Citroen C3 — MOT statistics 2024
The Citroen C3 failed 35.28% of 194,555 first MOT attempts in 2024 ("first-time", excluding retests). Adjusted for the age of the fleet, its initial-failure ratio is 118.8 (100 = expected for its age profile). This car fails its MOT about 19% more often than expected for its age.
Age-adjusted peer: Vauxhall Corsa (index 118.7) — the two published results are 0.1 index points apart.
Citroen C3 common problems: what actually fails the MOT
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment stand out at 27.6 per 100 tests, against 18.3 per 100 tests across UK vehicles of the same ages.
higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests
family vs national — matched to UK vehicles 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 | 27.6 | 326,158 | 18.3 | 1.51×1.50–1.51 |
| Suspension | 16.4 | 194,290 | 16.1 | 1.02×1.01–1.02 |
| Brakes | 10.3 | 122,303 | 12.0 | 0.86×0.86–0.87 |
| Body & structure | 9.9 | 116,869 | 5.6 | 1.77×1.75–1.78 |
| Tyres | 9.5 | 112,758 | 9.1 | 1.04×1.04–1.05 |
| Visibility | 9.0 | 106,374 | 8.0 | 1.12×1.11–1.13 |
| What failed | per 100 tests (this family) | per 100 tests (UK average) | ratio family / UK | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in…Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements | 3.14 | 0.85 | 3.71× | Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure |
| Rear registration plate lamp or light source…A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources | 5.12 | 2.83 | 1.81× | Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure |
| Exhaust system leaking or insecureExhaust system leaking or insecure | 3.28 | 1.16 | 2.83× | Watch for smoke on a cold start — emissions failures are costly |
| Transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot…A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 3.51 | 1.56 | 2.25× | Ask the seller about: A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or |
| Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of…Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning | 3.09 | 1.50 | 2.06× | Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure |
| Spring or spring component fractured or seriously…A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened | 4.08 | 2.86 | 1.43× | Ask the seller about: A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened |
| Aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down…The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements | 3.46 | 2.57 | 1.35× | Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure |
| Suspension pin, bush or joint excessively wornA suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn | 5.65 | 4.87 | 1.16× | Listen for knocks over bumps — worn joints show up on the test |
| Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the…Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen | 2.80 | 2.22 | 1.26× | Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view |
| Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the…Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements | 4.13 | 3.59 | 1.15× | Check tyre tread depth across the full width |
Named defects ranked by how much more often they appear than the national average — not by raw rate.
Citroen C3 MOT advisories: what gets flagged
Tyres are highest at 43.5 per 100 tests; Emissions & leaks are lowest at 7.3 per 100 tests — the gap is 36.2 per 100 tests.
higher bar = flagged more oftenadvisory items per 100 initial tests
Advisory rates table
| Group | Advisories per 100 |
|---|---|
| Tyres | 43.5 |
| Brakes | 36.7 |
| Suspension | 22 |
| Body & structure | 10.9 |
| Non-component advisories | 7.6 |
| Emissions & leaks | 7.3 |
Advisories are wear the tester noted but didn't fail — what will need money soon.
Tyres, brakes and suspension: Citroen C3 against cars of the same age
| Age | Part | Citroen C3 | Same age, petrol and diesel | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | Tyres | 2.71 | 4.17 | -1.46 |
| 3 years | Brakes | 1.63 | 1.77 | -0.14 |
| 3 years | Suspension | 0.27 | 0.63 | -0.36 |
| 4 years | Tyres | 3.71 | 4.54 | -0.83 |
| 4 years | Brakes | 2.32 | 2.43 | -0.11 |
| 4 years | Suspension | 0.5 | 1.21 | -0.71 |
| 5 years | Tyres | 4.64 | 5.06 | -0.42 |
| 5 years | Brakes | 2.89 | 3.09 | -0.20 |
| 5 years | Suspension | 1.12 | 2.19 | -1.07 |
| 6 years | Tyres | 5.4 | 5.54 | -0.14 |
| 6 years | Brakes | 3.36 | 3.81 | -0.45 |
| 6 years | Suspension | 2.38 | 3.72 | -1.34 |
| 7 years | Tyres | 6 | 5.95 | 0.05 |
| 7 years | Brakes | 4.16 | 4.55 | -0.39 |
| 7 years | Suspension | 4.51 | 5.68 | -1.17 |
| 8 years | Tyres | 6.64 | 6.31 | 0.33 |
| 8 years | Brakes | 4.88 | 5.38 | -0.50 |
| 8 years | Suspension | 7.09 | 7.78 | -0.69 |
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 car 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 | 42.9% | 86,503 |
| It passed | 29.7% | 582,234 |
A failed test raises next year's chance of failing again by 13.2 percentage points. The failure most likely to come back is road wheels — 42.3% 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 car with vehicles of the same age, and then with vehicles of the same age and the same annual mileage, 2019-2024, on 1,177,579 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 | 116.2 | fails more often than expected |
| Age and annual mileage | 123.8 | fails more often than vehicles driven as much |
| Share doing under 3,000 miles a year | 9.4% | a normal spread of use |
Mileage matters here: matching on how much these are driven moves the figure by 7.6 points — this fleet is driven less than the vehicles it is measured against, so the age-only view flatters it — but it does not change which side of normal the car 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 C3 compares with cars of its own age and size
Not against the whole fleet — against cars of the same size class tested at the same age, 2019-2024.
| Age | Citroen C3 | Same class, same age | Difference | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | 9.82% | 11.32% | -1.5 pp | 74,950 |
| 4 years | 14.29% | 14.24% | +0.05 pp | 74,976 |
| 5 years | 19.33% | 17.39% | +1.94 pp | 81,130 |
| 6 years | 23.49% | 20.72% | +2.77 pp | 82,020 |
| 7 years | 28.72% | 24.27% | +4.45 pp | 82,268 |
| 8 years | 33.11% | 28.08% | +5.03 pp | 83,658 |
| 9 years | 37.56% | 31.94% | +5.62 pp | 96,310 |
| 10 years | 41.44% | 35.5% | +5.94 pp | 95,536 |
| 11 years | 43.83% | 38.57% | +5.26 pp | 88,354 |
| 12 years | 45.76% | 41.17% | +4.58 pp | 83,543 |
| 13 years | 46.94% | 43.23% | +3.71 pp | 75,951 |
| 14 years | 48.2% | 44.98% | +3.21 pp | 67,262 |
| 15 years | 49.37% | 46.27% | +3.1 pp | 54,135 |
| 16 years | 50.75% | 47.29% | +3.47 pp | 47,738 |
| 17 years | 51.4% | 47.73% | +3.67 pp | 37,808 |
| 18 years | 51.35% | 47.94% | +3.41 pp | 24,875 |
| 19 years | 51.2% | 47.69% | +3.51 pp | 15,276 |
| 20 years | 51.42% | 47.32% | +4.1 pp | 8,522 |
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 C3 perform as it gets older?
