Pass rate, every year
504,935 tests across 20 model years, 2004–2023.
−6.3 pts vs the national average
Pass rate, every year
504,935 tests across 20 model years, 2004–2023.
−6.3 pts vs the national average
Best year to buy
2023 92.8%
The strongest of the 20 years on record. See the 2023 page →
Worst year to buy
2004 64.4%
28.4 points below the 2023 peak. See the 2004 page →
The Citroen C4 MOT pass rate is 74.7%, −6.3 percentage points below the UK average. That is 504,935 DVSA MOT tests recorded between 2004 and 2023. This page lists the most common Citroen C4 MOT failures by category, names the best and worst model years, and finishes with a pre-MOT checklist you can run at home.
The Citroen C4 passed on its first attempt in 67.2%, and its overall record sits −6.3 percentage points below the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Citroen C4 in the 2023–2025 data: 504,935 tests across 20 model years (2004–2023). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.
| Measure | This model |
|---|---|
| Tests analysed | 504,935 |
| Overall pass rate | 74.7% |
| Passed on first attempt | 67.2% |
| Average mileage at test | 75,376 mi |
| Model years covered | 2004–2023 (20 years) |
| Versus UK national average | −6.3 pts below |
Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.
Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Citroen C4, the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.
| Inspection section | Share of failures |
|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 43% |
| Body, chassis, structure | 21% |
| Suspension | 17% |
| Visibility | 7% |
| Steering | 5% |
| Tyres | 3% |
| Brakes | 3% |
| Road Wheels | 0% |
Shares are over the Citroen C4's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.
Around 43% of the recorded Citroen C4 failures fall in the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (8.6%), "Stop lamp not working" (1.7%), "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps" (1.5%) among the Citroen C4's lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment faults.
Around 21% of the recorded Citroen C4 failures fall in the Body, chassis, structure section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt" (4.6%), "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated" (2.6%) among the Citroen C4's body, chassis, structure faults.
Around 17% of the recorded Citroen C4 failures fall in the Suspension section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Coil spring fractured or broken" (2.1%), "Ball joint excessively worn" (2.0%), "Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt" (1.0%) among the Citroen C4's suspension faults.
The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Citroen C4, each with how many of the model's 504,935 tests it was noted on.
3 failure items are recorded at least 1.5 times the UK rate on this model. One has a part guide — what to buy, which brands, and what the tester looks at next time.
| Failure item | This model | UK | × UK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CV boot split or insecure | 5.1% | 1.2% | 4.3× | £80–£250 |
| Registration plate lamp inoperative (single lamp) | 2.8% | 0.9% | 3.1× | £5–£20 |
| Registration plate lamp inoperative (multiple lamps) | 8.6% | 3.2% | 2.7× | £5–£20 part £6–£18 |
Rates are a share of this model's own tests (504,935 for the top row), so a big seller cannot outrank a rare one. The UK figure is the same item's share of every test in our data. Items C4 records at or below the UK rate are not listed — this is where it is unusual, not a full inventory. All failure items · parts and costs
The strongest Citroen C4 model year on record is 2023 (92.8% across 69 tests), and the weakest is 2004 (64.4%). The gap between them is 28.4 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.
Citroen C4 reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 1.4 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 C4 | 69 | 92.8% |
| 2022 C4 | 1,935 | 89.4% |
| 2021 C4 | 5,840 | 86.9% |
| 2020 C4 | 445 | 89.7% |
| 2019 C4 | 16,120 | 86.0% |
| 2018 C4 | 9,461 | 84.6% |
| 2017 C4 | 3,409 | 82.9% |
| 2016 C4 | 64,590 | 78.6% |
| 2015 C4 | 104,587 | 76.8% |
| 2014 C4 | 80,801 | 73.8% |
| 2013 C4 | 48,128 | 72.8% |
| 2012 C4 | 32,913 | 72.9% |
| 2011 C4 | 27,675 | 72.1% |
| 2010 C4 | 24,581 | 69.6% |
| 2009 C4 | 20,742 | 69.9% |
| 2008 C4 | 29,461 | 68.6% |
| 2007 C4 | 22,774 | 69.6% |
| 2006 C4 | 7,477 | 70.3% |
| 2005 C4 | 3,781 | 71.4% |
| 2004 C4 | 146 | 64.4% |
Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.
These checks follow this Citroen C4's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Citroen C4.
the lights — “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.
the windscreen — “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.
the coil springs — “coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Citroen C4. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.
Across every C4 model year on record (2004–2023): 199,734 Citroen C4 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 504,908 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 7,065 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) | 7,065 | 79.6% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 5,377 | 76.8% |
| 3 | Peterborough (PE) | 4,927 | 76.2% |
| 4 | Nottingham (NG) | 4,480 | 73.6% |
| 5 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 3,695 | 73.8% |
| 6 | Manchester (M) | 3,616 | 77.1% |
| 7 | Cardiff (CF) | 3,540 | 72.2% |
| 8 | Coventry (CV) | 3,537 | 77.0% |
| 9 | Doncaster (DN) | 3,442 | 74.1% |
| 10 | Leicester (LE) | 3,220 | 76.4% |
| 11 | Derby (DE) | 3,154 | 75.3% |
| 12 | Bristol (BS) | 2,949 | 72.1% |
| 13 | Portsmouth (PO) | 2,931 | 72.7% |
| 14 | Norwich (NR) | 2,818 | 73.5% |
| 15 | Glasgow (G) | 2,758 | 71.4% |
| 16 | Swansea (SA) | 2,631 | 72.8% |
| 17 | Edinburgh (EH) | 2,629 | 69.4% |
| 18 | Northampton (NN) | 2,582 | 73.4% |
| 19 | Preston (PR) | 2,488 | 75.5% |
| 20 | Brighton (BN) | 2,459 | 72.9% |
The twenty areas with the most Citroen C4 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 →
74.7% of the 504,935 recorded Citroen C4 MOT tests ended in a pass, −6.3 percentage points below the national average. 67.2% of those passed on the first attempt.
2023 is the strongest Citroen C4 year on record at 92.8%, while 2004 is the weakest at 64.4%. The year-by-year table below lists every model year with at least 50 recorded tests.
The most recorded Citroen C4 failures are "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" and "Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt" — together around 13% of tests, mostly in the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section.