Common problems

Citroen Xsara brake problems

How often MOT testers find brake faults on the Citroen Xsara at each age, against all cars of the same age, and which items come up most. From 125,734 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 17 years, the most tested age

Brakes fails per 100 MOTs (n=19,686)10.9

All cars at 17 years (n=4,040,458)12.3

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=19,686)26.5

All cars, same age (n=4,040,458)31.1

What stands out

At 17 years, 10.9 of every 100 MOTs of the Citroen Xsara found a brake fail (n=19,686), against 12.3 for all cars of that age (n=4,040,458).
It is above the all-car rate at 1 of the 13 ages with at least 1,000 tests.
The gap is widest at 13 years: 6.0 per 100 MOTs against 9.1 for all cars.
The brake fail item recorded most often at 17 years: rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded, on 2.7 per 100 MOTs.
The most common brake advisory or minor defect: rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material, on 11.3 per 100 MOTs.

Brakes fails by age

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Citroen Xsara: brakes fails and advisories per 100 MOTs, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
12 years	1,527	5.8	8.2	13.3	24.0
13 years	4,416	6.0	9.1	16.1	25.0
14 years	8,080	7.0	9.9	17.6	26.4
15 years	14,555	8.3	10.7	20.6	27.8
16 years	19,481	10.2	11.6	24.5	29.5
17 years	19,686	10.9	12.3	26.5	31.1
18 years	18,487	11.7	12.9	30.3	32.3
19 years	14,475	12.1	13.3	32.8	33.3
20 years	10,247	11.3	13.5	33.9	33.7
21 years	7,254	11.5	13.3	35.7	33.7
22 years	4,256	11.0	13.1	34.8	33.2
23 years	2,236	12.7	12.7	33.0	32.2
24 years	1,034	12.9	12.2	34.1	30.7

Brakes fail items at 17 years

Brakes fail items on the Citroen Xsara at 17 years (n=19,686), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,040,458).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	2.7	1.9	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Anti-lock braking system: warning lamp indicates an ABS fault	2.3	1.1	diagnosis from £59 (rough guide)
Handbrake too weak	1.7	2.7

Brakes advisories and minor defects at 17 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).

Brakes advisories and minor defects on the Citroen Xsara at 17 years (n=19,686), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,040,458).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	11.3	10.5	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	8.7	11.3	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	4.9	6.6	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Flexible brake hoses: has slight corrosion to ferrule	2.1	2.3

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.

What to check on a viewing

On the Citroen Xsara, the brake items testers fail most are rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded; anti-lock braking system: warning lamp indicates an ABS fault; handbrake too weak.

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.

Ask for the car's MOT history: a brake advisory that repeats from year to year has not been fixed. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the common brake problems on the Citroen Xsara?

At 17 years (19,686 MOTs), the brake fail items testers record most often are rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded (2.7 per 100 MOTs), anti-lock braking system: warning lamp indicates an ABS fault (2.3 per 100 MOTs), handbrake too weak (1.7 per 100 MOTs). The most common brake advisories or minor defects are rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material (11.3) and brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (8.7).

Does the Citroen Xsara have more brake problems than other cars?

At 17 years it has 10.9 brake fails per 100 MOTs against 12.3 for all cars of the same age (1.4 fewer). It is above the all-car rate at 1 of the 13 ages with enough tests.

What does a brake repair cost on the Citroen Xsara?

For rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded, an independent garage estimate is £137 to £392 per car (rough guide). This is a guide built from the national median garage labour rate and estimated labour hours, not a quote.

Brake problems on other Citroen models

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 Xsara?

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.

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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