Citroen
C3 Aircross Shine + P Tech S/s
2,185 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where C3 Aircross Shine + P Tech S/ss pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 13.3 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.
Pass
90.8%
Pass-after-fix
1.0%
Fail
7.9%
Avg miles
19,619
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Petrol cars first registered from January 2006 meet Euro 4 — compliant in London ULEZ, Birmingham CAZ, Bristol CAZ, and Glasgow LEZ.
The picture
C3 Aircross Shine + P-Tech S/S: a strong MOT record by UK norms
Across 2,185 MOT tests, the C3 Aircross Shine + P-Tech S/S returns 90.8% first-time pass — comfortably ahead of the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a seriously damaged tyre. An excessively worn brake disc and brake pads worn below 1.5 mm round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 19,619, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.
Top ten reasons for rejection.
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- 01
A tyre seriously damaged
34 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
- 02
Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn
26 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
- 03
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
23 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
- 04
A tyre cords visible or damaged
13 occurrences · 0.6% of tests
- 05
Wiper blade defective
13 occurrences · 0.6% of tests
- 06
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
12 occurrences · 0.5% of tests
- 07
A tyre seriously damaged
9 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
- 08
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
8 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
- 09
Excessive fluctuation in brake effort through each wheel revolution.
8 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
- 10
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated
5 occurrences · 0.2% of tests
Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.
Worst-case fix budget · top 3 failures
£160–£300
If every one of this C3 Aircross Shine + P Tech S/s's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →
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Tools that pre-empt a retest.
Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.
Item 01 · Amazon UK
Brake pad measurement gauge
Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.
Search Amazon UK
Item 02 · Amazon UK
Digital tyre-tread depth gauge
Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.
Search Amazon UK
Item 03 · Amazon UK
Bosch Aerotwin wiper blades
Cheap wipers fail the test on smear streaks. Bosch Aerotwins last a winter and clear a screen properly.
Search Amazon UK
My Motor World · affiliate
Parts & supplies for this fix
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
Summit
Summit ADRG-169 Citroen Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS
£9.89
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Summit
Summit ADRG-170 Citroen Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS
£9.89
View at My Motor World →
Summit
Summit ADRG-48 Citroen Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS
£9.89
View at My Motor World →
Summit
Summit ADRG-49 Citroen Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS
£9.89
View at My Motor World →
Click Mechanic · affiliate
Book a mobile mechanic
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Mobile mechanic · UK-wide
Book a mechanic at your door.
Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.
Owner reports · Honest John
What owners actually report.
Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.
What's good
An unassuming small car, the Citroen C3 offers easy driving and practicality. But don’t expect any of the excitement behind the wheel that the likes of a Ford Fiesta of a similar age delivers.
Recent owner-reported faults
- 20 Sep 2018
Report of repeated cracking of wrapover screen of 2012 Citroen C3. Has been replaced 3 times on the same car. Has now cracked again, right across on the inside this time, just above the bend.
- 27 Mar 2018
Report of timing belt of 2013/63 Citroen C3 1.2 82Vti coming off at 12,996 miles. Car has been in for service action at 3,200 miles where the timing belt checked okay.
- 15 Nov 2017
Report of problem with 2011 Citroen C3 automatic. After being stuck in traffic for a long period in rush hour the gearbox fault warning sign comes on and it jerks forward when car moves off, but once car been moving again it is fine.
- 12 Jul 2016
Failure of power steering rack of 34k mile 2011 Citroen C3 reported and quoted £1,300 to replace.
- 5 Jul 2016
Intermittent failure of electric power assistance to steering of C3 reported.
Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 5 reports indexed
Buying or keeping a C3 Aircross Shine + P Tech S/s?
Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.
If you own a C3 Aircross Shine + P Tech S/s and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.