Common problems

Citroen C4 Picasso common problems

What MOT testers find on the Citroen C4 Picasso: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 25,245 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 7 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=6,185)8.0

All cars at 7 years (n=10,537,318)5.8

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=6,185)26.3

All cars, same age (n=10,537,318)24.8

What stands out

Lights and electrics fails show up on 8.0 of every 100 MOTs of a Citroen C4 Picasso at 7 years old (n=6,185), against 5.8 for all cars of that age (n=10,537,318).
The fail item testers record most often at 7 years: driveshaft CV boot split, on 2.7 per 100 MOTs (all cars 0.6).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 17.9 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 7 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 Picasso at 7 years (n=6,185) against all cars at 7 years (n=10,537,318). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	8.0	5.8	6.4	2.5
Tyres	6.0	6.0	26.3	24.8
Suspension	5.8	4.4	13.5	8.7
Brakes	4.1	4.1	22.8	17.9
Body and structure	3.3	1.3	3.2	1.6
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.9	3.4	2.2	3.3
Steering	1.0	0.8	0.6	1.1
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	0.8	1.7	1.7	1.7
Seat belts and airbags	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.3
Road wheels	0.2	0.3	0.6	0.6
Number plates and VIN	under 0.1	0.2	1.9	1.2

What testers fail most on the C4 Picasso at 7 years

Fail items on the Citroen C4 Picasso at 7 years (n=6,185), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,537,318).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	2.7	0.6	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Anti-roll bar link worn	Suspension	2.5	0.2	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	2.5	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.1	2.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	2.0	0.9	£18 to £86 per lamp
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps	Lights and electrics	1.7	0.6	£10 to £47 per lamp
Headlamp aim: too low	Lights and electrics	1.7	0.9	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.5	1.0	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Tyre with cords exposed	Tyres	1.4	1.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords	Tyres	1.4	1.3	£88 to £145 per tyre

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 7 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 Picasso at 7 years (n=6,185), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,537,318).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	17.9	15.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	14.1	8.0	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	9.9	9.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	7.4	8.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	5.7	3.0	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Linkage ball joints: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	5.2	0.4	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	4.9	1.4
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt	Other	4.5	2.4
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	2.5	2.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	2.4	2.0	£88 to £145 per tyre

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 7 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Tyres	Suspension
4 years	1,239	5.0	5.6	1.9
5 years	4,279	5.2	5.7	3.2
6 years	5,920	6.7	5.8	4.3
7 years	6,185	8.0	6.0	5.8
8 years	5,237	10.2	5.7	7.8
9 years	2,385	10.7	6.8	8.5

Mileage

At 7 years, Citroen C4 Picasso cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 22.5% of MOTs (n=3,383); the band that failed most, 60,000 to 90,000 miles, failed 29.2% (n=1,519). For pass and fail rates by age, see Citroen C4 Picasso MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Citroen C4 Picasso, testers most often record driveshaft CV boot split; anti-roll bar link worn; brake pads under 1.5 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.

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.

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.

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 Picasso?

At 7 years, the age with the most MOT tests (6,185), the fail items testers record most often on the Citroen C4 Picasso are driveshaft CV boot split (2.7 per 100 MOTs), anti-roll bar link worn (2.5 per 100 MOTs), brake pads under 1.5 mm (2.5 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (17.9) and brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (14.1).

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

At 7 years: lights and electrics (8.0 per 100 MOTs against 5.8 for all cars); body and structure (3.3 per 100 MOTs against 1.3 for all cars); suspension (5.8 per 100 MOTs against 4.4 for all cars). Compared with 10,537,318 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Citroen C4 Picasso 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 Picasso?

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