Citroen C4 Picasso: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Citroen C4 Picasso passes its MOT first time more often than the average UK car, by 1.5 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 6,947 individual Citroen C4 Picasso tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 78.2% first-time pass rate means roughly 22 in every 100 Citroen C4 Picassos presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is better than average, so a well-kept example is a reasonably safe used buy. The average Citroen C4 Picasso tested had covered 56,247 miles and was built around 2016.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Citroen C4 Picasso bought as a repairable salvage, the mechanical side is less likely to spring surprises, so your repair estimate should hold up reasonably well.

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 C4 Picasso 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 what damaged Citroen C4 Picassos actually sold for at UK salvage auction, from 6 real settled sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Citroen C4 Picasso

1. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2.4% of tests (2.16x the national rate for this defect)
2. Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn, 1% of tests (1.74x the national rate for this defect)
3. A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps, 1% of tests (1.53x the national rate for this defect)
4. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 2.3% of tests (1.5x the national rate for this defect)
5. A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 0.7% of tests (1.44x the national rate for this defect)
6. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 1.9% of tests (1.39x the national rate for this defect)
7. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 1.1% of tests (1.19x the national rate for this defect)
8. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 3.8% of tests
9. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 2.5% of tests
10. A tyre seriously damaged, 1.9% of tests

From 9,656 DVSA-tracked Citroen C4 Picasso tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 5.83% of these flagged Citroen C4 Picasso defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Citroen C4 Picasso pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Citroen C4 Picasso year:

• 2014 Citroen C4 Picasso - 66.8% first-time pass, 289 tests
• 2015 Citroen C4 Picasso - 76.5% first-time pass, 315 tests
• 2016 Citroen C4 Picasso - 76.3% first-time pass, 1,679 tests
• 2017 Citroen C4 Picasso - 81.5% first-time pass, 3,014 tests
• 2018 Citroen C4 Picasso - 84.3% first-time pass, 1,152 tests

Citroen C4 Picasso by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• Diesel Citroen C4 Picasso - 77.6% first-time pass, 5,603 tests
• Petrol Citroen C4 Picasso - 82.9% first-time pass, 1,315 tests

Other Citroen models

• Citroen C3 - 70.4%
• Citroen Berlingo - 68.3%
• Citroen C1 - 75.1%
• Citroen C4 - 66%
• Citroen Ds3 - 60.4%
• Citroen Dispatch - 66.2%
• Citroen Xsara - 58%
• Citroen C3 Aircross - 86.4%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Jaguar Xj - 78.3%
• Jaguar Xjr - 78.3%
• Volkswagen Touareg - 78.2%
• Audi A3 - 78.1%
• Honda Insight - 78.1%
• MINI First - 78.1%

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

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate