Does the Citroen Xsara fail the MOT on body, chassis and structure more than it should?
The Citroen Xsara records 22.90 body, chassis and structure failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 12.51 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+10.39, 95% interval +10.23 to +10.55). It ranks 41 of 663 models on body, chassis and structure (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on body, chassis and structure · check a Citroen Xsara by registration
What exactly fails on body, chassis and structure?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Citroen Xsara is “A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc”, recorded 19,471 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 19,471 | 5.95 |
| Exhaust system leaking or insecure | 14,154 | 4.33 |
| Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced | 12,097 | 3.70 |
| A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated | 11,611 | 3.55 |
| Body, cab or chassis excessively corroded at a mounting point | 7,197 | 2.20 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 327,241 (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 Xsara gets a body, chassis and structure advisory, how often does it fail next time?
24.0% of Citroen Xsara MOTs with a body, chassis and structure advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.1 months and 4,419 miles later (24,914 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 24,914 (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 Xsara 1998 · Citroen Xsara 1999 · Citroen Xsara 2000 · Citroen Xsara 2001 · Citroen Xsara 2002 · Citroen Xsara 2003 · Citroen Xsara 2004 · Citroen Xsara 2005 · Citroen Xsara 2006 · Citroen Xsara 2007 · Citroen Xsara 2008 · Citroen Xsara 2009 · Citroen Xsara 2010 · Citroen Xsara in Finland · Citroen Xsara in the Netherlands · Citroen Xsara by postcode area · Citroen Xsara brakes failures · Citroen Xsara vehicle identification failures · Citroen Xsara lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Citroen Xsara noise, emissions and leaks failures · Citroen Xsara road wheels failures · Citroen Xsara seat belts and airbags failures · Citroen Xsara steering failures · Citroen Xsara suspension failures · Citroen Xsara tyres failures · Citroen Xsara visibility failures