51.8%
Citroën DS3
Citroën DS3 MOT pass rate and common problems
The Citroën DS3 passed 51.8% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 20.5 percentage points below the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was coil spring fractured or broken.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the DS3 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 DS3 runs 11.8 points behind the Citroën average. It is 20th of the 21 Citroën models in the data. The average DS3 arrived at its test 12.1 years old with 84,142 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.
DS3 MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Citroën DS3 cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 54.7% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 50.8%, a drop of 3.9 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years (small sample) | 12 | 83.3% | 11 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 17,648 | 54.7% | 17.7 pts below |
| 11 years and over | 50,512 | 50.8% | 21.5 pts below |
That is a smaller decline than most cars show. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where DS3 failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Citroën DS3 cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension together account for 47.4% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common DS3 MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Citroën DS3 cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 48.3% of everything testers recorded against failed Citroën DS3 cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a DS3
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: position lamp not working, headlamp not working on dipped beam, stop lamp not working and registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps. 15.6% of failure items.
2
Suspension
Recorded most often: coil spring fractured or broken and ball joint excessively worn. 13% of failure items.
3
Body, chassis, structure
Recorded most often: joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. 8.9% of failure items.
4
Steering
Recorded most often: track rod end ball joint has excessive play. 5% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific DS3 has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Citroën DS3 buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Citroën DS3 MOT FAQs
What is the Citroën DS3 MOT pass rate?
51.8% of Citroën DS3 cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 68,173 tests. That is 20.5 percentage points below the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 562nd of 575 models.
What does a Citroën DS3 most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Citroën DS3 cars failing their 2025 MOT was coil spring fractured or broken, on 10% of failure items. Next were joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (8.9%) and position lamp not working (6.1%).
Which area causes the most Citroën DS3 MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 28.2%, followed by suspension at 19.2%.
Do older Citroën DS3 cars fail their MOT more often?
Citroën DS3 cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 54.7% of MOT tests in 2025, against 50.8% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Citroën DS3 has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Citroën DS3 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 DS3'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.