Citroen C5 MOT failures and reliability
In 2023 the Citroen C5 took 22,263 MOT tests in Britain and passed 73% of them first time, close to the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.
- MOT tests in 2023
- 22,263
- First-time pass rate
- 73%
- All cars
- 71%
What the C5 fails on
Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.
- Lights and electrics12.5% (all cars 11.3%)
- Suspension6.7% (all cars 9.0%)
- Tyres6.5% (all cars 6.4%)
- Brakes6.2% (all cars 6.8%)
- Body and structure5.4% (all cars 3.5%)
- Visibility3.6% (all cars 4.8%)
- Exhaust and emissions2.8% (all cars 3.1%)
- Steering2.2% (all cars 1.8%)
Most common failure items
Share of tests on which each item was recorded.
- Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt 4.4%
- Position lamp: not working 3.2%
- Stop lamp: not working 2.6%
- Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps 2.6%
- Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.3%
- Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick 2.1%
- Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 2.0%
- Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn 2.0%
Most common advisories
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 20.2%
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 11.2%
- Brake pads: wearing thin 9.5%
- Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 6.4%
- Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 6.0%
- Linkage ball joints: ball joint has slight play 3.5%
- Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 3.1%
- Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil 2.6%
Pass rate by year of registration
Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.
| First registered | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 308 | 57% |
| 2003 | 430 | 57% |
| 2004 | 486 | 50% |
| 2005 | 381 | 55% |
| 2006 | 567 | 58% |
| 2007 | 539 | 57% |
| 2008 | 1,544 | 54% |
| 2009 | 2,262 | 56% |
| 2010 | 1,427 | 58% |
| 2011 | 664 | 65% |
| 2012 | 392 | 70% |
| 2013 | 377 | 67% |
| 2019 | 6,670 | 84% |
| 2020 | 5,309 | 86% |
Typical mileage by age
Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.
| Age at test | Average mileage |
|---|---|
| 3 years | 23,013 miles |
| 4 years | 29,084 miles |
| 7 years | 59,985 miles |
| 8 years | 69,390 miles |
| 9 years | 74,853 miles |
| 10 years | 91,246 miles |
| 11 years | 101,902 miles |
| 12 years | 110,152 miles |
| 13 years | 115,292 miles |
| 14 years | 119,123 miles |
| 15 years | 119,553 miles |
| 16 years | 116,538 miles |
| 17 years | 115,077 miles |
| 18 years | 113,556 miles |
| 19 years | 115,220 miles |
| 20 years | 120,790 miles |
Check a particular C5
Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.
Other Citroen models
- Citroen C3
- Citroen Berlingo
- Citroen C1
- Citroen C4
- Citroen DS3
- Citroen Dispatch
- Citroen Xsara
- Citroen C3 Aircross
- Citroen C4 Cactus
- Citroen Nemo
- Citroen C4 Grand Picasso
- Citroen Relay
- Citroen C2
- Citroen DS4
- Citroen C4 Picasso
- Citroen C3 Picasso
- Citroen Grand C4 Picasso
- Citroen Saxo
- Citroen DS5
- Citroen Berlingo Multispace
- Citroen 2CV
- Citroen Spacetourer
- Citroen C Crosser
- Citroen C8
- Citroen C15
Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.