Citroen C5 2003: MOT failure rate for its age

45.4% of 4,434 MOT tests of the Citroen C5 first registered in 2003 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 96.0 (95% CI 91.8–100.2; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2003 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age.

Citroen C5 built in 2003 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	45.4	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	4434
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 91.8–100.2)	96.0	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	4434
Rank among this model's 18 build years	6	of 18	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	4434
Tested in 2024	291	tests	median 112,288 miles	2024	291

Built 2003 against Citroen C5 normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 16: 47.4% vs 50.3%; age 17: 45.7% vs 47.3%; age 18: 43.8% vs 45.9%; age 19: 43.8% vs 45.2%; age 20: 42.8% vs 41.9%; age 21: 41.9% vs n/a%. Axis from 0% to 60%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2003 Citroen C5 by registration · All Citroen C5 MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2003 Citroen C5 fail at each age?

Cars built in 2003 were tested at ages 16 to 21 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Citroen C5 built 2003: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
16	1,573	47.4	44.9–49.8	50.3	94.2
17	1,041	45.7	42.7–48.8	47.3	96.7
18	799	43.8	40.4–47.3	45.9	95.5
19	591	43.8	39.9–47.9	45.2	97
20	430 (rough estimate)	42.8	38.2–47.5	41.9	102.2
21	291 (rough estimate)	41.9	36.4–47.7	not available	not available

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 4,725 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2003 Citroen C5?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2003 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 44.5 items per 100 first tests, against 29.4 across all build years of the Citroen C5. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2003 were tested at ages 16 to 21.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Citroen C5 built 2003 against the Citroen C5 in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2003, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	44.5	29.4	2,102
Brakes	32.3	15.1	1,527
Suspension	27.7	17	1,308
Visibility	17.3	8.2	816
Body, chassis, structure	13.1	13.2	619

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 4,725 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2003 compare with the years around it?

Among the 18 published build years of the Citroen C5, 2003 ranks 6 (1 = fails least for its age). 2002: index 96.9. 2004: index 99.7.

Citroen C5 build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2001	104.7	95.6–113.8	no different (rough estimate)	1,020
2002	96.9	92.0–101.8	no different (rough estimate)	3,209
2003	96.0	91.8–100.2	no different	4,434
2004	99.7	95.5–103.9	no different	4,581
2005	102.0	97.5–106.5	no different (rough estimate)	4,128
2006	99.8	95.9–103.7	no different	5,325
2007	102.0	97.7–106.3	no different	4,612
2008	98.6	96.0–101.2	no different	12,415
2009	101.2	99.0–103.5	no different	17,260
2010	98.0	95.0–100.9	no different	10,125
2011	87.3	83.0–91.7	better	4,480
2012	81.0	75.4–86.6	better (rough estimate)	2,613
2013	89.5	83.0–96.0	better (rough estimate)	2,319
2014	86.9	78.4–95.5	better (rough estimate)	1,467
2015	89.7	79.2–100.2	no different (rough estimate)	1,183
2016	101.4	85.0–117.7	no different (rough estimate)	648
2019	105.4	101.8–109.0	worse	19,829
2020	100.2	95.1–105.4	no different	10,042

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 109,690 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Citroen C5 2003 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/citroen-c5/2003/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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