Pass rate
71.8%
Below average — 2.2 pts behind the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 131 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £28–£90
2009 Citroen C4 Picasso MOT pass rate
- 2009
- typical 102,509 mi
Most common fault
Lamps & electrics
23.2% of faults · 12.2% nationally
Part only £6–£18 for Registration plate lamp inoperative (multiple lamps). What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2019 88.4% pass
- Avoid 2007 69.0% pass
Across the 13 years on record, a spread of 19.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 63.7%
- Typical mileage
- 103k mi
The 2009 Citroen C4 Picasso MOT pass rate is 71.8% of its MOT tests — 2.2 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Lamps & electrics is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.2% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Citroen C4 Picasso does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 1.9× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 23.2% of everything recorded on the 2009 Citroen C4 Picasso, against 12.2% nationally — 11.0 points above. 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.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 62% 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.
- Based on a small sample. 131 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 C4 Picasso? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2009 Citroen C4 Picasso compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 2.2 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 63.7%. The median 2009 Citroen C4 Picasso in this dataset had covered 102,509 mi.
91% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 70.6% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 71.4% of the time, April–September 72.1%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Position lamp not working", noted on 12.21% of tests.
- 131 recorded tests behind this page.
- 71.8% overall pass rate, 63.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Citroen C4 Picasso, the average is 82.2% — best year 2019 (88.4%), worst 2007 (69.0%).
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
- 131
- Typical mileage (median)
- 102,509 mi
- Make and model
- Citroen C4 Picasso
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Headlight Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the C4 Picasso 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 (91% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the C4 Picasso
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 32 | 78.1% |
| West Midlands | 18 | 72.2% |
| East of England | 17 | 76.5% |
| Yorkshire | 15 | 73.3% |
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 C4 Picasso
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 C4 Picasso
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 12.2% of tests
“position lamp not working”
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 windscreen 8.4% 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.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 5.3% of tests
“on or after 01/07/2008 emissions exceed manufacturer's specified limit”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
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 C4 Picasso through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £28–£90 — and 62% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £28–£90
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: on or after 01/07/2008 emissions exceed…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 62%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 131 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 C4 Picasso, side by side
13 model years on record, from 2007 to 2019. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.0% to 88.4% — a spread of 19.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2007 69.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 69.6% position lamp not working
- 2009 71.8%position lamp not working
- 2010 70.2% ball joint excessively worn
- 2011 70.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 75.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 73.4% linkage ball joint dust cover…
- 2014 75.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 79.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 81.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2017 83.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2018 86.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2019 88.4% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
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 C4 Picasso 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
- Renault Twingo 71.8%
- Renault Modus 71.8%
- Volvo C70 71.8%
- Ford Ka 71.9%
- Kia Picanto 71.9%
- Fiat Grande Punto 71.9%
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 C4 Picasso 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 362 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 85 | 23.20% | 12.21% | +10.99 |
| Brakes | 62 | 16.90% | 20.89% | −3.99 |
| Tyres | 55 | 15.00% | 19.76% | −4.76 |
| Suspension | 44 | 12.00% | 20.98% | −8.98 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 36 | 9.80% | 5.52% | +4.28 |
| Visibility | 29 | 7.90% | 4.97% | +2.93 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 27 | 7.40% | 5.57% | +1.83 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 12 | 3.30% | 1.76% | +1.54 |
| Non-component advisories | 9 | 2.50% | 4.18% | −1.68 |
| Steering | 3 | 0.80% | 2.57% | −1.77 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 12.2% | £5–25 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 10.7% | £5–20 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 8.4% | £80–200 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 6.1% | £3–12 |
| On or after 01/07/2008 emissions exceed manufacturer's specified limit Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 5.3% | £60–250 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 4.6% | £5–25 |
| Mirrors slightly damaged Visibility | Minor | 3.8% | £3–15 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.0% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.0% | £80–250 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.0% | £80–250 |
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 | 21.4% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 15.3% | £200–700 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 13.7% | £45–110 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 13.0% | £40–150 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 8.4% | £18–45 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 8.4% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 3 | 66.7% | 58,402 mi |
| 60-90k | 38 | 76.3% | 78,804 mi |
| 90-120k | 42 | 69.0% | 101,708 mi |
| 120k+ | 48 | 70.8% | 148,797 mi |
Source: 131 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 C4 Picasso MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 Citroen C4 Picasso?
71.8% of the 131 2009 Citroen C4 Picasso tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 63.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 Citroen C4 Picasso?
The three most recorded items are position lamp not working (12.21%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (10.69%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (8.40%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 Citroen C4 Picasso MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 66.7% of the time, falling to 70.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 Citroen C4 Picasso in this dataset had covered 102,509 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2009 Citroen C4 Picasso?
Diesel: 70.6% pass rate across 119 tests. Petrol: 83.3% pass rate across 12 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2009 Citroen C4 Picasso MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 71.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 72.1%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.