MOT Risk Index.co.uk

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.

MOT risk index 149.2, 95% CI 148.4–150.0 (100 = national average) 100 149.2 0 200
Index
149.2
100 = age-normal
Raw fail rate
41.36%
n = 188,688
Dangerous /100
14
national ≈11
Diesel − petrol
+3.6 pp
fail-rate gap
Rank
741 of 761
lower index = better

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

Citroen Berlingo common problems: what actually fails the MOT — 2024 UK MOT data

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.

GroupThis familyCases behind itUK, same agesFamily / national
Lamps & electrical38.5419,65329.41.31×1.30–1.31
Suspension16.4178,43922.90.72×0.71–0.72
Visibility14.3156,24315.00.95×0.95–0.96
Brakes14.1153,48019.00.74×0.74–0.74
Body & structure11.7127,42012.00.98×0.97–0.98
Tyres10.0108,8908.11.24×1.23–1.25
Named defects — items per 100 initial tests, this family vs UK national average; this model measured on 1,091,034 tests, 2019-2024, national column 2024
What failedper 100 tests (this family)per 100 tests (UK average)ratio family / UKWhat 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 sources8.402.832.97×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 functioning5.752.092.75×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 functioning5.041.503.36×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 etc4.911.563.15×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 view4.742.362.01×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 lamps3.250.923.53×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 requirements5.353.591.49×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 worn5.904.871.21×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 weakened3.852.861.35×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 windscreen3.082.221.39×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

Citroen Berlingo MOT advisories: what gets flagged — 2024 UK MOT data
Advisory rates table
GroupAdvisories per 100
Tyres42.5
Brakes34
Suspension19.1
Emissions & leaks9.2
Non-component advisories7
Lamps & electrical5.7

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

AgePartCitroen BerlingoSame age, petrol and dieselDifference
3 yearsTyres5.144.170.97
3 yearsBrakes5.581.773.81
3 yearsSuspension0.710.630.08
4 yearsTyres5.544.541.00
4 yearsBrakes5.292.432.86
4 yearsSuspension1.351.210.14
5 yearsTyres5.785.060.72
5 yearsBrakes5.543.092.45
5 yearsSuspension2.532.190.34
6 yearsTyres6.25.540.66
6 yearsBrakes63.812.19
6 yearsSuspension4.593.720.87
7 yearsTyres6.675.950.72
7 yearsBrakes6.464.551.91
7 yearsSuspension7.125.681.44
8 yearsTyres6.966.310.65
8 yearsBrakes6.865.381.48
8 yearsSuspension10.137.782.35

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 testFails next yearVehicles followed
It failed45.0%108,237
It passed35.0%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 forIndexReading
Age only140.7fails more often than expected
Age and annual mileage131.0fails more often than vehicles driven as much
Share doing under 3,000 miles a year4.0%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.

AgeCitroen BerlingoSame class, same ageDifferenceTests
3 years27.46%19.43%+8.04 pp92,043
4 years30.15%22.47%+7.68 pp90,389
5 years32.6%24.97%+7.64 pp92,553
6 years36.58%28.37%+8.22 pp89,190
7 years39.33%31.83%+7.51 pp85,535
8 years41.67%35.2%+6.47 pp80,190
9 years43.98%38.02%+5.96 pp73,477
10 years45.6%40.5%+5.1 pp67,390
11 years46.62%42.81%+3.81 pp60,072
12 years47.59%44.71%+2.88 pp55,933
13 years47.97%45.94%+2.03 pp53,607
14 years48.98%46.7%+2.28 pp50,339
15 years49.53%47.23%+2.31 pp46,858
16 years49.74%47.41%+2.33 pp40,843
17 years49.4%47.36%+2.05 pp34,420
18 years49.52%47.28%+2.24 pp26,889
19 years49.89%46.7%+3.19 pp19,038
20 years49.47%45.83%+3.63 pp12,964

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

How does the Citroen Berlingo perform as it gets older? — 2024 UK MOT data

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
AgeCitroen BerlingoAll vehiclesGap
328.8%12.4%+16.4 pp
428.7%13.1%+15.6 pp
528.1%15.1%+13.0 pp
637.5%17.5%+20.0 pp
740.0%20.2%+19.8 pp
840.3%23.3%+17.0 pp
943.4%26.5%+16.9 pp
1045.9%30.1%+15.8 pp
1146.4%33.2%+13.2 pp
1248.0%35.7%+12.3 pp
1348.4%38.2%+10.3 pp
1448.5%40.4%+8.1 pp
1549.9%41.6%+8.3 pp
1650.2%43.1%+7.1 pp
1747.2%43.1%+4.1 pp
1848.1%43.9%+4.3 pp
1950.4%43.5%+6.9 pp
2048.4%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

Age-band estimate from classifiable initial MOT tests
Vehicle age at testLikely ULEZ-compliant shareTests
Under 3 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 419
3–5 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 40,924
6–7 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 27,690
8 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 14,410
9 years37.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 15,221
10–14 years1.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 52,114
15–17 years16.4%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 18,983
18 years16.9%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 5,100
19 years0.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 3,787
20+ years0.1%
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

How dangerous are Citroen Berlingo MOT failures? — 2024 UK MOT data
Severity table
SeverityThis family /100National /100Family / national
Minor23.2814.221.64×
Major78.7552.751.49×
Dangerous13.7711.151.23×

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

Does the month of a Citroen Berlingo MOT matter? — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart scale: 27%–43%.

bars: Citroen Berlingo · dashed: all class-4 cars

Month-by-month table
MonthCitroen BerlingoAll vehiclesGap
Jan41.86%31.12%+10.7 pp
Feb41.17%29.99%+11.2 pp
Mar40.23%28.26%+12.0 pp
Apr41.36%29.78%+11.6 pp
May40.54%28.79%+11.8 pp
Jun40.61%28.15%+12.5 pp
Jul41.1%29.33%+11.8 pp
Aug40.92%29.2%+11.7 pp
Sep40.55%28.19%+12.4 pp
Oct41.66%30.34%+11.3 pp
Nov41.99%30.58%+11.4 pp
Dec41.55%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

Bars: Citroen Berlingo · dashed: all class-4 cars — 2024 UK MOT data

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.

Does high mileage mean more Citroen Berlingo MOT failures at the same age? — 2024 UK MOT data
Citroen Berlingo: first-time failure by mileage within each age group (2024)
AgeOdometer% failing95% intervalTests
3–5<40k miles21.9%21.2–22.5%16,021
3–540-70k miles32%31.3–32.7%15,286
3–570-100k miles33.8%32.7–35%6,792
3–5100-140k miles33.2%31.3–35.2%2,307
3–5140k+ miles39.1%35–43.4%506
6–9<40k miles24.4%23.5–25.4%7,951
6–940-70k miles37.8%37–38.5%15,529
6–970-100k miles43.4%42.6–44.2%16,127
6–9100-140k miles46.6%45.7–47.4%12,126
6–9140k+ miles48.1%46.8–49.4%5,573
10–14<40k miles27.8%26.1–29.6%2,514
10–1440-70k miles38.5%37.4–39.6%7,798
10–1470-100k miles46.6%45.8–47.5%12,477
10–14100-140k miles50.6%49.8–51.4%16,032
10–14140k+ miles52.3%51.5–53.2%13,262
15+<40k miles28.4%25.4–31.6%796
15+40-70k miles39.9%38.4–41.5%3,949
15+70-100k miles45.9%44.9–47%8,483
15+100-140k miles51.4%50.6–52.3%13,598
15+140k+ miles53.2%52.2–54.1%10,361

line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75)

Mileage by age (p25 / median / p75)
Agep25Medianp75Tests
325,94039,31255,43612,527
431,81049,13068,62012,695
535,03654,14378,74915,704
643,65366,98893,09713,882
751,78575,984103,29813,808
856,60282,688112,52114,410
963,63190,352121,38915,224
1069,83098,196129,68714,391
1175,273105,101138,07112,480
1277,330106,883140,8729,817
1384,961115,556148,2188,036
1489,606120,741154,4387,456
1588,122116,107146,3258,136
1688,497115,194144,4175,615
1785,720111,671140,2425,291
1888,555115,124141,9805,104
1987,343113,964143,1553,793
20+88,350115,994145,2869,382

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

Where in Britain the Citroen Berlingo fails its MOT most — 2024 UK MOT data
Toughest areas% failingvs 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% failingvs 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).

Citroen Berlingo Why do areas differ? — 2024 UK MOT data
Values shown in the quintile chart
FactorLow QHigh QGapCorrelation
MOT centre density36.3%43.5%+7.2 ppr=0.56
Road-salt proxy38.8%44.0%+5.2 ppr=0.43
Frost days40.3%43.9%+3.6 ppr=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 area indicators, each tested against a defect rate we measure
CompositeBuilt fromTested againstrVerdict
Underbody corrosionfrost days × salt load ÷ (distance to coast + 1)share of tests with a corrosion defect+0.42holds (116 areas)
Tyre wearrain days × annual miles ÷ age at first tyre advisoryshare of tests failing on tyres+0.45holds (116 areas)
Overnight corrosionterraced housing × cars per household × frost daysshare with a corrosion defect+0.41holds (102 areas) — and adds signal beyond the first index
Deferred maintenancedeprivation × advisory-to-failure conversion ÷ labour ratecars repeating the same advisory−0.26fails (118 areas)
Powertrain stressengine capacity ÷ kerb weightsuspension, brake and emissions failures−0.16fails (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)
Factorrn areasLow-Q fail %High-Q fail %Gap ppLow-Q factorHigh-Q factor
MOT centre density (per 10k vehicles)0.55911836.343.5+7.258.9
Road-salt proxy (g/m²-yr)0.42611838.844.0+5.2220.5674.9
Frost days (days/year)0.41011840.343.9+3.511.638
Urban share (0–1)-0.36811842.436.9-5.50.31
Distance to coast (km)-0.26211843.440.1-3.35.678.7
Terrain gradient (% grade)0.2057040.742.9+2.20.54.4
Income deprivation (score)0.0129739.740.4+0.70.10.2

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

Citroen Berlingo survival: which cars are still on the road — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: vehicle age, years · survival vs ages 4–6 · scale 0–105%.

Survival vs fail rate by age
AgeTestsSurvival vs ages 4–6Fail %
392,043100%27.46%
490,38999.6%30.15%
592,553100%32.6%
689,19098.3%36.58%
785,53594.3%39.33%
880,19088.4%41.67%
973,47781%43.98%
1067,39074.3%45.6%
1160,07266.2%46.62%
1255,93361.7%47.59%
1353,60759.1%47.97%
1450,33955.5%48.98%
1546,85851.7%49.53%
1640,84345%49.74%
1734,42037.9%49.4%
1826,88929.6%49.52%
1919,03821%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

OdometerTests ≥ thresholdShare of sample
100,000+ miles403,17437.16%
150,000+ miles118,04310.88%
200,000+ miles24,0882.22%

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 nowTypical 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 AGroup BTogetherLift
Identification of the vehicleRoad Wheels299.03× (rough estimate)
Road WheelsSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems1585.12× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems4244.87× (rough estimate)
Road WheelsSteering1664.69× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksRoad Wheels1654.6× (rough estimate)
Road WheelsTyres3414.33× (rough estimate)
BrakesRoad Wheels4134.28× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleNoise, emissions and leaks4094.04× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleSteering3913.92× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksSeat belt installation check213.88× (rough estimate)
SteeringSuspension14,9733.82×
BrakesSpeedometer and speed limiter223.69× (rough estimate)
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsSteering3,4363.58×
BrakesIdentification of the vehicle9663.56×
Road WheelsSuspension4483.55× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksSteering3,9313.53×
Noise, emissions and leaksSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems3,4083.5×
Speedometer and speed limiterVisibility283.44× (rough estimate)
BrakesSteering10,2433.42×
Identification of the vehicleTyres7523.39×
BrakesSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems8,6563.31×
Speedometer and speed limiterSuspension253.2× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureRoad Wheels3383.16× (rough estimate)
BrakesNoise, emissions and leaks9,5773.15×
Identification of the vehicleSuspension1,0873.06×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentRoad Wheels7403.06×
Identification of the vehicleLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment2,0693.04×
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsSuspension10,3163.02×
Body, chassis, structureNoise, emissions and leaks10,2063.02×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems19,5622.99×
Identification of the vehicleVisibility1,1042.98×
Road WheelsVisibility3862.94× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureIdentification of the vehicle8822.92×
BrakesSuspension31,1082.91×
Noise, emissions and leaksSuspension11,5272.9×
BrakesSeat belt installation check422.89× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureSteering9,5952.88×
Seat belt installation checkVisibility562.83× (rough estimate)
BrakesTyres18,4732.77×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentNoise, emissions and leaks20,6982.72×
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsTyres5,6802.66×
Body, chassis, structureSuspension31,3502.64×
BrakesLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment53,5492.62×
SteeringTyres6,4032.62×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSpeedometer and speed limiter392.61× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureBrakes23,3772.58×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSteering19,3832.58×
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsVisibility9,1772.58×
Body, chassis, structureSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems7,4922.58×
Noise, emissions and leaksTyres6,4052.58×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSeat belt installation check942.58× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentTyres42,4292.54×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSuspension64,9792.43×
Seat belt installation checkSuspension462.42× (rough estimate)
SuspensionTyres20,7552.38×
Body, chassis, structureSeat belt installation check382.35× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksVisibility9,6252.32×
Seat belt installation checkTyres272.27× (rough estimate)
TyresVisibility20,5922.26×
Body, chassis, structureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment50,5262.22×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentVisibility61,7822.21×
BrakesVisibility24,5382.21×
Body, chassis, structureTyres15,8752.14×
SteeringVisibility8,7222.14×
SuspensionVisibility28,5571.96×
Body, chassis, structureVisibility23,4311.9×
Seat belt installation checkSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems19too few (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureSpeedometer and speed limiter18too few (rough estimate)
Buses and coaches supplementary testsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment17too few (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksSpeedometer and speed limiter16too few (rough estimate)
Speedometer and speed limiterSteering13too few (rough estimate)
Seat belt installation checkSteering13too few (rough estimate)
Speedometer and speed limiterTyres12too few (rough estimate)
Buses and coaches supplementary testsSuspension11too few (rough estimate)
BrakesBuses and coaches supplementary tests8too few (rough estimate)
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsSpeedometer and speed limiter7too few (rough estimate)
Buses and coaches supplementary testsSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems6too few (rough estimate)
Buses and coaches supplementary testsVisibility6too few (rough estimate)
Buses and coaches supplementary testsTyres5too few (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureBuses and coaches supplementary tests5too 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

BandFail %Tests
<5k miles/year27.05%82,523
8–12k miles/year44.29%227,412
Gap (low − normal)-17.24 pp—
By fuel and age

Diesel

AgeLow-use fail %nNormal fail %nGap pp
516.8610,08032.923,102-16.04 pp
620.229,36937.9423,963-17.73 pp
722.549,08340.5724,580-18.04 pp
824.758,53743.4824,481-18.73 pp
927.047,71946.5923,486-19.55 pp
1030.26,97048.3522,623-18.15 pp
1133.156,10949.5920,887-16.44 pp
1234.665,51651.0920,103-16.43 pp
1336.815,30851.619,484-14.78 pp
1438.335,36952.617,764-14.27 pp

Petrol

AgeLow-use fail %nNormal fail %nGap pp
516.1997622.92506-6.74 pp
616.0161230.95252-14.94 pp
715.6432634.73167-19.09 pp
819.117827.87122-8.77 pp
927.6715934.08179-6.41 pp
1032.0842747.8523-15.72 pp
1129.3274048.75880-19.43 pp
1233.81,15450.211,193-16.41 pp
1330.881,59050.521,348-19.64 pp
1436.871,91551.211,410-14.34 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

