MOT cost .
Citroen C4 Cactus
MOT 2023
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Citroen

C4 Cactus

24,766 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where C4 Cactuss pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's 3.3 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,988 tracked models — a confident result.

Pass

79.0%

Pass-after-fix

5.4%

Fail

15.1%

Avg miles

40,304

Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%

The picture

C4 Cactus: middle-of-the-pack on first-time pass

Across 24,766 MOT tests, the C4 Cactus returns 79.0% first-time pass — roughly in line with the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is wipers that don't clear the screen. A number-plate lamp out and tyre tread under the limit round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 40,304, 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.

  1. 01

    Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

    1,160 occurrences · 4.7% of tests

  2. 02

    A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

    859 occurrences · 3.5% of tests

  3. 03

    Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

    693 occurrences · 2.8% of tests

  4. 04

    Wiper blade defective

    658 occurrences · 2.7% of tests

  5. 05

    A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc

    478 occurrences · 1.9% of tests

  6. 06

    a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

    392 occurrences · 1.6% of tests

  7. 07

    A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED

    290 occurrences · 1.2% of tests

  8. 08

    Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn

    270 occurrences · 1.1% of tests

  9. 09

    Exhaust system leaking or insecure

    256 occurrences · 1.0% of tests

  10. 10

    A tyre seriously damaged

    253 occurrences · 1.0% 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 4 failures

£108–£220

If every one of this C4 Cactus'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 →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

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

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

Item 02 · Amazon UK

H7 / W21W bulb pack

A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.

Search Amazon UK

Item 03 · 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

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

The driver and front passenger both gain from this new interior architecture. The wide front seats are designed in the style of a sofa, to create a more comfortable and user-friendly ambience in the cabin.

Buying or keeping a C4 Cactus?

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 C4 Cactus 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.