Citroen C1: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Citroen C1 fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 1.6 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 165,304 individual Citroen C1 tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 75.1% first-time pass rate means roughly 25 in every 100 Citroen C1s presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Citroen C1 tested had covered 61,671 miles and was built around 2013.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. The Citroen C1 sits 1.6 points below the national average, ranked 1,615 of 2,005 models. On one bought as repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Citroen C1 rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see the median recorded closing bid for a damaged Citroen C1: £475 at UK salvage auction, from 26 ended listings, not independently confirmed sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Citroen C1

1. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 3.9% of tests (3.8x the national rate for this defect)
2. Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer, 1.8% of tests (3.54x the national rate for this defect)
3. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 3% of tests (2.82x the national rate for this defect)
4. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 2.5% of tests (2.65x the national rate for this defect)
5. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 2.4% of tests (2.37x the national rate for this defect)
6. Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn, 1.2% of tests (1.51x the national rate for this defect)
7. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 3.2% of tests (1.36x the national rate for this defect)
8. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 3.9% of tests
9. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 3.6% of tests
10. A tyre seriously damaged, 3% of tests

From 165,160 DVSA-tracked Citroen C1 tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.41% of these flagged Citroen C1 defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 5.11% nationally.

Most common MOT advisories on a Citroen C1

An advisory doesn't fail the car - the tester flags it as worth watching, but it still passes. A different list from the failures above: what testers are noting on a Citroen C1 before it actually fails on it.

1. A wheel badly distorted or wear between wheel and hub at spigot mounting, 4.5% of tests (4.19x the national rate for this advisory)
2. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 17.8% of tests (2.88x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
3. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 4.7% of tests (2.33x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
4. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 5.5% of tests (1.94x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
5. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 2.9% of tests (1.9x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
6. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 24.7% of tests (1.85x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
7. A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded, 9.1% of tests (1.75x the national rate for this advisory)
8. A brake hose ferrule excessively corroded, 2.1% of tests (1.62x the national rate for this advisory)
9. A tyre seriously damaged, 23.9% of tests (1.55x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
10. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 5.6% of tests (1.18x the national rate for this advisory)

From 165,160 DVSA-tracked Citroen C1 tests, 2024.

Citroen C1 pass rate by model year

From its 2005 to its 2021 model year, the Citroen C1's first-time pass rate has risen 34.4 points, from 61.3% to 95.7%, the usual pattern: a newer model year is a younger car today, so it fails less. First-time pass rate for each Citroen C1 year:

• 2005 Citroen C1 - 61.3% first-time pass, 695 tests
• 2006 Citroen C1 - 59.8% first-time pass, 4,564 tests
• 2007 Citroen C1 - 61.3% first-time pass, 7,250 tests
• 2008 Citroen C1 - 61.4% first-time pass, 10,132 tests
• 2009 Citroen C1 - 63.9% first-time pass, 11,851 tests
• 2010 Citroen C1 - 68.5% first-time pass, 13,049 tests
• 2011 Citroen C1 - 70.5% first-time pass, 13,722 tests
• 2012 Citroen C1 - 73.6% first-time pass, 13,848 tests
• 2013 Citroen C1 - 76.1% first-time pass, 14,012 tests
• 2014 Citroen C1 - 79.9% first-time pass, 13,636 tests
• 2015 Citroen C1 - 82% first-time pass, 17,998 tests
• 2016 Citroen C1 - 83.1% first-time pass, 18,180 tests
• 2017 Citroen C1 - 85.2% first-time pass, 9,131 tests
• 2018 Citroen C1 - 88.7% first-time pass, 7,212 tests
• 2019 Citroen C1 - 91.1% first-time pass, 5,146 tests
• 2020 Citroen C1 - 90.9% first-time pass, 3,315 tests
• 2021 Citroen C1 - 95.7% first-time pass, 657 tests

Citroen C1 by fuel type

The Citroen C1's two most-tested fuel types split by 13.6 points: petrol passes first time 75.6% of the time (163,316 tests) against 62% for diesel (1,054 tests).

• Petrol Citroen C1 - 75.6% first-time pass, 163,316 tests
• Diesel Citroen C1 - 62% first-time pass, 1,054 tests

Other Citroen models

• Citroen C3 - 70.4%
• Citroen Berlingo - 68.3%
• Citroen C4 - 66%
• Citroen Ds3 - 60.4%
• Citroen Dispatch - 66.2%
• Citroen Xsara - 58%
• Citroen C3 Aircross - 86.4%
• Citroen C4 Cactus - 79.2%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Mitsubishi L200 - 75.2%
• Volvo Xc90 - 75.2%
• Volvo S60 - 75.2%
• London Taxis International Tx4 - 75.1%
• Volvo S80 - 75.1%
• Vauxhall Combo 2300 Sportive Td S/S - 75.1%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences
• Do you need an HPI check on a car you know is a write-off?

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate