Does the Citroen Xsara fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Citroen Xsara records 19.58 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 21.73 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−2.15, 95% interval −2.31 to −1.99). It ranks 459 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 Xsara by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Citroen Xsara is “Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded”, recorded 15,342 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | 15,342 | 4.69 |
| 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. | 6,162 | 1.88 |
| Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 5,251 | 1.60 |
| a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm | 5,158 | 1.58 |
| Warning device shows system malfunction | 4,246 | 1.30 |
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 brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?
17.2% of Citroen Xsara MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.1 months and 4,464 miles later (54,495 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 54,495 (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 body, chassis and structure 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