
R/2000/005 | 01/02/2000 | 01/09/1999 – 31/10/1999 | 9,088 | POSSIBILITY OF LOSS OF BRAKE SERVO ASSISTANCE |
DVSA lists 51 safety recall campaigns for the Citroen Berlingo, covering roughly 573,261 vehicles in total. A recall is the manufacturer fixing a fault for free, so an open recall on your car costs nothing to clear.
Counter-intuitive, and measured on our own data: across the 25 families published here, more recalls go with a lower MOT Risk Index (r = −0.52). Heavily recalled models are not worse cars in the test bay — an active manufacturer removes the fault before it becomes an MOT failure.
Check whether a specific car has an outstanding recall — free, by registration — at DVSA's recall service. Source: DVSA vehicle safety recalls (check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk), OGL.
Citroen Berlingo inspection results in other countries
United Kingdom MOT stands out at 41.4%, against 26.0% nationally.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Country | Test | This model fails | National average | Position | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | MOT (class 4) | 41.36% | 26.01% | +15.3 pp | 188,688 |
| Netherlands | APK | 63.1% | 50.8% | +12.3 pp | 10,965 |
| Finland | Katsastus | 32% | 26.3% | +5.7 pp | 2,083 |
| Norway | PKK | 40.1% | 33.7% | +6.4 pp | 1,844 |
The verdict is consistent across every regime where the difference is clear, which is the strongest form this comparison takes: independent inspectorates, different rulebooks, same direction of travel.
| Code | Fault | Recorded | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
210 | Tyre pressure not at the correct value | 2,196 | failure |
205 | Tyre with insufficient tread | 1,838 | failure |
497 | Number-plate light not working or missing | 1,367 | failure |
RA2 | Excessive leak of other fluids | 989 | advisory |
584 | Sidelight not working properly | 872 | failure |
516 | Dipped headlight incorrectly aimed | 786 | failure |
AC1 | Tyre down to 1.6–2.5 mm of tread | 783 | advisory |
576 | Indicator colour wrong or not permitted | 736 | failure |
Worth dwelling on how mundane the top of that list is: tyre pressure, tread depth, headlight aim. The Dutch APK records 1.717 defects per inspection against a much higher national failure rate than Britain's, and the reason is not that Dutch cars are worse — it is that the two regimes draw the line between "note it" and "fail it" in different places. Codes are the RDW's own; the English wording here is our translation of the Dutch original.
Britain is not the only country that inspects every car every year, and the Citroen Berlingo is on the road in all of them. Each national regime writes its own rules, so the pass rates below are not comparable to each other — what does travel across a border is whether a model sits above or below its own country's average.
Rows with fewer than 500 inspections are not published. Sources: RDW open data — Meldingen Keuringsinstantie + Geconstateerde Gebreken + Gekentekende voertuigen (2024), CC0. Not an RDW endorsement.; Traficom — Periodic inspections of cars by model / by model and fault object 2024, CC BY 4.0; Statens vegvesen — Periodisk kjøretøykontroll (PKK) 2024, CC BY 4.0. Adapted; licences and full notice.
Citroen Berlingo MOT: quick answers
Citroen Berlingo MOT Risk Index stands out at 149.2, against 100 for a car with the same age profile.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
- What is the Citroen Berlingo first-time MOT pass rate?
- 58.64% of first attempts passed in 2024 (188,688 tests). This is the first-time figure: retests after repair are excluded. Basis: first-time, excluding retests.
- Why does this number differ from other sites?
- Other sites often report a pass rate that includes retests or counts all attempts. Our 41.36% figure is the first-time initial failure rate, using 188,688 primary tests as the denominator (first-time, excluding retests). The age-adjusted MOT initial-failure ratio 149.2 is shown separately because raw rates compare fleet age as well as cars.
Compare the Citroen Berlingo with other cars
Vauxhall Vivaro is highest at 151.9; Renault Clio is lowest at 136.1 — the gap is 15.8 points.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
Same brand
All Citroen MOT statisticsCitroen C1 MOT stats
Similar risk
Vauxhall Vivaro (index 151.9)DS 3 (index 146.1)Renault Clio (index 136.1)
Same size class
how Seat Leon compareshow Volkswagen Passat compareshow Kia Picanto compares
By build year
Citroen Berlingo 1998Citroen Berlingo 1999Citroen Berlingo 2000Citroen Berlingo 2001Citroen Berlingo 2002Citroen Berlingo 2003Citroen Berlingo 2004Citroen Berlingo 2005Citroen Berlingo 2006Citroen Berlingo 2007Citroen Berlingo 2008Citroen Berlingo 2009Citroen Berlingo 2010Citroen Berlingo 2011Citroen Berlingo 2012Citroen Berlingo 2013Citroen Berlingo 2014Citroen Berlingo 2015Citroen Berlingo 2016Citroen Berlingo 2017Citroen Berlingo 2018Citroen Berlingo 2019Citroen Berlingo 2020
By area
Citroen Berlingo MOT failure rate by postcode area
By failure group
Citroen Berlingo body, chassis and structure failuresCitroen Berlingo brakes failuresCitroen Berlingo vehicle identification failuresCitroen Berlingo lamps, reflectors and electrics failuresCitroen Berlingo noise, emissions and leaks failuresCitroen Berlingo road wheels failuresCitroen Berlingo seat belts and airbags failuresCitroen Berlingo steering failuresCitroen Berlingo suspension failuresCitroen Berlingo tyres failuresCitroen Berlingo visibility failures
Inspections abroad
Citroen Berlingo in NorwayCitroen Berlingo in FinlandCitroen Berlingo in the Netherlands
Data details & how to cite
Scope: class-4 vehicles (cars), initial tests only, outcomes pass / fail / fixed-on-the-spot at the station (PRS counts towards the failure rate — the defect was present at arrival). Index = observed initial failures ÷ failures expected for this fleet's exact age profile, ×100; margin of error is a 95% confidence interval. Covers ALL generations together — a 3-year-old and a 15-year-old are very different cars; a generation split is on the roadmap. Dataset release dataset_release_id=dvsa-2024-v2, frozen baseline; headline claim_id=family-stats:citroen-berlingo:dvsa-2024-v2. Full method: methodology.
Cite: MOT Risk Index (2026). Citroen Berlingo MOT statistics 2024 (data release dvsa-2024-v2; downloadable dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, doi:10.5281/zenodo.22975051). https://motriskindex.co.uk/cars/citroen-berlingo/ · Published 2026-07-30.