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Citroën C4 Picasso, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

32,987 Citroën C4 Picassos are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 71.2% of initial MOT tests, 1.1 points below the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific C4 Picasso? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Citroën C4 Picasso at the MOT

71.2% of 6,886 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the C4 Picasso 330th of 575 models. Citroën C4 Picassos aged 6 to 10 years passed 72.3% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 55.5%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Citroën C4 Picasso71.2%
  • All Citroën modelsThe C4 Picasso is 7.7 pts ahead63.5%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Citroën C4 Picasso tests in 2025.

  • 6 to 10 years6,350 tests72.3%
  • 11 years and over490 tests55.5%

Where C4 Picassos fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Citroën C4 Picasso tests in 2025.

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment24.8%
  • Suspension18.9%
  • Tyres14.7%
  • Brakes14.1%
  • Body, chassis, structure9.6%

The items testers recorded most often were joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (7.9%), brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (5.9%) and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (5.2%).

The MOT page lists every common C4 Picasso MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Citroën C4 Picasso MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The C4 Picasso's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

    Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.24.8% of C4 Picasso failure items

  2. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.18.9% of C4 Picasso failure items

  3. Tyres

    Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear.14.7% of C4 Picasso failure items

Citroën C4 Picassos in the UK

32,987 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 44% since the end of 2014, and 51% from its peak of 67,715 at the end of 2017.

Change since 2014
−44%from 59,286 licensed
Typical year of first use
2014half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2014 or earlier
First registered in 2025
1against 6,273 in 2015
Declared off the road
4,23511% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Citroën C4 Picassos since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201459,286
End of 201563,499
End of 201666,527
End of 201767,715
End of 201865,622
End of 201961,912
End of 202057,722
End of 202152,910
End of 202248,128
End of 202343,383
End of 202438,960
End of 202535,014
End of June 202632,987

How old they are

Licensed Citroën C4 Picassos by year of first use.

  • Licensed at the end of 2025
  • First registered that year

A further 6 were first used before 2007.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
2019202221
20181,1331,207
20172,9543,177
20164,4564,956
20155,5426,273
20147,131
20134,392
20121,567
20111,227
20101,262
20091,074
20082,448
20071,435

5,542 C4 Picassos first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 88% of the 6,273 first registered that year.

C4 Picasso engines and fuel

1.6 litre engines made up 77% of Citroën C4 Picasso MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.2 litre at 18%. Diesel accounts for 90% of licensed C4 Picassos and petrol for 9.8%.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 6,884 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 1.6 litre77.4%
  • 1.2 litre18.2%
  • 2.0 litre4%

Fuel type, licensed C4 Picassos

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol3,23010%
Diesel29,75190%
Hybrid electric2<0.1%
Gas4<0.1%

Citroën C4 Picasso recalls

31 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the Citroën C4 Picasso. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every C4 Picasso is affected.

  1. Aug 2025 R/2025/346

    Emission recall - On Board Diagnostics

    C4 Picassos built Dec 2017 to Nov 2020 · 20,299 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Vehicles may be affected by incorrect performance of the On-Board-Diagnostics related to Selective Catalytic Reduction system and/or Diesel Particle Filter. The Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) may not illuminate in the event of a malfunction and therefore does not comply with emission regulations.
    Remedy
    Update the Engine Control Unit software to ensure compliance to regulations.

  2. Mar 2024 R/2024/136

    Cross carline Engine software

    C4 Picassos built Jan 2022 to Jun 2022 · 1,665 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On affected vehicles below 12500 miles under certain conditions engine emissions may lead to a non-compliance to regulatory requirements.
    Remedy
    Check the mileage of the vehicle and update the ECU (Engine Control Unit) calibration on vehicles below 12500 miles.

  3. Dec 2022 R/2023/046

    On the affected vehicles the operation of the brake vacuum pump may be affected by material detaching from the timing belt caused by the ageing of the engine oil

    C4 Picassos built Mar 2017 · 652 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    To rectify this issue a software update will be downloaded which will improve the vacuum diagnosis (in order to warn earlier about the risk of loss or reduction of braking assistance). The timing belt will be checked and if needed replaced with other components of the braking assistance system and the vacuum pump.

  4. Dec 2022 R/2023/036

    On the affected vehicles the operation of the brake vacuum pump may be affected by material detaching from the timing belt caused by the ageing of the engine oil

    C4 Picassos built Apr 2017 to Dec 2020 · 13,740 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On the affected vehicles the operation of the brake vacuum pump may be affected by material detaching from the timing belt caused by the ageing of the engine oil.
    Remedy
    To rectify this issue a software update will be downloaded which will improve the vacuum diagnosis (in order to warn earlier about the risk of loss or reduction of braking assistance).

  5. Jan 2021 R/2020/327

    The brake vacuum pump may be affected by material detaching from the timing belt

    C4 Picassos built Mar 2013 to Apr 2017 · 21,226 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Update detection software inspect and if necessary replace vacuum pump and timing belt.

  6. Nov 2020 R/2020/330

    The filtering performance of the diesel particulate filter may not meet the required specification

    C4 Picassos built Apr 2019 to Jul 2019 · 432 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The filtering performance of the Diesel Particle Filter (DPF) may not meet the required specification.
    Remedy
    Replace the DPF on affected vehicles.

  7. Aug 2020 R/2020/244

    The urea injector may block and lead to NOx emissions going out of regulatory limits

    C4 Picassos built Oct 2019 to Mar 2020 · 1,689 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The vehicles may be affected by a defect in the urea injector which might block and lead to NOx emissions going out of the regulatory limits.
    Remedy
    Updating the ECU software to avoid the gradual blocking of the urea injector

  8. Sep 2019 R/2019/329

    Due to the calibration of the engine management software NOx emissions may not comply with regulatory limits

    C4 Picassos built Sep 2013 to May 2016 · 5,290 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The calibration of the engine management software could result in emissions of NOx which do not comply with the regulatory limits.
    Remedy
    Download new engine management software
How to check a specific C4 Picasso for recalls

Other Citroën models

The most-tested Citroën models in 2025, against the C4 Picasso's 71.2% MOT pass rate.

All 21 Citroën models

Citroën C4 Picasso FAQs

How many Citroën C4 Picassos are there in the UK?

32,987 Citroën C4 Picassos were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 4,235 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Citroën C4 Picasso reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 71.2% first-time pass rate for the Citroën C4 Picasso across 6,886 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Citroën C4 Picasso had any recalls?

31 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the Citroën C4 Picasso. The most recent was published in August 2025. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used Citroën C4 Picasso?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension and tyres. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Citroën C4 Picasso's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found a C4 Picasso?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,389 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Citroën history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Citroen VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to July 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.