The C3 at age 20 stands out at 50.6%, against 41.0% for all vehicles of the same age.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart axes: car age, years · failure-rate scale 0–55%.
Takeaway: a 10-year-old C3 has roughly a 36% chance of failing its MOT; from about age 5 it stays above the national age curve.
Data table
| Age | Citroen C3 | All vehicles | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 9.2% | 12.4% | -3.2 pp |
| 4 | 10.9% | 13.1% | -2.2 pp |
| 5 | 15.3% | 15.1% | +0.2 pp |
| 6 | 20.2% | 17.5% | +2.7 pp |
| 7 | 24.9% | 20.2% | +4.7 pp |
| 8 | 30.7% | 23.3% | +7.4 pp |
| 9 | 33.1% | 26.5% | +6.6 pp |
| 10 | 36.1% | 30.1% | +6.0 pp |
| 11 | 40.8% | 33.2% | +7.6 pp |
| 12 | 45.2% | 35.7% | +9.5 pp |
| 13 | 47.2% | 38.2% | +9.0 pp |
| 14 | 48.5% | 40.4% | +8.1 pp |
| 15 | 49.7% | 41.6% | +8.1 pp |
| 16 | 48.5% | 43.1% | +5.4 pp |
| 17 | 48.7% | 43.1% | +5.6 pp |
| 18 | 47.7% | 43.9% | +3.8 pp |
| 19 | 50.1% | 43.5% | +6.6 pp |
| 20 | 50.6% | 41.0% | +9.5 pp |
Is a Citroen C3 ULEZ compliant?
The share of classifiable 2024 Citroen C3 MOT tests likely ULEZ compliant by first-registration date is 65.6%.
Based on 194,219 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 = 257 |
| 3–5 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 29,931 |
| 6–7 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 31,573 |
| 8 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 8,846 |
| 9 years | 70.5% Check a registration with TfL | n = 12,261 |
| 10–14 years | 43.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 76,217 |
| 15–17 years | 58.7% Check a registration with TfL | n = 19,637 |
| 18 years | 81.7% Check a registration with TfL | n = 4,712 |
| 19 years | 0.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 4,019 |
| 20+ years | 0.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 6,766 |
Citroen C3 petrol vs diesel: which ages best
Diesel is highest at 43.9%; Petrol is lowest at 30.7% — the gap is 13.3 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Fuel split table
| Fuel | Tests | % failing | Gap vs best |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 126,945 | 30.7% | +0.0 pp |
| Diesel | 67,604 | 43.9% | +13.3 pp |
Chart sample sizes: n=127k · n=68k.
How dangerous are Citroen C3 MOT failures?
Major defects stand out at 66.7 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 | 13.85 | 14.22 | 0.97× |
| Major | 66.74 | 52.75 | 1.27× |
| Dangerous | 11.46 | 11.15 | 1.03× |
Chart values: Minor 13.8 · Major 66.7 · Dangerous 11.5.
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 C3 MOT matter?
Nov is highest at 38.1%; Mar is lowest at 33.4% — the gap is 4.7 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart scale: 27%–40%.
bars: Citroen C3 · dashed: all class-4 cars
Month-by-month table
| Month | Citroen C3 | All vehicles | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37.55% | 31.12% | +6.4 pp |
| Feb | 36.09% | 29.99% | +6.1 pp |
| Mar | 33.35% | 28.26% | +5.1 pp |
| Apr | 35.37% | 29.78% | +5.6 pp |
| May | 34.42% | 28.79% | +5.6 pp |
| Jun | 34.58% | 28.15% | +6.4 pp |
| Jul | 35.64% | 29.33% | +6.3 pp |
| Aug | 36.4% | 29.2% | +7.2 pp |
| Sep | 34.14% | 28.19% | +5.9 pp |
| Oct | 37.44% | 30.34% | +7.1 pp |
| Nov | 38.05% | 30.58% | +7.5 pp |
| Dec | 37.15% | 29.33% | +7.8 pp |
Takeaway: the spread between best and worst month is 4.7 percentage points — noticeable seasonality. 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 C3 average mileage by age
At age 8, the middle half of C3s runs from 31,254 miles to 61,120 miles, against 44,936 miles as the median.
further right = more milesmedian is the typical car; band is p25–p75
Chart axes: car age, years · odometer scale 0–117k mi.
Does high mileage mean more Citroen C3 MOT failures at the same age?
Within the same age group, split by odometer (2024 MOTs), so this separates wear from age: at ages 10–14, 25.4% of those with under 40,000 miles failed first time versus 54.1% 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 | 10% | 9.6–10.3% | 23,796 |
| 3–5 | 40-70k miles | 20.9% | 19.8–22% | 5,522 |
| 3–5 | 70-100k miles | 32.1% | 28.3–36.2% | 539 |
| 3–5 | 100-140k miles | 40% | 29–52.1% | 65 (rough estimate) |
| 6–9 | <40k miles | 17.7% | 17.2–18.3% | 21,783 |
| 6–9 | 40-70k miles | 29.4% | 28.8–30% | 23,356 |
| 6–9 | 70-100k miles | 41.3% | 40.1–42.6% | 6,151 |
| 6–9 | 100-140k miles | 45% | 42.3–47.8% | 1,241 |
| 6–9 | 140k+ miles | 50% | 41.8–58.2% | 140 (rough estimate) |
| 10–14 | <40k miles | 25.4% | 24.5–26.3% | 8,602 |
| 10–14 | 40-70k miles | 38.9% | 38.3–39.5% | 25,139 |
| 10–14 | 70-100k miles | 48.8% | 48.2–49.4% | 24,946 |
| 10–14 | 100-140k miles | 53.2% | 52.4–54% | 14,427 |
| 10–14 | 140k+ miles | 54.1% | 52.4–55.9% | 3,064 |
| 15+ | <40k miles | 30.6% | 28.9–32.4% | 2,706 |
| 15+ | 40-70k miles | 44.1% | 43.1–45% | 10,169 |
| 15+ | 70-100k miles | 52.3% | 51.5–53.2% | 12,310 |
| 15+ | 100-140k miles | 55.7% | 54.6–56.8% | 8,011 |
| 15+ | 140k+ miles | 57.2% | 54.9–59.4% | 1,912 |
line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75)
Mileage by age (p25 / median / p75)
| Age | p25 | Median | p75 | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 13,517 | 20,319 | 29,227 | 8,436 |
| 4 | 16,914 | 24,608 | 34,518 | 7,923 |
| 5 | 22,811 | 31,410 | 41,988 | 13,572 |
| 6 | 28,540 | 38,870 | 50,998 | 15,932 |
| 7 | 33,254 | 45,008 | 58,686 | 15,641 |
| 8 | 31,254 | 44,936 | 61,120 | 8,846 |
| 9 | 37,107 | 52,477 | 70,406 | 12,261 |
| 10 | 41,828 | 57,927 | 77,327 | 13,892 |
| 11 | 49,304 | 67,594 | 87,895 | 13,563 |
| 12 | 55,305 | 73,644 | 94,935 | 15,040 |
| 13 | 62,514 | 82,354 | 104,629 | 15,446 |
| 14 | 66,631 | 88,020 | 111,072 | 18,277 |
| 15 | 64,603 | 86,533 | 109,642 | 9,435 |
| 16 | 57,680 | 77,152 | 98,222 | 4,894 |
| 17 | 57,741 | 78,160 | 100,912 | 5,309 |
| 18 | 56,885 | 77,094 | 99,568 | 4,713 |
| 19 | 59,155 | 79,703 | 102,095 | 4,019 |
| 20+ | 60,835 | 80,542 | 104,384 | 6,767 |
A typical 8-year-old C3 has ~44,936 miles on the clock. Much more — ask why; much less — check for gaps in the MOT history.
Where in Britain the Citroen C3 fails its MOT most
Lerwick area is highest at 46.2%; Southend-on-Sea area is lowest at 27.8% — the gap is 18.4 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Toughest areas | % failing | vs model overall |
|---|---|---|
| Lerwick (ZE) | 46.15% | +10.4 pp |
| Dundee (DD) | 45.93% | +10.1 pp |
| Kirkcaldy (KY) | 45.54% | +9.7 pp |
| Aberdeen (AB) | 45.23% | +9.4 pp |
| Llandrindod Wells (LD) | 44.53% | +8.7 pp |
| Easiest areas | % failing | vs model overall |
|---|---|---|
| Southend-on-Sea (SS) | 27.77% | -8.0 pp |
| Dartford (DA) | 29% | -6.8 pp |
| Hemel Hempstead (HP) | 29.47% | -6.3 pp |
| Enfield (EN) | 29.71% | -6.1 pp |
| Slough (SL) | 29.84% | -6.0 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 6.5 pp more often than in the lowest fifth (r=0.60, n=116 areas with ≥800 tests).
In areas with the highest urban share this model fails 4.8 pp less often than in the lowest fifth (r=-0.44, n=116 areas with ≥800 tests).
In areas with the highest road-salt proxy this model fails 4.0 pp more often than in the lowest fifth (r=0.38, n=116 areas with ≥800 tests).
| Factor | Low Q | High Q | Gap | Correlation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOT centre density | 31.8% | 38.3% | +6.5 pp | r=0.60 |
| Urban share | 37.4% | 32.7% | -4.7 pp | r=-0.44 |
| Road-salt proxy | 34.0% | 38.0% | +4.0 pp | r=0.38 |
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) | 0.601 | 116 | 31.8 | 38.3 | +6.5 | 5 | 8.9 |
| Urban share (0–1) | -0.439 | 116 | 37.4 | 32.7 | -4.8 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Road-salt proxy (g/m²-yr) | 0.375 | 116 | 34.0 | 38.0 | +4.0 | 223 | 674.9 |
| Frost days (days/year) | 0.373 | 116 | 34.9 | 37.9 | +3.0 | 11.8 | 38 |
| Terrain gradient (% grade) | 0.344 | 69 | 36.0 | 38.5 | +2.6 | 0.5 | 4.2 |
| Distance to coast (km) | -0.217 | 116 | 37.6 | 35.0 | -2.6 | 6 | 78.7 |
| Income deprivation (score) | 0.129 | 97 | 33.9 | 35.4 | +1.5 | 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: 30%–42% failing.
Citroen C3 survival: which cars are still on the road
By age 19 is well below the reference at 19.2%, against 100.0% at the ages 4–6 reference level.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart axes: car 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 | 74,950 | 94.4% | 9.82% |
| 4 | 74,976 | 94.5% | 14.29% |
| 5 | 81,130 | 100% | 19.33% |
| 6 | 82,020 | 100% | 23.49% |
| 7 | 82,268 | 100% | 28.72% |
| 8 | 83,658 | 100% | 33.11% |
| 9 | 96,310 | 100% | 37.56% |
| 10 | 95,536 | 100% | 41.44% |
| 11 | 88,354 | 100% | 43.83% |
| 12 | 83,543 | 100% | 45.76% |
| 13 | 75,951 | 95.7% | 46.94% |
| 14 | 67,262 | 84.7% | 48.2% |
| 15 | 54,135 | 68.2% | 49.37% |
| 16 | 47,738 | 60.1% | 50.75% |
| 17 | 37,808 | 47.6% | 51.4% |
| 18 | 24,875 | 31.3% | 51.35% |
| 19 | 15,276 | 19.2% | 51.2% |
By age 19, only about 19% as many cars of this family present for MOT as at ages 4–6 (reference n≈79,375); survivors still fail at 51.2% vs 14.3% at age 4. Older cars that still appear are a selected subset — weaker ones have already left.
How many miles does a Citroen C3 last?
100,000+ miles is highest at 13.4%; 200,000+ miles is lowest at 0.1% — the gap is 13.3 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Odometer | Tests ≥ threshold | Share of sample |
|---|---|---|
| 100,000+ miles | 157,950 | 13.41% |
| 150,000+ miles | 16,400 | 1.39% |
| 200,000+ miles | 1,394 | 0.12% |
Of 1,177,909 tests of this family with a usable odometer in 2024, 13.4% had reached 100k miles, 1.4% had reached 150k miles, 0.1% 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 C3 likely to last?
Bought at age 5 is highest at 11.6 years; Bought at age 15 is lowest at 2.8 years — the gap is 8.8 years.
bigger number = longer remaining lifeyears on the observed survival curve
| Age now | Typical mileage (p50) | Expected years left |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | — | 11.6 |
| 8 | — | 8.6 |
| 10 | — | 6.6 |
| 12 | — | 4.6 |
| 15 | — | at least 2.8 |
estimateEstimate only — not a warranty: a typical 10-year-old example of this family has about 6.6 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 C3 faults that come together
Identification + Road Wheels stand out at 5.39×, 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 | 23 | 5.39× (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 126 | 5.1× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Seat belt installation check | 37 | 4.75× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 1,718 | 4.16× |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Suspension | 5,914 | 4.14× |
| Seat belt installation check | Tyres | 27 | 4.12× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 3,262 | 4.08× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Noise, emissions and leaks | 12,785 | 4.02× |
| Road Wheels | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 90 | 3.97× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Identification of the vehicle | 578 | 3.84× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Noise, emissions and leaks | 298 | 3.84× (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,425 | 3.83× |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Road Wheels | 273 | 3.83× (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Visibility | 655 | 3.76× |
| Road Wheels | Tyres | 532 | 3.63× |
| Road Wheels | Steering | 221 | 3.62× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Road Wheels | 496 | 3.59× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Seat belt installation check | 22 | 3.57× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 6,899 | 3.49× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Seat belt installation check | 53 | 3.48× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Identification of the vehicle | 653 | 3.43× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Suspension | 903 | 3.36× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Road Wheels | 1,137 | 3.33× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Tyres | 522 | 3.27× |
| Brakes | Noise, emissions and leaks | 8,079 | 3.21× |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Visibility | 2,917 | 3.15× |
| Steering | Suspension | 12,058 | 3.14× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Road Wheels | 546 | 3.13× |
| Road Wheels | Visibility | 497 | 3.11× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Noise, emissions and leaks | 19,225 | 3.09× |
| Seat belt installation check | Visibility | 22 | 3.09× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Suspension | 26,672 | 3.06× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Brakes | 18,831 | 3.05× |
| Brakes | Steering | 6,498 | 3.02× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 3,035 | 3× |
| Seat belt installation check | Suspension | 33 | 3× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Steering | 3,321 | 2.99× |
| Road Wheels | Suspension | 731 | 2.96× |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Suspension | 13,208 | 2.94× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Suspension | 62,479 | 2.9× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Steering | 15,415 | 2.9× |
| Brakes | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 34,848 | 2.89× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Steering | 7,869 | 2.89× |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Steering | 1,021 | 2.89× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Steering | 191 | 2.87× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Tyres | 14,664 | 2.83× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Suspension | 30,856 | 2.8× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Visibility | 38,158 | 2.74× |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Tyres | 2,287 | 2.69× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Tyres | 33,901 | 2.65× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 40,083 | 2.63× |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Visibility | 7,605 | 2.61× |
| Steering | Tyres | 5,833 | 2.55× |
| Brakes | Visibility | 14,335 | 2.54× |
| Tyres | Visibility | 15,136 | 2.53× |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Tyres | 6,719 | 2.51× |
| Suspension | Tyres | 22,669 | 2.45× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Tyres | 15,841 | 2.42× |
| Suspension | Visibility | 23,936 | 2.38× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Visibility | 16,495 | 2.31× |
| Steering | Visibility | 5,367 | 2.15× |
| Seat belt installation check | Steering | 14 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Seat belt installation check | 14 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Speedometer and speed limiter | 8 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Speedometer and speed limiter | 8 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Speedometer and speed limiter | 7 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Seat belt installation check | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 6 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Speedometer and speed limiter | Visibility | 6 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Speedometer and speed limiter | Suspension | 6 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Speedometer and speed limiter | 5 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Buses and coaches supplementary tests | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 5 | too few (rough estimate) |
Defects in «Noise, emissions and leaks» and «Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems» appear together 4.16× more often than chance (1,718 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 C3?
Cars driven under 5,000 miles a year is well below the reference at 26.5%, against 44.5% for cars driven 8,000–12,000 miles a year.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Band | Fail % | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| <5k miles/year | 26.46% | 253,634 |
| 8–12k miles/year | 44.46% | 196,442 |
| Gap (low − normal) | -17.99 pp | — |
By fuel and age
Diesel
| Age | Low-use fail % | n | Normal fail % | n | Gap pp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 16.31 | 4,421 | 27.13 | 5,747 | -10.82 pp |
| 6 | 18.89 | 6,025 | 30.56 | 8,280 | -11.67 pp |
| 7 | 22.32 | 7,237 | 35.92 | 10,835 | -13.6 pp |
| 8 | 24.47 | 8,683 | 40.41 | 14,220 | -15.94 pp |
| 9 | 27.88 | 9,892 | 46.01 | 18,223 | -18.13 pp |
| 10 | 30.39 | 9,582 | 49.35 | 18,632 | -18.96 pp |
| 11 | 33.4 | 8,580 | 51.98 | 16,857 | -18.58 pp |
| 12 | 35.56 | 7,619 | 53.03 | 14,482 | -17.48 pp |
| 13 | 39.06 | 6,411 | 53.96 | 11,450 | -14.9 pp |
| 14 | 38.82 | 5,054 | 55.45 | 7,888 | -16.63 pp |
Petrol
| Age | Low-use fail % | n | Normal fail % | n | Gap pp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 12.01 | 21,146 | 24.53 | 12,943 | -12.52 pp |
| 6 | 14.51 | 19,604 | 30.31 | 10,960 | -15.8 pp |
| 7 | 17.83 | 18,339 | 38.52 | 8,876 | -20.69 pp |
| 8 | 21.43 | 16,610 | 45.36 | 6,405 | -23.92 pp |
| 9 | 24.76 | 17,262 | 48.54 | 6,766 | -23.78 pp |
| 10 | 29.32 | 16,685 | 51.53 | 6,063 | -22.21 pp |
| 11 | 32.5 | 16,013 | 53.73 | 5,327 | -21.22 pp |
| 12 | 35.05 | 16,921 | 54.52 | 4,868 | -19.47 pp |
| 13 | 36.88 | 18,055 | 55.14 | 4,166 | -18.26 pp |
| 14 | 39.48 | 19,489 | 57.57 | 3,443 | -18.09 pp |
At matched ages 5–14, cars averaging under 5k miles/year fail at 26.5% vs 44.5% for 8–12k miles/year — 18.0 pp lower (n_low=253,634, n_normal=196,442). 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: 29.0% low-use vs 45.2% normal (-16.2 pp).
