Common problems

Citroen C3 common problems

What MOT testers find on the Citroen C3: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 784,141 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 12 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=65,399)22.1

All cars at 12 years (n=7,303,151)15.4

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=65,399)29.4

All cars, same age (n=7,303,151)27.7

What stands out

Lights and electrics fails show up on 22.1 of every 100 MOTs of a Citroen C3 at 12 years old (n=65,399), against 15.4 for all cars of that age (n=7,303,151).
The fail item testers record most often at 12 years: brake light not working, on 6.5 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.8).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 18.6 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 12 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Citroen C3 at 12 years (n=65,399) against all cars at 12 years (n=7,303,151). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	22.1	15.4	13.8	9.3
Suspension	15.0	13.4	20.8	24.9
Body and structure	9.6	4.3	14.7	6.5
Brakes	7.9	8.2	26.5	24.0
Tyres	7.7	7.1	29.4	27.7
Steering	7.0	2.8	5.3	3.1
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	6.5	5.2	3.7	4.4
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	4.3	3.7	10.5	6.9
Seat belts and airbags	0.8	1.0	0.6	0.6
Road wheels	0.3	0.5	0.9	1.1
Number plates and VIN	0.2	0.4	2.0	2.8

What testers fail most on the C3 at 12 years

Fail items on the Citroen C3 at 12 years (n=65,399), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=7,303,151).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	6.5	2.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	6.3	4.1	£10 to £47 per lamp
Coil spring broken	Suspension	6.2	3.9	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Steering track rod end: ball joint play	Steering	6.0	1.9	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	5.3	1.8	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	4.2	2.4	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	3.7	2.1	£18 to £86 per lamp
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	3.4	2.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps	Lights and electrics	3.1	1.7	£10 to £47 per lamp
Exhaust system: system insecure	Body and structure	2.9	0.4	£28 to £108 per car (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 12 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Citroen C3 at 12 years (n=65,399), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=7,303,151).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	18.6	18.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	16.4	10.4	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	10.9	8.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Exhaust system: mounting defective	Body and structure	10.2	1.1	£28 to £108 per car (rough guide)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	9.5	6.0
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	8.5	7.3	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	8.0	4.6
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	5.3	7.6	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Individual direction indicators: slightly discoloured	Lights and electrics	5.0	1.6	£10 to £47 per lamp
Track rod end: ball joint has slight play	Steering	4.7	1.6	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 12 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Body and structure
3 years	37,861	3.1	0.4	0.6
4 years	45,849	4.1	0.5	1.1
5 years	52,924	6.3	1.0	2.2
6 years	54,331	8.4	2.0	3.1
7 years	52,825	10.5	3.8	5.0
8 years	51,445	12.3	5.5	6.9
9 years	49,492	14.6	7.4	8.2
10 years	56,053	17.8	9.5	8.6
11 years	59,724	20.5	12.7	9.1
12 years	65,399	22.1	15.0	9.6
13 years	61,138	23.5	17.0	10.4
14 years	50,271	23.8	18.5	11.0
15 years	39,919	24.2	19.4	11.8
16 years	26,944	25.2	19.5	12.0
17 years	22,067	26.2	20.0	11.6
18 years	20,096	28.2	21.3	10.6
19 years	16,848	29.2	22.3	10.7
20 years	11,712	30.2	23.3	10.2
21 years	6,375	30.4	24.2	9.6
22 years	2,868	28.7	24.5	9.8

Mileage

At 12 years, Citroen C3 cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 22.5% of MOTs (n=2,427); the band that failed most, over 150,000 miles, failed 53.4% (n=1,407). For pass and fail rates by age, see Citroen C3 MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Citroen C3, testers most often record brake light not working; side/position light not working; coil spring broken. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Body and structure

Look underneath at the sills, floor, subframes and jacking points for corrosion, or for fresh underseal that may hide it.
Check that doors, bonnet and boot open, close and latch properly.
Look for loose trim, sharp edges or damage around the bumpers and wheel arches.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Citroen C3?

At 12 years, the age with the most MOT tests (65,399), the fail items testers record most often on the Citroen C3 are brake light not working (6.5 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (6.3 per 100 MOTs), coil spring broken (6.2 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (18.6) and brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (16.4).

Which parts of the Citroen C3 fail more often than on other cars?

At 12 years: lights and electrics (22.1 per 100 MOTs against 15.4 for all cars); body and structure (9.6 per 100 MOTs against 4.3 for all cars); steering (7.0 per 100 MOTs against 2.8 for all cars). Compared with 7,303,151 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Citroen C3 problems by area

Other Citroen models

All Citroen models · Common problems by make

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Citroen C3?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 28 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources