Pass rate
70.6%
Below average — 3.4 pts behind the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 38,150 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £27–£83
2009 Citroen C3 MOT pass rate
- 2009
- typical 87,299 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
21.0% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 95.7% pass
- Avoid 2003 68.2% pass
Across the 22 years on record, a spread of 27.5 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 60.2%
- Typical mileage
- 87k mi
The 2009 Citroen C3 MOT pass rate is 70.6% of its MOT tests — 3.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 21.0% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 1.4× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 17.3% of everything recorded on the 2009 Citroen C3, against 12.2% nationally — 5.1 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 21.0%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Walk round the car with the lights on before the test: bulbs, indicators and number-plate lamps are the cheapest failures to prevent and among the most common.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 74.0%; this one manages 70.6% — 3.4 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 55% of the repairs this model fails on cost under £30 in parts. The pass rate matters less than what a bad afternoon at the test centre actually costs you.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Citroen C3? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2009 Citroen C3 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 3.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 60.2%. The median 2009 Citroen C3 in this dataset had covered 87,299 mi.
58% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 69.4% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 70.4% of the time, April–September 70.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 9.44% of tests.
- 38,150 recorded tests behind this page.
- 70.6% overall pass rate, 60.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Citroen C3, the average is 77.7% — best year 2023 (95.7%), worst 2003 (68.2%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 38,150
- Typical mileage (median)
- 87,299 mi
- Make and model
- Citroen C3
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the C3 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (58% of tests).
Where the Citroen C3 is most common
Across all C3 model years on record (2002–2023): 274,772 Citroen C3 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 710,110 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 8,507 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 8,507 | 81.7% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 7,022 | 79.6% |
| 3 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 6,562 | 77.8% |
| 4 | Cardiff (CF) | 5,604 | 75.2% |
| 5 | Peterborough (PE) | 5,544 | 78.8% |
| 6 | Nottingham (NG) | 5,208 | 76.3% |
| 7 | Bristol (BS) | 5,068 | 75.5% |
| 8 | Coventry (CV) | 4,698 | 80.2% |
| 9 | Portsmouth (PO) | 4,621 | 76.9% |
| 10 | Manchester (M) | 4,544 | 79.5% |
| 11 | Swansea (SA) | 4,530 | 77.7% |
| 12 | Glasgow (G) | 4,443 | 77.7% |
| 13 | Doncaster (DN) | 4,254 | 77.5% |
| 14 | Leicester (LE) | 4,188 | 78.7% |
| 15 | Derby (DE) | 4,171 | 79.5% |
| 16 | Plymouth (PL) | 4,150 | 73.7% |
| 17 | Brighton (BN) | 3,896 | 76.6% |
| 18 | Norwich (NR) | 3,845 | 77.0% |
| 19 | Edinburgh (EH) | 3,740 | 74.3% |
| 20 | Ashford (TN) | 3,737 | 78.2% |
The twenty areas with the most Citroen C3 cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the C3
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 6,123 | 72.6% |
| South West | 5,994 | 67.9% |
| North West | 4,850 | 69.8% |
| Yorkshire | 4,010 | 70.4% |
| East of England | 3,934 | 72.9% |
| West Midlands | 3,847 | 73.0% |
| East Midlands | 2,635 | 70.5% |
| Wales | 2,445 | 68.6% |
| North East | 1,877 | 69.1% |
| Scotland | 1,713 | 66.4% |
| London | 719 | 79.6% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2009 C3
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2009 C3
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the lights 9.4% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the suspension joints 5.0% of tests
“ball joint excessively worn”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the windscreen 2.7% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2009 C3 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £27–£83 — and 55% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £27–£83
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot split or…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 55%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 38,150 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the C3, side by side
22 model years on record, from 2002 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.2% to 95.7% — a spread of 27.5 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2002 68.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2003 68.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 69.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 69.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 70.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 70.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 69.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 70.6%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 70.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 72.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 74.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 75.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 77.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 80.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 81.4% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2017 83.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2018 86.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2019 89.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2020 92.5% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 93.3% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 94.0% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2023 95.7% headlamp aim too high
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2009 Citroen C3 with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2009 cars with a similar record
- Suzuki Splash 70.6%
- Vauxhall Zafira 70.7%
- Volkswagen Fox 70.7%
- Chevrolet Matiz 70.7%
- Suzuki SX4 70.7%
- Kia Carens 70.7%
Closest pass rates among 2009 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2009 Citroen C3 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 106,181 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 22,653 | 21.00% | 20.98% | +0.02 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 18,681 | 17.30% | 12.21% | +5.09 |
| Brakes | 18,513 | 17.20% | 20.89% | −3.69 |
| Tyres | 15,463 | 14.40% | 19.76% | −5.36 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 10,325 | 9.60% | 5.57% | +4.03 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 9,553 | 8.90% | 5.52% | +3.38 |
| Visibility | 4,817 | 4.50% | 4.97% | −0.47 |
| Non-component advisories | 2,899 | 2.70% | 4.18% | −1.48 |
| Steering | 1,937 | 1.80% | 2.57% | −0.77 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1,340 | 1.20% | 1.76% | −0.56 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 9.4% | £5–20 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 5.0% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 4.9% | £80–250 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.4% | £3–12 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.4% | £5–25 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.2% | £80–250 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.7% | £80–200 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 2.5% | £25–65 |
| Washers not working Visibility | Major | 2.3% | £5–15 |
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.2% | £5–25 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 21.0% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 19.9% | £45–110 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 15.2% | £200–700 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 10.5% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 9.9% | £40–150 |
| Exhaust system system insecure Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 6.7% | £45–120 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 990 | 82.9% | 22,831 mi |
| 30-60k | 6,449 | 76.0% | 47,916 mi |
| 60-90k | 12,932 | 71.0% | 75,879 mi |
| 90-120k | 11,366 | 68.1% | 103,554 mi |
| 120k+ | 6,397 | 66.9% | 141,253 mi |
Source: 38,150 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2009 C3 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 Citroen C3?
70.6% of the 38,150 2009 Citroen C3 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 60.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 Citroen C3?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (9.44%), ball joint excessively worn (4.95%), joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (4.86%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 Citroen C3 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 82.9% of the time, falling to 66.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 Citroen C3 in this dataset had covered 87,299 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2009 Citroen C3?
Diesel: 69.4% pass rate across 22,186 tests. Petrol: 72.3% pass rate across 15,964 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2009 Citroen C3 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 70.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 70.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.