Which Citroen C3 engine is best?
diesel 1.2–1.5 is highest at 109.7; petrol 1.5–1.8 is lowest at 85.5 — the gap is 24.2 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 | 1.5–1.8 litre | 85.5 | 34.8% | 89,598 |
| petrol | 1.0–1.2 litre | 94.3 | 22.04% | 349,963 |
| petrol | 1.2–1.5 litre | 98.9 | 45.47% | 281,557 |
| diesel | 1.5–1.8 litre | 105.1 | 38.11% | 338,445 |
| petrol | under 1.0 litre | 106.9 | 31.65% | 6,452 |
| diesel | 1.2–1.5 litre | 109.7 | 48.05% | 115,883 |
Splitting this model by fuel alone hides the thing that actually differs. Within the same badge, the diesel 1.2–1.5 runs at 109.7 against this model's own age norm while the petrol 1.5–1.8 runs at 85.5 — a spread of 24.2 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 C3, and the years to avoid
Build year 2009 is highest at 104.5; Build year 2020 is lowest at 85.4 — the gap is 19.1 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 | 85.4 | 81.2–89.6 | 9.95% | 16,003 | better |
| 2019 | 86.2 | 83.8–88.6 | 12.06% | 41,153 | better |
| 2018 | 89.3 | 87.5–91.2 | 14.55% | 63,173 | better |
| 2017 | 92.2 | 90.7–93.8 | 16.87% | 81,884 | better |
| 2016 | 104.2 | 102.3–106 | 21.95% | 54,179 | worse |
| 2015 | 103.4 | 101.9–104.8 | 26.55% | 75,131 | worse |
| 2014 | 97.7 | 96.5–98.9 | 29.53% | 85,716 | better |
| 2013 | 98.5 | 97.4–99.6 | 33.78% | 84,435 | better |
| 2012 | 103.5 | 102.4–104.5 | 39.36% | 95,223 | worse |
| 2011 | 102.1 | 101.1–103.1 | 41.96% | 100,717 | worse |
| 2010 | 103.8 | 102.9–104.7 | 45.34% | 124,139 | worse |
| 2009 | 104.5 | 103.4–105.6 | 47.77% | 69,092 | worse |
| 2008 | 98.9 | 97.5–100.3 | 46.75% | 41,448 | no different |
| 2007 | 96.2 | 95–97.4 | 46.77% | 50,033 | better |
| 2006 | 92.9 | 91.7–94.1 | 46.15% | 48,207 | better |
| 2005 | 98.4 | 97.1–99.6 | 49.81% | 47,155 | better |
| 2004 | 101.5 | 100.1–102.8 | 52.24% | 42,243 | worse |
| 2003 | 103.3 | 101.9–104.7 | 53.91% | 36,886 | worse |
| 2002 | 102.6 | 100.2–104.9 | 53.67% | 13,848 | worse |
The best build year here is 2020 and the weakest is 2009. 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 — 18 of 19 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 C3 MOT repair costs
The MOT-failure repair budget per test runs from £92.16 to £175.10, 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 | 27.6 (nat. 18.09) | Battery replacement (standard 12V lead-acid) | £140 | £38.64 |
| Suspension | 16.4 (nat. 15.36) | Suspension coil spring (single corner) | £180 | £29.52 |
| Brakes | 10.3 (nat. 11.25) | Front brake pads (parts + labour, typical hatchback) | £150 | £15.45 |
| Tyres | 9.5 (nat. 8.7) | Tyre (single mid-range 16" fitted) | £90 | £8.55 |
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 £92 to £175, 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 C3 running costs for a fleet
Vehicles failing at age 10 stand out at 36.0%, against 15.0% 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 | 9.2% | 20,319 | 8,436 | -6.1 pp |
| 4 | 10.9% | 24,608 | 7,923 | -4.4 pp |
| 5 | 15.33% | 31,410 | 13,572 | +0.0 pp |
| 6 | 20.24% | 38,870 | 15,932 | +4.9 pp |
| 7 | 24.92% | 45,008 | 15,641 | +9.6 pp |
| 8 | 30.71% | 44,936 | 8,846 | +15.4 pp |
| 9 | 33.15% | 52,477 | 12,261 | +17.8 pp |
| 10 | 36.1% | 57,927 | 13,892 | +20.8 pp |
| 11 | 40.79% | 67,594 | 13,563 | +25.5 pp |
| 12 | 45.17% | 73,644 | 15,040 | +29.8 pp |
| 13 | 47.18% | 82,354 | 15,446 | +31.9 pp |
| 14 | 48.5% | 88,020 | 18,277 | +33.2 pp |
| 15 | 49.66% | 86,533 | 9,435 | +34.3 pp |
| 16 | 48.47% | 77,152 | 4,894 | +33.1 pp |
| 17 | 48.69% | 78,160 | 5,309 | +33.4 pp |
| 18 | 47.68% | 77,094 | 4,713 | +32.4 pp |
| 19 | 50.09% | 79,703 | 4,019 | +34.8 pp |
The number a fleet manager needs is not the failure rate, it is the year the car starts costing more. Between cars aged 7 and cars aged 8, both tested in 2024, the failure rate of this model is 5.79 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 C3 rust problems: where they corrode
Age-standardised corrosion susceptibility stands out at 1.22×, against 1.00× for the national age-standardised rate.
above 1.0× = rusts more than averagebelow 1.0× = rusts less
This Citroen C3 fails on corrosion 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 C3 advisory become a failure?
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment are highest at 31.5%; Identification of the vehicle is lowest at 3.9% — the gap is 27.6 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 | 31.5% | 12 months | 4,572 | 41,844 |
| Suspension | 23.3% | 12 months | 4,712 | 113,239 |
| Steering | 20.7% | 12 months | 5,509 | 16,977 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 13.3% | 12 months | 4,798 | 85,137 |
| Brakes | 11.4% | 12 months | 4,802 | 195,627 |
| Visibility | 11.0% | 12 months | 5,292 | 889 |
| Tyres | 10.3% | 12 months | 5,094 | 234,732 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 8.5% | 12 months | 4,352 | 6,385 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 6.8% | 12 months | 4,650 | 59,040 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 3.9% | 12 months | 5,252 | 14,198 |
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 31 in 100 cars, and the median gap is 12 months and roughly 4,572 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 C3?
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment after a failure at age 20+ are highest at 37.5%; Visibility after a passed at age <3 is lowest at 2.1% — the gap is 35.3 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 2.8% · Tyres 2.6% · Visibility 2.1% | 35,914 |
| <3 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 4.2% · Tyres 4.0% · Brakes 3.4% | 10,562 |
| <3 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 5.9% · Visibility 4.1% · Tyres 3.9% | 4,558 |
| 3-5 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 4.6% · Tyres 3.6% · Visibility 3.5% | 102,259 |
| 3-5 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 6.9% · Tyres 6.0% · Visibility 4.7% | 56,830 |
| 3-5 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 10.9% · Tyres 6.8% · Visibility 6.1% | 34,898 |
| 6-8 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 8.4% · Suspension 5.9% · Body, chassis, structure 5.6% | 81,076 |
| 6-8 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 11.9% · Suspension 7.5% · Body, chassis, structure 7.3% | 64,270 |
| 6-8 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 17.8% · Suspension 11.7% · Body, chassis, structure 11.0% | 68,289 |
| 9-11 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 13.5% · Suspension 11.2% · Body, chassis, structure 8.0% | 63,820 |
| 9-11 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 18.2% · Suspension 14.0% · Body, chassis, structure 9.9% | 64,432 |
| 9-11 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 25.2% · Suspension 18.7% · Body, chassis, structure 13.7% | 95,169 |
| 12-14 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 17.0% · Suspension 14.1% · Body, chassis, structure 9.5% | 36,337 |
| 12-14 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 23.5% · Suspension 19.1% · Body, chassis, structure 12.0% | 41,573 |
| 12-14 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 30.2% · Suspension 24.0% · Body, chassis, structure 15.4% | 66,926 |
| 15-19 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 20.2% · Suspension 17.3% · Visibility 7.9% | 22,674 |
| 15-19 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 29.3% · Suspension 23.9% · Visibility 11.7% | 29,573 |
| 15-19 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 37.4% · Suspension 28.8% · Visibility 14.2% | 49,448 |
| 20+ | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 21.2% · Suspension 20.5% · Brakes 9.2% | 532 |
| 20+ | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 31.4% · Suspension 26.0% · Body, chassis, structure 12.2% | 772 |
| 20+ | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 37.5% · Suspension 28.1% · Visibility 14.0% | 1,366 |
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 C3 ownership: what six years of MOTs show
The ten-day re-test pass rate is highest at 50.1%; The later re-test pass rate is lowest at 2.5% — the gap is 47.6 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Failing is usually a same-week event, not a disaster. Of 303,168 failures followed through to their re-test, 47.46% were repaired and passed the same day and 50.05% within ten days; the median gap is 1 day. 835,913 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 0.685 failures per 10,000 miles, on a median of 4,369 miles a year across 231,966 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. 30.27% of these cars strung together three or more tests with nothing recorded at all, while 34.57% 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: 1.366% of 232,137 chains show a reading lower than the previous test, with a median drop of 17,568 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 C3 safety recalls and how to check yours
DVSA recall campaigns stand out at 83.
bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone
recall campaigns launched per year
| Reference | Launched | Vehicles | Concern |
|---|---|---|---|
R/2026/122 | 30/03/2026 | 4,457 | Alarm triggered randomly - BCM software |
R/2026/068 | 10/03/2026 | 676 | Power Steering Wiring Harness. |
R/2026/073 | 09/03/2026 | 1,694 | Alternator protection |
R/2026/058 | 02/02/2026 | 1,180 | Citroen C3 Front Camera Software versions update. |
R/2025/487 | 19/12/2025 | 1,572 | Citroen C3 v5 Autonomous telematics box cannot connect to server |
All 83 campaigns
| Reference | Launched | Build dates | Vehicles | Concern |
|---|---|---|---|---|
R/2026/122 | 30/03/2026 | 15/01/2025 – 09/02/2026 | 4,457 | Alarm triggered randomly - BCM software |
R/2026/068 | 10/03/2026 | 21/02/2025 – 31/05/2025 | 676 | Power Steering Wiring Harness. |
R/2026/073 | 09/03/2026 | 22/11/2024 – 22/12/2025 | 1,694 | Alternator protection |
R/2026/058 | 02/02/2026 | 02/04/2024 – 07/05/2025 | 1,180 | Citroen C3 Front Camera Software versions update. |
R/2025/487 | 19/12/2025 | 04/06/2024 – 07/05/2025 | 1,572 | Citroen C3 v5 Autonomous telematics box cannot connect to server |
R/2025/514 | 21/11/2025 | 15/05/2025 – 01/11/2025 | 962 | Citroen C3 C3 Aircross Brake Pedal Bracket Connection. |
R/2025/346 | 18/08/2025 | 12/09/2017 – 28/11/2020 | 50 | Emission recall – On Board Diagnostics |
R/2025/283 | 18/07/2025 | 23/03/2024 – 23/04/2025 | 1,002 | Citroen Fuel Pipe |
R/2025/247 | 03/07/2025 | 04/10/2017 – 31/01/2023 | 852 | Citroen DV5R Engines Camshaft Chain. |
R/2025/142 | 09/04/2025 | 16/11/2024 – 25/02/2025 | 531 | Citroen C3 Front seat pretentioner wires inverted. |
R/2025/021 | 07/03/2025 | 24/09/2008 – 21/02/2017 | 55,166 | Citroen C3 DS3 Driver and Passenger Airbag (Takata) |
