Common problems

Citroen C4 common problems

What MOT testers find on the Citroen C4: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 557,142 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 9 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=79,211)15.3

All cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012)9.2

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=79,211)29.5

All cars, same age (n=9,949,012)25.8

What stands out

Lights and electrics fails show up on 15.3 of every 100 MOTs of a Citroen C4 at 9 years old (n=79,211), against 9.2 for all cars of that age (n=9,949,012).
The fail item testers record most often at 9 years: driveshaft CV boot split, on 6.6 per 100 MOTs (all cars 1.1).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 21.3 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 9 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 C4 at 9 years (n=79,211) against all cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	15.3	9.2	11.5	4.5
Suspension	10.7	7.9	15.1	14.9
Tyres	8.4	6.7	29.5	25.8
Body and structure	8.3	2.3	6.5	2.9
Brakes	7.2	5.6	24.3	20.3
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	5.3	4.0	3.4	3.7
Steering	3.9	1.8	1.9	2.1
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.5	2.4	4.0	3.1
Seat belts and airbags	1.1	0.6	0.3	0.4
Road wheels	0.4	0.4	0.7	0.7
Number plates and VIN	0.2	0.3	1.7	1.7

What testers fail most on the C4 at 9 years

Fail items on the Citroen C4 at 9 years (n=79,211), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	6.6	1.1	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps	Lights and electrics	3.9	1.0	£10 to £47 per lamp
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	3.7	2.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	3.2	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Steering track rod end: ball joint play	Steering	3.2	1.0	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	2.9	1.5	£18 to £86 per lamp
Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	Suspension	2.6	0.4	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	2.3	1.7	£10 to £47 per lamp
Coil spring broken	Suspension	2.3	2.7	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.2	1.3	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 9 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 C4 at 9 years (n=79,211), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	21.3	16.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	13.6	9.2	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	9.6	8.3	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	9.3	2.5
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	8.4	4.9	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	7.2	8.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt	Other	4.5	2.3
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	3.6	2.7	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	3.5	2.5
Exhaust system: mounting defective	Body and structure	3.1	0.6	£28 to £108 per car (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 9 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Tyres
3 years	18,009	3.1	2.8	4.5
4 years	13,112	4.0	3.8	5.0
5 years	8,770	7.8	1.4	5.9
6 years	26,517	9.8	3.5	6.5
7 years	50,267	12.0	5.1	7.4
8 years	68,406	13.6	7.9	8.1
9 years	79,211	15.3	10.7	8.4
10 years	70,000	16.8	13.8	8.5
11 years	49,464	17.9	16.6	8.8
12 years	35,997	22.8	16.8	8.6
13 years	29,684	26.1	16.7	8.7
14 years	31,230	29.2	17.2	8.8
15 years	29,916	31.2	17.2	9.1
16 years	22,191	31.0	18.1	8.9
17 years	15,055	31.3	18.6	8.6
18 years	7,063	29.7	19.1	8.3
19 years	2,250	29.6	19.2	6.9

Mileage

At 9 years, Citroen C4 cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 18.5% of MOTs (n=2,295); the band that failed most, 90,000 to 120,000 miles, failed 44.6% (n=15,709). For pass and fail rates by age, see Citroen C4 MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Citroen C4, testers most often record driveshaft CV boot split; registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps; tyre tread below 1.6 mm. 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.

Tyres

Check the tread across the full width of all four tyres, and the spare if there is one.
Look for cuts, bulges and cracking in the sidewalls.
Wear on one edge only can point to worn suspension or the tracking being out.

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 C4?

At 9 years, the age with the most MOT tests (79,211), the fail items testers record most often on the Citroen C4 are driveshaft CV boot split (6.6 per 100 MOTs), registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps (3.9 per 100 MOTs), tyre tread below 1.6 mm (3.7 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (21.3) and brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (13.6).

Which parts of the Citroen C4 fail more often than on other cars?

At 9 years: lights and electrics (15.3 per 100 MOTs against 9.2 for all cars); body and structure (8.3 per 100 MOTs against 2.3 for all cars); suspension (10.7 per 100 MOTs against 7.9 for all cars). Compared with 9,949,012 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Citroen C4 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 C4?

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