Common problems

Citroen Relay common problems

What MOT testers find on the Citroen Relay: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 57,180 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 8 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=4,990)12.5

All cars at 8 years (n=10,440,457)7.3

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=4,990)17.0

All cars, same age (n=10,440,457)19.1

What stands out

Brakes fails show up on 12.3 of every 100 MOTs of a Citroen Relay at 8 years old (n=4,990), against 4.8 for all cars of that age (n=10,440,457).
Tyres fails are less common: 3.9 per 100 MOTs against 6.3 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 8 years: handbrake too weak, on 4.7 per 100 MOTs (all cars 0.5).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 8.7 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 8 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 Relay at 8 years (n=4,990) against all cars at 8 years (n=10,440,457). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	12.5	7.3	7.6	3.4
Brakes	12.3	4.8	17.0	19.1
Suspension	8.4	6.1	15.6	11.8
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	6.2	3.7	9.1	3.4
Tyres	3.9	6.3	16.5	25.2
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	3.7	2.1	6.9	2.3
Body and structure	2.1	1.8	3.0	2.2
Seat belts and airbags	1.7	0.5	1.0	0.3
Steering	1.3	1.2	3.4	1.5
Number plates and VIN	0.2	0.3	1.2	1.4
Road wheels	0.1	0.3	0.4	0.7

What testers fail most on the Relay at 8 years

Fail items on the Citroen Relay at 8 years (n=4,990), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,440,457).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	4.7	0.5
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.0	1.7	£15 to £30 per blade
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	2.8	1.2	£18 to £86 per lamp
Shock absorber leaking	Suspension	2.7	0.6	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	2.0	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Rbt (sp): efficiency less than 50% of the required value	Brakes	2.0	0.1
Coil spring broken	Suspension	2.0	2.1	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.9	1.1	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps	Lights and electrics	1.8	0.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	1.8	0.9	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 8 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 Relay at 8 years (n=4,990), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,440,457).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	8.7	15.7	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	7.2	4.0	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	7.1	8.6	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	6.7	8.6	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	6.4	1.8
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	Suspension	6.2	2.8	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	6.1	2.1
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	5.9	8.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	3.4	1.9
Play in steering rack inner joint(s)	Other	2.3	0.6

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 8 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Brakes	Suspension
3 years	1,932	9.4	4.2	1.1
4 years	2,244	9.3	5.2	1.9
5 years	2,996	10.0	8.8	2.7
6 years	3,974	10.9	8.5	3.7
7 years	4,618	11.3	10.3	5.5
8 years	4,990	12.5	12.3	8.4
9 years	4,674	13.6	13.3	9.0
10 years	4,052	15.2	13.1	10.9
11 years	3,338	19.5	14.1	11.6
12 years	3,034	21.3	14.1	12.7
13 years	2,857	22.1	14.5	12.1
14 years	2,987	24.4	16.5	14.6
15 years	3,367	24.9	16.6	16.3
16 years	3,385	25.6	18.2	19.9
17 years	3,206	24.7	18.4	21.4
18 years	2,509	23.0	18.2	23.0
19 years	1,823	19.3	18.6	24.4
20 years	1,194	17.9	17.5	24.2

Mileage

At 8 years, Citroen Relay cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 25.2% of MOTs (n=1,063); the band that failed most, 90,000 to 120,000 miles, failed 35.1% (n=1,022). For pass and fail rates by age, see MOT fail rates by model.

What to check on a viewing

On the Citroen Relay, testers most often record handbrake too weak; wipers not clearing screen; dipped headlight not working. 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.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

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 Relay?

At 8 years, the age with the most MOT tests (4,990), the fail items testers record most often on the Citroen Relay are handbrake too weak (4.7 per 100 MOTs), wipers not clearing screen (3.0 per 100 MOTs), dipped headlight not working (2.8 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (8.7) and suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement (7.2).

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

At 8 years: brakes (12.3 per 100 MOTs against 4.8 for all cars); lights and electrics (12.5 per 100 MOTs against 7.3 for all cars); windscreen, wipers and mirrors (6.2 per 100 MOTs against 3.7 for all cars). Compared with 10,440,457 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Citroen Relay 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 Relay?

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