R/2025/074 | 19/02/2025 | 07/10/2022 – 20/06/2024 | 10,574 | Citroen C3 Jet cooling nozzle failure |
R/2025/022 | 10/12/2024 | 24/09/2008 – 21/02/2017 | 21 | Citroen C3 DS3 Driver and Passenger Airbag (Takata) |
R/2024/136 | 13/03/2024 | 03/01/2022 – 09/10/2022 | 569 | Cross carline Engine software |
R/2023/335 | 23/11/2023 | 24/10/2023 – 30/10/2023 | 17 | On affected vehicles the fuel tank is not to specification due to a deviation in the manuf |
R/2023/220 | 21/07/2023 | 24/05/2022 – 15/06/2022 | 372 | Affected vehicles may have been fitted with a rear axle crossmember that was not manufactu |
R/2023/036 | 13/12/2022 | 03/04/2017 – 06/07/2020 | 13,740 | On the affected vehicles the operation of the brake vacuum pump may be affected by materia |
R/2023/046 | 13/12/2022 | 16/01/2017 – 03/04/2017 | 652 | On the affected vehicles the operation of the brake vacuum pump may be affected by materia |
R/2022/042 | 10/02/2022 | 09/12/2021 – 09/12/2021 | 1 | VEHICLES MAY HAVE AN INCORRECT TIGHTENING TORQUE ON SEVERAL REAR AXLE COMPONENT FIXINGS |
R/2021/418 | 02/12/2021 | 10/04/2021 – 21/04/2021 | 19 | THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE DRIVE SHAFT OUTER JOINT MAY BREAK |
R/2021/214 | 09/06/2021 | 03/01/2020 – 24/03/2021 | 8 | THE FRONT LOWER BALL JOINT LOCATING BOLT AND FIXING NUT MIGHT HAVE BEEN INCORRECTLY TIGHTE |
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/2020/327 | 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/2019/339 | 17/09/2020 | 02/09/2009 – 12/04/2017 | 1,080 | FRONT AIR BAG IGNITERS MAY NOT DEPLOY CORRECTLY |
R/2020/165 | 26/05/2020 | 12/09/2019 – 18/03/2020 | 10 | THE STEERING GEOMETRY COULD BE INCORRECTLY SET |
R/2019/353 | 18/10/2019 | 01/02/2017 – 12/04/2019 | 16,144 | THE CALIBRATION OF THE ENGINE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE COULD RESULT IN EMISSIONS OF NOx WHICH D |
R/2019/009 | 14/01/2019 | 04/07/2018 – 12/07/2018 | 78 | THE STEERING COLUMN UNIVERSAL JOINT CLAMP MAY BE INCORRECTLY FITTED TO THE STEERING COLUMN |
R/2018/197 | 26/07/2018 | 11/01/2018 – 22/01/2018 | 392 | STEERING COLUMN BEARING POSSIBLY CRIMPED TO THE INCORRECT SPECIFICATION. |
R/2017/339 | 15/12/2017 | 01/10/2017 – 30/11/2017 | 75 | ENGINE COMPONENT MAY NOT BE TO SPECIFICATION |
R/2017/180 | 30/06/2017 | 04/01/2017 – 22/02/2017 | 8 | LEFT HAND CURTAIN AIRBAG MAY NOT BE TO SPECIFICATION |
R/2017/181 | 30/06/2017 | 04/01/2017 – 22/02/2017 | 5 | RIGHT HAND CURTAIN AIRBAG MAY NOT CONFORM TO SPECIFICATION |
R/2017/139 | 24/04/2017 | 15/06/2016 – 11/10/2016 | 3,607 | STARTER MOTOR MAY NOT OPERATE CORRECTLY |
R/2017/089 | 07/03/2017 | 08/09/2016 – 14/10/2016 | 65 | FRONT AIRBAG MAY NOT DEPLOY |
R/2016/229 | 17/10/2016 | 01/04/2016 – 21/04/2016 | 787 | LOSS OF CONTROL |
R/2016/042 | 10/03/2016 | 25/01/2016 – 15/02/2016 | 17 | OIL LEAK MAY DAMAGE ENGINE |
R/2015/061 | 13/03/2015 | 03/12/2014 – 03/12/2014 | 24 | DIRECTIONAL CONTROL MAY BE AFFECTED |
R/2014/083 | 24/07/2014 | 04/06/2014 – 16/06/2014 | 28 | VEHICLE CONTROL MAY BE LOST |
R/2014/047 | 14/05/2014 | 10/10/2013 – 19/11/2013 | 3,092 | DIRECTIONAL CONTROL MAY BE COMPROMISED |
R/2014/025 | 26/02/2014 | 07/01/2014 – 15/01/2014 | 279 | FUEL MAY LEAK AND CREATE FIRE RISK |
R/2013/068 | 07/06/2013 | 25/03/2013 – 26/03/2013 | 19 | REAR SCREEN MAY DETACH |
R/2012/129 | 14/11/2012 | 26/05/2010 – 26/08/2010 | 1,169 | ENGINE MAY FAIL |
R/2012/126 | 02/11/2012 | 12/07/2012 – 12/07/2012 | 49 | BRAKE EFFICIENCY COULD BE REDUCED |
R/2012/123 | 24/10/2012 | 09/07/2012 – 28/08/2012 | 129 | WHEEL BOLTS MAY BECOME LOOSE |
R/2012/076 | 09/07/2012 | 21/10/2010 – 19/05/2011 | 123 | ENGINE MAY CUT OUT |
R/2012/074 | 06/07/2012 | 07/06/2011 – 27/01/2012 | 963 | ABS/ESP MAY NOT OPERATE CORRECTLY |
R/2012/062 | 01/05/2012 | 08/11/2010 – 29/04/2011 | 981 | ENGINE MAY CUT OUT |
R/2012/033 | 19/03/2012 | 04/02/2010 – 05/02/2010 | 2 | THE AMOUNT OF POWER STEERING ASSISTANCE MAY VARY |
R/2012/022 | 07/03/2012 | 29/10/2010 – 22/02/2011 | 2,712 | ENGINE MAY CUT OUT |
R/2012/005 | 25/01/2012 | 02/11/2010 – 09/11/2010 | 1,276 | ENGINE MAY CUT OUT |
R/2011/165 | 09/12/2011 | 22/06/2011 – 13/09/2011 | 7 | SUSPENSION FIXINGS MAY LOOSEN |
R/2011/156 | 24/11/2011 | 07/04/2010 – 21/05/2010 | 589 | ENGINE MAY CUT OUT |
R/2011/137 | 11/10/2011 | 19/07/2011 – 19/07/2011 | 25 | AIRBAG MAY NOT DEPLOY CORRECTLY |
R/2011/120 | 02/09/2011 | 07/01/2011 – 23/05/2011 | 9,175 | ENGINE MAY CUT OUT |
R/2011/113 | 30/08/2011 | 12/04/2011 – 14/04/2011 | 34 | TAILGATE MAY NOT SECURE CORRECTLY |
R/2011/104 | 11/08/2011 | 06/01/2010 – 03/07/2010 | 1,057 | MAY CAUSE DAMAGE TO DRIVE BELTS |
R/2011/087 | 14/07/2011 | 11/01/2010 – 01/07/2010 | 3,773 | PARKING BRAKE MAY NOT APPLY FULLY |
R/2011/062 | 20/05/2011 | 05/01/2011 – 02/02/2011 | 22 | BRAKE SERVO MAY NOT CONFORM TO SPECIFICATION |
R/2011/003 | 17/01/2011 | 20/07/2010 – 21/07/2010 | 38 | REAR SEAT SECURITY MAY FAIL IN AN IMPACT |
R/2010/192 | 05/11/2010 | 10/05/2010 – 17/10/2010 | 72 | ENGINE MAY FAIL |
R/2010/155 | 05/10/2010 | 04/07/2007 – 27/03/2008 | 12,950 | LIGHTS MAY FAIL WITHOUT WARNING |
R/2010/155 | 05/10/2010 | 04/07/2007 – 27/03/2008 | 12,950 | LIGHTS MAY FAIL WITHOUT WARNING |
R/2010/146 | 22/09/2010 | 04/01/2010 – 16/06/2010 | 44 | FUEL MAY LEAK |
R/2010/136 | 16/09/2010 | 23/12/2009 – 23/06/2010 | 67 | BONNET MAY BE INSECURE |
R/2010/132 | 09/09/2010 | 04/02/2010 – 11/02/2010 | 16 | INCORRECT SUBFRAME BOLT TORQUE MAY AFFECT VEHICLE HANDLING |
R/2010/086 | 07/07/2010 | 11/09/2008 – 15/01/2010 | 7,760 | LOSS OF BRAKING EFFICIENCY |