Engine bands against this model's own failure rate at the same ages
FuelCapacityvs own age normRaw fail %Tests
petrol1.0–1.2 litre63.619.48%8,882
diesel1.2–1.5 litre72.321.97%10,318
petrol1.5–1.8 litre91.943.56%35,041
petrol1.2–1.5 litre9345.46%24,138
petrol1.8–2.0 litre97.748.02%681 (rough estimate)
diesel1.5–1.8 litre100.739.8%862,035
diesel1.8–2.0 litre102.150.32%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

Citroen Berlingo build year vs the same model at the same age · 100 = as expected — 2024 UK MOT data
Citroen Berlingo by build year, tests 2019–2024. Below 100 is better than the model's own age norm.
Every build year with its confidence interval
Build yearvs own age norm95% CIRaw fail %TestsVerdict
2020101.899.5–104.128.4%25,711no different
201996.494.7–9828.03%48,378better
2018109.6108–111.133.77%57,908worse
2017100.499.2–101.732.4%75,233no different
20169997.9–100.134%91,538no different
2015100.299.1–101.237.15%96,625no different
2014100.699.6–101.639.91%92,302no different
201399.698.5–100.741.92%80,685no different
2012100.499.2–101.644.14%64,461no different
2011101.6100.4–102.946.2%54,685worse
2010101.199.8–102.347.23%51,306no different
200998.997.7–100.147.19%57,446no different
20089997.7–100.347.99%44,557no different
200797.996.6–99.248.05%47,838better
200696.995.6–98.147.95%47,098better
200599.498–100.949.69%36,931no different
2004100.198.6–101.550.22%35,405no different
200310199.4–102.650.71%29,697no different
2002100.298.1–102.350.12%18,005no different
200198.795.9–101.549.61%9,593no different
2000101.997.3–106.551.44%3,740no different
199997.189.9–104.349.23%1,424no different
199897.887.8–107.849.73%742no 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

MOT repairs, budget
£114–216
per test, repairs only
The test itself
£54.85
statutory cap, unchanged since 2010
How the figure is built: chance of failing × typical price of that repair
ComponentFails per 100 testsTypical repairIts priceContribution
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment38.5 (nat. 18.09)Battery replacement (standard 12V lead-acid)£140£53.90
Suspension16.4 (nat. 15.36)Suspension coil spring (single corner)£180£29.52
Brakes14.1 (nat. 11.25)Front brake pads (parts + labour, typical hatchback)£150£21.15
Tyres10.0 (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

Fails per 100 at age 5
28
vehicles needing work
At age 10
46
other cars of this model tested at age 10 in 2024
Repairs per 100
£11,357
plus £5,485 in test fees
Off the road
1d
median; 44.89% cleared same day
Failure rate and typical odometer by age
AgeFailsMedian odometerTestsGap vs age 5
328.79%39,31212,527+0.7 pp
428.66%49,13012,695+0.5 pp
528.13%54,14315,704+0.0 pp
637.46%66,98813,882+9.3 pp
739.99%75,98413,808+11.9 pp
840.31%82,68814,410+12.2 pp
943.43%90,35215,224+15.3 pp
1045.86%98,19614,391+17.7 pp
1146.41%105,10112,480+18.3 pp
1247.99%106,8839,817+19.9 pp
1348.43%115,5568,036+20.3 pp
1448.51%120,7417,456+20.4 pp
1549.85%116,1078,136+21.7 pp
1650.2%115,1945,615+22.1 pp
1747.23%111,6715,291+19.1 pp
1848.12%115,1245,104+20.0 pp
1950.44%113,9643,793+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

How it rusts
1.7×
1.3% of tests record a corrosion defect vs 0.77% typical — age-standardised
Salt Belt exposure
81st
percentile among the models published here, from its tests across 118 postcode areas

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

Citroen Berlingo chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now — 2024 UK MOT data
Citroen Berlingo, advisory → failure conversion by component group, chained tests 2019–2024. Chart labels and rates: Lamps & electrical 33.6% · Suspension 24.1% · Body & chassis 19.6% · Visibility 17.9% · Steering 16.3% · Brakes 13.9% · Tyres 9.8% · Seat belts & restraints 9.7%.
Advisory today → failure at the next test, with how long you have
ComponentFails next timeTypical lead timeMiles of warningAdvisories tracked
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment33.6%12 months7,07234,338
Suspension24.1%12.1 months6,12393,917
Body, chassis, structure19.6%12.1 months4,78825,677
Visibility17.8%12.1 months7,720650
Steering16.3%12.1 months5,14418,355
Brakes13.9%12.1 months6,172167,998
Tyres9.8%12.1 months6,840213,220
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems9.7%12.1 months6,1608,438
Noise, emissions and leaks7.0%12.1 months5,81067,104
Identification of the vehicle3.9%12.1 months6,42215,862

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

Probability of each component failing at the next test, by age and last result
AgeLast testMost likely next failuresCars tracked
<3passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 10.4% · Visibility 8.2% · Tyres 4.2%31,931
<3advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 14.4% · Visibility 11.8% · Brakes 6.4%11,001
<3failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 18.6% · Visibility 12.3% · Brakes 6.8%15,022
3-5passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 12.9% · Visibility 7.2% · Body, chassis, structure 5.1%100,753
3-5advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 18.0% · Visibility 10.1% · Body, chassis, structure 7.0%46,467
3-5failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 24.0% · Visibility 12.4% · Body, chassis, structure 8.6%69,306
6-8passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 16.2% · Suspension 7.9% · Visibility 7.8%73,172
6-8advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 22.4% · Visibility 10.9% · Suspension 10.8%44,710
6-8failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 29.8% · Suspension 14.3% · Visibility 13.7%79,407
9-11passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 18.4% · Suspension 11.4% · Body, chassis, structure 9.1%42,840
9-11advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 25.6% · Suspension 15.8% · Visibility 12.9%35,534
9-11failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 32.3% · Suspension 19.3% · Visibility 15.4%65,946
12-14passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 18.6% · Suspension 14.1% · Visibility 9.7%28,808
12-14advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 26.0% · Suspension 19.9% · Visibility 14.5%32,293
12-14failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 32.7% · Suspension 23.0% · Visibility 16.7%55,616
15-19passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 17.8% · Suspension 15.0% · Visibility 9.5%22,423
15-19advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 24.7% · Suspension 21.2% · Visibility 15.4%30,619
15-19failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 32.4% · Suspension 25.0% · Visibility 18.4%49,611
20+passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 16.4% · Suspension 13.8% · Brakes 10.7%2,375
20+advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 24.8% · Suspension 18.0% · Visibility 16.2%3,647
20+failureLamps, 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

Fixed same day
44.89%
of failures re-tested
Fails /10k miles
0.507
miles actually driven
Clean streaks
32.22%
3+ tests, nothing noted
Odometer anomaly
1.533%
reading went backwards

