Does the Citroen Saxo fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Citroen Saxo records 34.12 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 25.27 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+8.85, 95% interval +8.29 to +9.41). It ranks 75 of 712 models on brakes (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on brakes · check a Citroen Saxo by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Citroen Saxo is “Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle.”, recorded 3,083 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle. | 3,083 | 7.36 |
| Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 2,063 | 4.92 |
| Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | 1,363 | 3.25 |
| Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 1,192 | 2.84 |
| Braking effort inadequate at a wheel | 937 | 2.24 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 41,905 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
If a Citroen Saxo gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?
21.5% of Citroen Saxo MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.1 months and 2,309 miles later (6,337 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 6,337 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
Citroen Saxo 1998 · Citroen Saxo 1999 · Citroen Saxo 2000 · Citroen Saxo 2001 · Citroen Saxo 2002 · Citroen Saxo 2003 · Citroen Saxo 2004 · Citroen Saxo in the Netherlands · Citroen Saxo by postcode area · Citroen Saxo body, chassis and structure failures · Citroen Saxo vehicle identification failures · Citroen Saxo lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Citroen Saxo noise, emissions and leaks failures · Citroen Saxo road wheels failures · Citroen Saxo seat belts and airbags failures · Citroen Saxo steering failures · Citroen Saxo suspension failures · Citroen Saxo tyres failures · Citroen Saxo visibility failures