R/2010/076 | 07/07/2010 | 05/01/2010 – 02/06/2010 | 36 | FRONT AXLE MAY DETACH |
R/2010/043 | 19/04/2010 | 114 | LOSS OF DRIVE | |
R/2009/113 | 19/10/2009 | 21/12/2006 – 27/03/2008 | 37,086 | LIGHTS MAY SWITCH OFF UNEXPECTEDLY |
R/2009/113 | 19/10/2009 | 21/12/2006 – 27/03/2008 | 37,086 | LIGHTS MAY SWITCH OFF UNEXPECTEDLY |
R/2009/096 | 14/10/2009 | 20/01/2009 – 17/02/2009 | 754 | PARKING BRAKE MAY FAIL |
R/2008/199 | 24/12/2008 | 01/02/2008 – 14/06/2008 | 6,031 | WIPERS / LIGHTS/ BATTERY CHARGING MAY BE AFFECTED. |
R/2008/199 | 24/12/2008 | 01/02/2008 – 14/06/2008 | 6,031 | WIPERS / LIGHTS/ BATTERY CHARGING MAY BE AFFECTED. |
R/2008/150 | 20/10/2008 | 14/01/2008 – 18/03/2008 | 4,652 | FRONT SUSPENSION WISHBONE COULD BECOME LOOSE |
R/2008/150 | 20/10/2008 | 14/01/2008 – 18/03/2008 | 4,652 | FRONT SUSPENSION WISHBONE COULD BECOME LOOSE |
R/2006/225 | 19/12/2006 | 21/06/2006 – 31/08/2006 | 4,032 | BRAKING EFFICIENCY MAY REDUCE |
R/2006/051 | 28/03/2006 | 18/10/2005 – 17/12/2005 | 9,868 | ACCELERATOR PEDAL RETURNS TOO SLOWLY |
R/2005/185 | 15/12/2005 | 01/09/2005 – 22/11/2005 | 6,772 | POSSIBLE LOSS OF BRAKING EFFICIENCY |
R/2005/147 | 26/10/2005 | 01/11/2001 – 30/11/2003 | 56,604 | SUSPENSION SPRINGS MAY BREAK |
R/2005/020 | 08/02/2005 | 01/10/2004 – 01/10/2004 | 64 | THE SECURING NUTS OF THE SUNROOF MAY FAIL |
R/2004/022 | 22/03/2004 | 01/10/2001 – 01/01/2004 | 381 | ROOF BARS MAY SLIP |
R/2003/016 | 21/01/2003 | 01/09/2002 – 30/11/2002 | 5,032 | WATER INGRESS MAY CAUSE ANTI LOCK BRAKE CONTROL UNIT TO MALFUNCTION |
R/2002/174 | 13/12/2002 | 01/07/2002 – 31/07/2002 | 361 | PASSENGER AIRBAG MAY NOT COMPLETELY DEPLOY |
R/2002/121 | 13/09/2002 | 01/01/2002 – 31/08/2002 | 2,828 | FRONT SUSPENSION BALL JOINT CONCERN |
DVSA lists 83 safety recall campaigns for the Citroen C3, covering roughly 400,644 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 C3 inspection results in other countries
United Kingdom MOT stands out at 35.3%, 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) | 35.28% | 26.01% | +9.3 pp | 194,555 |
| Netherlands | APK | 54.2% | 50.8% | +3.4 pp | 54,954 |
| Finland | Katsastus | 35% | 26.3% | +8.7 pp | 8,157 |
| Norway | PKK | 38.4% | 33.7% | +4.7 pp | 2,738 |
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.
| Fault area | Share |
|---|---|
| Axles, wheels and suspension | 40.3% |
| Brake systems | 18.9% |
| Chassis and body | 14.2% |
| Environmental hazards | 11.3% |
| Steering equipment | 9.1% |
Useful as a cross-check on the UK defect table above: the categories are named differently, but a component that dominates in both regimes is a genuine weak point of the model rather than an artefact of one country's testing style.
| Code | Fault | Recorded | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
210 | Tyre pressure not at the correct value | 10,942 | failure |
497 | Number-plate light not working or missing | 6,068 | failure |
205 | Tyre with insufficient tread | 5,804 | failure |
516 | Dipped headlight incorrectly aimed | 4,244 | failure |
576 | Indicator colour wrong or not permitted | 4,227 | failure |
203 | Tyre damaged | 4,157 | failure |
AC1 | Tyre down to 1.6–2.5 mm of tread | 3,339 | advisory |
584 | Sidelight not working properly | 3,337 | failure |
Worth dwelling on how mundane the top of that list is: tyre pressure, tread depth, headlight aim. The Dutch APK records 1.412 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 C3 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 C3 MOT: quick answers
Citroen C3 MOT Risk Index stands out at 118.8, 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 C3 first-time MOT pass rate?
- 64.72% of first attempts passed in 2024 (194,555 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 35.28% figure is the first-time initial failure rate, using 194,555 primary tests as the denominator (first-time, excluding retests). The age-adjusted MOT initial-failure ratio 118.8 is shown separately because raw rates compare fleet age as well as cars.
Compare the Citroen C3 with other cars
Peugeot 208 is highest at 119.5; Nissan Qashqai is lowest at 118.2 — the gap is 1.3 points.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
Same brand
All Citroen MOT statisticsCitroen C3 Aircross MOT statsCitroen C1 MOT stats
Similar risk
Vauxhall Corsa (index 118.7)Nissan Qashqai (index 118.2)Peugeot 208 (index 119.5)
Same size class
how Seat Ibiza compareshow Ford Mondeo compareshow Volkswagen Passat compares
By build year
Citroen C3 2002Citroen C3 2003Citroen C3 2004Citroen C3 2005Citroen C3 2006Citroen C3 2007Citroen C3 2008Citroen C3 2009Citroen C3 2010Citroen C3 2011Citroen C3 2012Citroen C3 2013Citroen C3 2014Citroen C3 2015Citroen C3 2016Citroen C3 2017Citroen C3 2018Citroen C3 2019Citroen C3 2020
By area
Citroen C3 MOT failure rate by postcode area
By failure group
Citroen C3 body, chassis and structure failuresCitroen C3 brakes failuresCitroen C3 vehicle identification failuresCitroen C3 lamps, reflectors and electrics failuresCitroen C3 noise, emissions and leaks failuresCitroen C3 road wheels failuresCitroen C3 seat belts and airbags failuresCitroen C3 steering failuresCitroen C3 suspension failuresCitroen C3 tyres failuresCitroen C3 visibility failures
Inspections abroad
Citroen C3 in NorwayCitroen C3 in FinlandCitroen C3 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-c3:dvsa-2024-v2. Full method: methodology.
Cite: MOT Risk Index (2026). Citroen C3 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-c3/ · Published 2026-07-30.