Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 240,189 tests

Pass rate climbs 22.4 points across the cohorts — newer C4 examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 227,570

Pass

67.7%

Fail

25.6%

PRS

6.1%

Avg mileage at test

88,467 mi

2018–2020 cohort 12,187

Pass

81.5%

Fail

13.5%

PRS

4.5%

Avg mileage at test

43,005 mi

2021+ cohort 432

Pass

90.0%

Fail

9.0%

PRS

0.7%

Avg mileage at test

20,514 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

Generations on file · 3

Citroen C4 · UK market

Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.

The picture

Citroen C4: challenging MOT record across 182,438 tests

The Citroën C4 is a car produced by Citroën, part of Stellantis. It was positioned to be the successor to the Citroën Xsara.

MOT data from 182,438 tests puts this car on a 68.8% first-time pass rate, well below the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 81,353 miles. The most common fail item is failed number plate light, followed by transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc.

The C4's pass rate warrants caution in the used market. Factor in likely first-test remedial work on the common failure items and get a pre-purchase inspection that covers the specific items this car trips on most.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 14–24

Below the fleet average — generally reasonable to insure. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.

Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →

14–24

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

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

16,645 occurrences · 6.9% of tests
02

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

10,373 occurrences · 4.3% of tests
03

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

7,168 occurrences · 3.0% of tests
04

a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

5,569 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
05

A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

5,349 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
06

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

5,343 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
07

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play

4,900 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
08

A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

4,829 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
09

Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

4,753 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
10

Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

4,617 occurrences · 1.9% 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

£228–£530

If every one of this C4'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.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 22.4-point gap between bands means the year you buy Citroen C4 has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

90.0%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 90.0% — a 22.4-point improvement. Tests in this band average 20,514 miles — roughly 68K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: blade defective, fixing missing — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. Post-2020 examples are early in their MOT life and generally show the cleanest records.

Band to be cautious about

67.7%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 67.7% pass rate against a fleet average of 90.0% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…, constant velocity boot split or insecure, no…, and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. Average mileage on test for this band is 88,467 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2021+ (90.0% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (67.7% pass). That's a 22.4-point spread across 227,570 older tests and 432 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

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

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 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

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

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

View at My Motor World →

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

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

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.

Get a quote →

Recall history

56 UK recalls on record.

The C4 has 56 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping a C4?

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 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.