Citroen Saxo MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Citroen Saxo MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Citroen Saxo passed on its first attempt in 62.6%, and its overall record sits −10.3 percentage points below the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Citroen Saxo in the 2023–2025 data: 12,259 tests across 5 model years (2000–2004). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common Citroen Saxo MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Citroen Saxo, 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.

Shares are over the Citroen Saxo's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Citroen Saxo DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Citroen Saxo, each with how many of the model's 12,259 tests it was noted on.

• "Service brake imbalance across an axle" (Major) — noted on about 620 Citroen Saxo tests, 5.1% of the model's MOT record.
• "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated" (Minor) — noted on about 567 Citroen Saxo tests, 4.6% of the model's MOT record.
• "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (Minor) — noted on about 502 Citroen Saxo tests, 4.1% of the model's MOT record.
• "Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength" (Major) — noted on about 473 Citroen Saxo tests, 3.9% of the model's MOT record.
• "Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt" (Major) — noted on about 447 Citroen Saxo tests, 3.6% of the model's MOT record.
• "Service brake performance efficiency below requirements" (Major) — noted on about 426 Citroen Saxo tests, 3.5% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Citroen Saxo Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Citroen Saxo model year on record is 2004 (72.7% across 209 tests), and the weakest is 2000 (69.2%). The gap between them is 3.5 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Citroen Saxo Owners

These checks follow this Citroen Saxo's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Citroen Saxo.

• 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.

• corrosion — “component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength”

  Look under the sills, around the jacking points and where the suspension mounts meet the body. Flaking, holed or crumbly metal fails; a brown stain on sound metal does not.

• the exhaust and emissions — “catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits”

  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.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Citroen Saxo. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Where the Citroen Saxo is most common

Across every Saxo model year on record (2000–2004): 5,068 Citroen Saxo cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 12,259 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 176 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.

The twenty areas with the most Citroen Saxo 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 →

Frequently Asked Questions: Citroen Saxo MOT & Reliability