Citroen C5: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Citroen C5 passes its MOT first time more often than the average UK car, by 2 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 20,612 individual Citroen C5 tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 78.7% first-time pass rate means roughly 21 in every 100 Citroen C5s 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 C5 tested had covered 65,095 miles and was built around 2015.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Citroen C5 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 C5 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 C5s actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Citroen C5

1. An obvious leak from any part of the system, 0.7% of tests (179.45x the national rate for this defect)
2. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 3.3% of tests (2.93x 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, 1.5% of tests (2.29x the national rate for this defect)
4. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 2.1% of tests (1.38x the national rate for this defect)
5. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 1.5% of tests (1.23x the national rate for this defect)
6. Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 1.2% of tests (1.18x the national rate for this defect)
7. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 3.9% of tests
8. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 2.3% of tests
9. A tyre seriously damaged, 2% of tests
10. A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 1.8% of tests

From 34,707 DVSA-tracked Citroen C5 tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 5.24% of these flagged Citroen C5 defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Citroen C5 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 C5 year:

• 2002 Citroen C5 - 60.7% first-time pass, 239 tests
• 2003 Citroen C5 - 64.3% first-time pass, 291 tests
• 2004 Citroen C5 - 64.9% first-time pass, 353 tests
• 2005 Citroen C5 - 62% first-time pass, 297 tests
• 2006 Citroen C5 - 64.6% first-time pass, 421 tests
• 2007 Citroen C5 - 60.3% first-time pass, 426 tests
• 2008 Citroen C5 - 63.2% first-time pass, 1,154 tests
• 2009 Citroen C5 - 63.5% first-time pass, 1,723 tests
• 2010 Citroen C5 - 64.4% first-time pass, 1,164 tests
• 2011 Citroen C5 - 67.8% first-time pass, 574 tests
• 2012 Citroen C5 - 71.5% first-time pass, 372 tests
• 2013 Citroen C5 - 70.9% first-time pass, 361 tests
• 2014 Citroen C5 - 73% first-time pass, 237 tests
• 2019 Citroen C5 - 87% first-time pass, 6,617 tests
• 2020 Citroen C5 - 89.3% first-time pass, 4,984 tests
• 2021 Citroen C5 - 90.6% first-time pass, 858 tests

Citroen C5 by fuel type

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

• Diesel Citroen C5 - 74.7% first-time pass, 12,627 tests
• Petrol Citroen C5 - 86.4% first-time pass, 7,803 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

• Honda Jazz - 78.7%
• Mercedes-Benz A-Class - 78.7%
• Mitsubishi Asx - 78.7%
• BMW 114 - 78.7%
• Lexus Is300 - 78.7%
• Toyota Yaris - 78.6%

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