68.9%
Citroën C1
Citroën C1 MOT pass rate and common problems
The Citroën C1 passed 68.9% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 3.4 percentage points below the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was position lamp not working.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the C1 compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
63.5%
Citroën average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The C1 runs 5.4 points ahead of the Citroën average. It is 7th of the 21 Citroën models in the data. The average C1 arrived at its test 11.8 years old with 63,708 miles recorded.
A pass rate records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day. It is not a reliability score, and part of any gap reflects how old the tested cars were.
C1 MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Citroën C1 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 87.5% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 60.4%, a drop of 27.1 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 11,810 | 87.5% | 15.2 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 61,838 | 77.5% | 5.2 pts above |
| 11 years and over | 88,968 | 60.4% | 11.9 pts below |
That is a steep decline with age, so the headline rate flatters older examples. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where C1 failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Citroën C1 cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and brakes together account for 49.3% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common C1 MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Citroën C1 cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 35.9% of everything testers recorded against failed Citroën C1 cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a C1
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Brakes
Recorded most often: service brake performance excessively binding, rigid brake pipes excessively corroded and brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick. 10.7% of failure items.
2
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: position lamp not working and headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect. 9.4% of failure items.
3
Suspension
Recorded most often: component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength and pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn. 5.9% of failure items.
4
Tyres
Recorded most often: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. 4.2% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific C1 has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Citroën C1 buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Citroën C1 MOT FAQs
What is the Citroën C1 MOT pass rate?
68.9% of Citroën C1 cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 162,794 tests. That is 3.4 percentage points below the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 369th of 575 models.
What does a Citroën C1 most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Citroën C1 cars failing their 2025 MOT was position lamp not working, on 5.5% of failure items. Next were service brake performance excessively binding (4.9%) and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (4.2%).
Which area causes the most Citroën C1 MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 28.1%, followed by brakes at 21.2%.
Do older Citroën C1 cars fail their MOT more often?
Citroën C1 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 87.5% of MOT tests in 2025, against 60.4% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Citroën C1 has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Citroën C1 that failed in 2025. They show where the model most often needs attention, not the condition of any individual car.
How do I see a specific Citroën C1's MOT history?
Enter its registration on the free Carpeep MOT history check to see that car's own test results, failures, advisories and recorded mileages.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025: class 4 initial tests, retests excluded, with failure items from failed tests (advisories and minor defects excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.