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

Citroen Berlingo recall campaigns launched per year — 2024 UK MOT data
Campaigns launched per year for the Citroen Berlingo. Source: DVSA vehicle safety recalls. Chart values: 2012: 1 · 2013: 0 · 2014: 1 · 2015: 0 · 2016: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2019: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2022: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2026: 4.
Most recent safety recall campaigns for the Citroen Berlingo
ReferenceLaunchedVehiclesConcern
R/2026/18427/04/20262,869BCM software missing telltale if LKA unavailable
R/2026/11013/03/2026729Water Pump Pulley
R/2026/02121/01/20265,475Citroen Cross carline Fuel injection common rail.
R/2026/00602/01/202633Citroen Berlingo (K9) Wrong Wheel Bolts.
R/2026/00919/12/20255,476Citroen Spacetourer (K0) Berlingo (K9) IVI software via OTA update.
All 51 campaigns
ReferenceLaunchedBuild datesVehiclesConcern
R/2026/18427/04/202624/02/2024 – 19/03/20252,869BCM software missing telltale if LKA unavailable
R/2026/11013/03/202615/10/2025 – 02/03/2026729Water Pump Pulley
R/2026/02121/01/202626/07/2025 – 08/10/20255,475Citroen Cross carline Fuel injection common rail.
R/2026/00602/01/202618/12/2023 – 30/09/202533Citroen Berlingo (K9) Wrong Wheel Bolts.
R/2026/00919/12/202525/08/2023 – 08/05/20255,476Citroen Spacetourer (K0) Berlingo (K9) IVI software via OTA update.
R/2025/34618/08/202506/09/2017 – 20/10/20171,030Emission recall – On Board Diagnostics
R/2025/29628/07/202527/11/2023 – 13/03/2025590Citroen Berlingo Tyre Pressure Label
R/2025/24703/07/202504/10/2017 – 20/10/201732,360Citroen DV5R Engines Camshaft Chain.
R/2025/12224/03/202506/05/2022 – 30/11/2022946Traction Battery software
R/2025/12617/03/202513/05/2024 – 08/10/20246Autonomous Telematics Box connection
R/2025/09104/03/202507/03/2024 – 03/09/20241Citroen Autonomous Telematics Box failure after OTA update
R/2024/39611/10/202407/01/2024 – 02/02/20246Citroen Berlingo (K9) Front Brake Discs.
R/2024/24203/06/202412/09/2023 – 22/01/202470Citroen Berlingo -K9 Engine Software
R/2023/25002/08/202303/10/2022 – 15/03/2023210Affected vehicles may have a tyre load index reported on the vehicle s CoC lower than the
R/2023/14109/05/202331/03/2021 – 11/11/20226,867On affected vehicles the AC compressor stator wiring could develop a fault leading to curr
R/2023/01017/01/202306/09/2022 – 01/12/20221,254There is an error in the software calibration of the traction battery control unit which c
R/2023/03613/12/202203/04/2017 – 28/10/202013,740On the affected vehicles the operation of the brake vacuum pump may be affected by materia
R/2023/04613/12/202207/03/2017 – 01/04/2017652On the affected vehicles the operation of the brake vacuum pump may be affected by materia
R/2022/29917/10/202208/11/2017 – 21/09/2021630THE LOWER METAL ENGINE PROTECTION GUARD AND THE UNDERSIDE OF THE ENGINE EXHAUST SYSTEM CO
R/2022/15823/05/202213/11/2021 – 17/11/20213POTENTIAL DAMAGE TO THE TYRE STRUCTURE AROUND THE TYRE BEAD
R/2020/32720/01/202120/03/2013 – 01/04/201721,226THE BRAKE VACUUM PUMP MAY BE AFFECTED BY MATERIAL DETACHING FROM THE TIMING BELT
R/2020/20916/07/202002/12/2019 – 18/01/2020428THE INNER TIE RODS ARE NOT CORRECT TO SPECIFICATION
R/2019/44906/02/202026/11/2018 – 26/11/20181POTENTIAL BLOCKING OF THE UREA INJECTOR
R/2019/40117/12/201930/06/2019 – 15/07/2019111STEERING COLUMN MAY NOT BE CORRECT TO SPECIFICATION
R/2019/39326/11/201901/07/2018 – 08/11/201912,796THE PASSENGER OUTER SEAT BELT MAY NOT BE CORRECT TO SPECIFICATION
R/2019/13726/04/201905/01/2018 – 03/05/2018148A PLASTIC COMPONENT INSIDE THE EXHAUST LINE COULD DAMAGE THE DIESEL PARTICLE FILTER
R/2019/13325/04/201907/11/2017 – 08/01/2019744A COMPONENT OF THE HANDBRAKE MECHANISM MAY NOT BE CORRECT TO SPECIFICATION
R/2018/12810/05/201813/11/2017 – 20/11/2017110AIRBAGS MAY NOT BE TRIGGERED IN THE EVENT OF A COLLISION
R/2017/33915/12/201701/10/2017 – 30/11/201775ENGINE COMPONENT MAY NOT BE TO SPECIFICATION
R/2017/33915/12/201701/10/2017 – 30/11/201775ENGINE COMPONENT MAY NOT BE TO SPECIFICATION
R/2017/12607/04/201726/04/2016 – 29/08/201616GEARBOX ACTUATOR AY NOT BE TO SPECTIFICATION
R/2016/23206/10/201628/04/2016 – 23/08/2016767BONNET MAY OPEN WITHOUT WARNING
R/2016/17120/07/201626/04/2016 – 02/05/2016967AIRBAG MAY INCORRECTLY DEPLOY
R/2014/02526/02/201407/01/2014 – 15/01/2014279FUEL MAY LEAK AND CREATE FIRE RISK
R/2012/02608/03/201222/11/2011 – 22/11/201188SEAT BELT FIXING BOLTS MAY LOOSEN
R/2010/15911/10/201004/09/2008 – 10/12/200916ROOF FLAP MAY DETACH
R/2010/13409/09/201003/02/2010 – 11/03/2010336AIRBAG MAY OPERATE INCORRECTLY
R/2009/15301/12/200920/01/2009 – 18/08/2009157TAILGATE MAY NOT OPERATE CORRECTLY
R/2009/09909/10/200903/04/2009 – 15/04/200954REAR DAMPER MAY BECOME INSECURE
R/2009/06703/07/200901/11/2007 – 31/07/20084,440SPARE WHEEL CARRIER HEAT SHIELD COULD BECOME DETACHED
R/2009/05808/06/200925/03/2009 – 25/03/20096SEAT BELT MAY NOT PERFORM CORRECTLY
R/2009/05908/06/200905/12/2008 – 29/01/200910LH SEAT MAY BECOME DETACHED IN A COLLISION
R/2008/19924/12/200801/02/2008 – 14/06/20086,031WIPERS / LIGHTS/ BATTERY CHARGING MAY BE AFFECTED.
R/2008/09603/07/200810/03/2008 – 11/03/200845WIPERS LIGHTS AND BATTERY CHARGING MAY BE AFFECTED
R/2005/09513/07/200501/12/2002 – 30/09/2003163,446SUSPENSION SPRINGS MAY BREAK
R/2005/09713/07/200501/12/2002 – 30/09/200350,357SUSPENSION SPRINGS MAY BREAK
R/2005/09513/07/200501/12/2002 – 30/09/2003163,446SUSPENSION SPRINGS MAY BREAK
R/2005/09713/07/200501/06/1999 – 30/09/200250,357SUSPENSION SPRINGS MAY BREAK
R/2005/06116/05/200501/07/2004 – 30/09/200413,624AIRBAG CONTROL UNIT MAY NOT BE TO STANDARD
R/2000/00601/02/200001/09/1999 – 31/10/19991,070POSSIBILITY OF LOSS OF BRAKE SERVO ASSISTANCE
R/2000/00501/02/200001/09/1999 – 31/10/19999,088POSSIBILITY 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

Same model, different national inspection regimes
CountryTestThis model failsNational averagePositionSample
United KingdomMOT (class 4)41.36%26.01%+15.3 pp188,688
NetherlandsAPK63.1%50.8%+12.3 pp10,965
FinlandKatsastus32%26.3%+5.7 pp2,083
NorwayPKK40.1%33.7%+6.4 pp1,844

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.

The exact faults Netherlands records — APK defect codes, 2024
CodeFaultRecordedType
210Tyre pressure not at the correct value2,196failure
205Tyre with insufficient tread1,838failure
497Number-plate light not working or missing1,367failure
RA2Excessive leak of other fluids989advisory
584Sidelight not working properly872failure
516Dipped headlight incorrectly aimed786failure
AC1Tyre down to 1.6–2.5 mm of tread783advisory
576Indicator colour wrong or not permitted736failure

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.