Pass rate
93.3%
Above average — 2.1 pts ahead of the 91.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 15,870 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £31–£80
2021 Citroen C3 MOT pass rate
- 2021
- typical 23,815 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
39.3% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£40 for Brake pads under 1.5 mm. What fitting it takes →
1.6 pts up across model years — 1.8% in 2002, 3.4% in 2022.
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
- 92.9%
- Typical mileage
- 24k mi
The 2021 Citroen C3 MOT pass rate is 93.3% of its MOT tests — 2.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 39.3% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.9× the national share
Brakes make up 39.3% of everything recorded on the 2021 Citroen C3, against 20.9% nationally — 18.4 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 30% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
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 2021 Citroen C3 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 91.2%, so this figure is 2.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 92.9%. The median 2021 Citroen C3 in this dataset had covered 23,815 mi.
98% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 93.4% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 93.3% of the time, April–September 93.3%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords", noted on 1.13% of tests.
- 15,870 recorded tests behind this page.
- 93.3% overall pass rate, 92.9% 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
- 15,870
- Typical mileage (median)
- 23,815 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
Tyres
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the C3 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 64% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (98% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| North West | 2,086 | 94.5% |
| South East | 2,054 | 92.9% |
| Scotland | 1,979 | 91.8% |
| Yorkshire | 1,784 | 93.8% |
| South West | 1,632 | 92.3% |
| West Midlands | 1,444 | 92.8% |
| East of England | 1,358 | 93.7% |
| North East | 1,115 | 94.5% |
| East Midlands | 1,069 | 92.9% |
| Wales | 1,014 | 94.0% |
| London | 335 | 94.6% |
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 2021 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 2021 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 brakes 0.9% of tests
“brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick”
Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.
-
Check the lights 0.6% of tests
“headlamp aim too high”
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 tyre tread 0.5% of tests
“tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm”
Check all four tyres cold, including the inner shoulder where wear hides — 1.6mm across the central three-quarters is the legal limit, and most testers fail at 1.6mm without argument.
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 2021 C3 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £31–£80 — and 30% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £31–£80
- Cheapest common item: side repeaters lens defective
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot split or…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 30%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 15,870 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 2021 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 2021 cars with a similar record
- Nissan Juke 93.3%
- Mazda Mx-30 93.3%
- Nissan Qashqai Nconncta 93.3%
- Ford Fiesta 93.4%
- Mercedes-Benz Gla 93.4%
- Nissan Micra 93.4%
Closest pass rates among 2021 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 2021 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 10,006 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 3,946 | 39.30% | 20.89% | +18.41 |
| Tyres | 3,050 | 30.40% | 19.76% | +10.64 |
| Non-component advisories | 877 | 8.70% | 4.18% | +4.52 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 741 | 7.40% | 12.21% | −4.81 |
| Suspension | 474 | 4.70% | 20.98% | −16.28 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 342 | 3.40% | 5.57% | −2.17 |
| Visibility | 330 | 3.30% | 4.97% | −1.67 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 171 | 1.70% | 5.52% | −3.82 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 44 | 0.40% | 1.76% | −1.36 |
| Road Wheels | 31 | 0.30% | 0.75% | −0.45 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.1% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 0.91% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Major | 0.72% | £45–110 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.64% | £30–80 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.56% | £5–25 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 0.55% | £80–250 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 0.50% | £45–95 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.49% | £5–25 |
| Side repeaters lens defective which has no effect on emitted light Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 0.44% | £3–15 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 0.42% | £8–22 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.5% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 9.4% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Advisory | 6.0% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 5.5% | £18–45 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 4.3% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Nail in tyre Non-component advisories | Advisory | 2.5% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 10,568 | 95.2% | 18,146 mi |
| 30-60k | 4,749 | 90.1% | 40,120 mi |
| 60-90k | 481 | 85.7% | 70,173 mi |
| 90-120k | 59 | 78.0% | 100,588 mi |
| 120k+ | 11 | 72.7% | 138,416 mi |
Source: 15,870 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.
2021 C3 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2021 Citroen C3?
93.3% of the 15,870 2021 Citroen C3 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 91.2% for cars first used in 2021. First-attempt pass rate: 92.9%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2021 Citroen C3?
The three most recorded items are has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.13%), brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (0.91%), brake discs significantly and obviously worn (0.72%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2021 Citroen C3 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 95.2% of the time, falling to 72.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2021 Citroen C3 in this dataset had covered 23,815 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2021 Citroen C3?
Petrol: 93.4% pass rate across 15,569 tests. Diesel: 85.7% pass rate across 301 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2021 Citroen C3 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 93.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 93.3%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.