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Citroën DS5, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

3,633 Citroën DS5s are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 60.5% of initial MOT tests, 11.8 points below the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific DS5? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Citroën DS5 at the MOT

60.5% of 3,899 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the DS5 486th of 575 models. Citroën DS5s aged 6 to 10 years passed 65.2% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 59.1%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Citroën DS560.5%
  • All Citroën modelsThe DS5 is 3 pts behind63.5%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Citroën DS5 tests in 2025.

  • 6 to 10 years884 tests65.2%
  • 11 years and over3,015 tests59.1%

Where DS5s fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Citroën DS5 tests in 2025.

  • Suspension27%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment22.7%
  • Brakes13.1%
  • Tyres11.9%
  • Body, chassis, structure11.1%

The items testers recorded most often were joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (9.2%), coil spring fractured or broken (8.7%) and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (6%).

The MOT page lists every common DS5 MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Citroën DS5 MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The DS5's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.27% of DS5 failure items

  2. 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.22.7% of DS5 failure items

  3. Brakes

    Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.13.1% of DS5 failure items

Citroën DS5s in the UK

3,633 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 21% since the end of 2014, and 27% from its peak of 4,947 at the end of 2016.

Change since 2014
−21%from 4,604 licensed
Typical year of first use
2013half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2013 or earlier
Declared off the road
3578.9% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Citroën DS5s since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 20144,604
End of 20154,946
End of 20164,947
End of 20174,937
End of 20184,809
End of 20194,727
End of 20204,623
End of 20214,534
End of 20224,446
End of 20234,279
End of 20244,078
End of 20253,758
End of June 20263,633

How old they are

Licensed Citroën DS5s by year of first use.

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

A further 1 were first used before 2012.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
2015364446
2014969
20131,484
2012904

DS5 engines and fuel

2.0 litre engines made up 88% of Citroën DS5 MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.6 litre at 12%. Diesel accounts for 89% of licensed DS5s and hybrid electric for 11%.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 3,898 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 2.0 litre87.5%
  • 1.6 litre12.1%

Fuel type, licensed DS5s

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol160.4%
Diesel3,22289%
Hybrid electric39511%

Citroën DS5 recalls

11 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the Citroën DS5. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every DS5 is affected.

  1. Jul 2025 R/2025/300

    Citroen C4 Citroen DS5 Driver Airbag (Takata)

    DS5s built Feb 2010 to Mar 2015 · 9,976 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On affected vehicles the Takata airbag inflators may deteriorate over time. This may cause some inflators to rupture with too much force in a crash capable of causing serious injury or death in a worst-case scenario.
    Remedy
    Replace Driver Airbag module. You are advised not to drive the vehicle.

  2. Sep 2020 R/2019/339

    Front air bag igniters may not deploy correctly

    DS5s built Sep 2009 to Apr 2017 · 1,080 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Check and if necessary replace the affected front airbags.

  3. Sep 2019 R/2019/329

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

    DS5s 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

  4. Jul 2018 R/2018/187

    Engine oil gallery sealing plug incorrectly tightened

    DS5s built May 2018 · 37 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On the affected vehicles the tightening of a sealing plug on the engine oil gallery may not be correct to specification.This could lead over time to an oil leak which in rare cases could result in oil leaking on to the road.
    Remedy
    The remedy consists of tightening the engine oil gallery sealing plug to the correct torque.

  5. Feb 2018 R/2018/049

    Engine may overheat

    DS5s built May 2013 to Apr 2015 · 2,098 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The engine electronic cooling management control strategy and the maximum temperature alert threshold could cause the engine to overheat. This could result in a warning light and a message being displayed on the instrument panel.
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles download a new engine management software in order to modify the cooling management parameters to improve the control of the engine operating temperature.

  6. Dec 2017 R/2017/339

    Engine component may not be to specification

    DS5s built Oct 2017 to Nov 2017 · 75 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    An engine component may not be to specification which could result in loss of engine performance. This may lead to the engine stalling and potentially causing an engine failure. In very unlikely circumstances the vehicle speed may increase without warning but will stop on its own after a few seconds.
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles carry out a functional diagnostic check of the engine. If necessary replace the engine.

  7. Jul 2017 R/2017/208

    Starter supply wire may chafe

    DS5s built May 2013 to Apr 2017 · 2,014 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The positioning of the starter motor supply terminal may not conform to specification. Contact with a neighbouring component could cause a short circuit.
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles check the position of the terminal and where necessary reposition. Replace damaged components if necessary.

  8. Apr 2017 R/2017/126

    Gearbox actuator ay not be to spectification

    DS5s built Apr 2016 to Aug 2016 · 16 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    A component in the gearbox actuator may not be to the correct specification which may affect gear selection.
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles replace the gearbox actuator
How to check a specific DS5 for recalls

Other Citroën models

The most-tested Citroën models in 2025, against the DS5's 60.5% MOT pass rate.

All 21 Citroën models

Citroën DS5 FAQs

How many Citroën DS5s are there in the UK?

3,633 Citroën DS5s were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 357 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Citroën DS5 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 60.5% first-time pass rate for the Citroën DS5 across 3,899 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Citroën DS5 had any recalls?

11 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the Citroën DS5. The most recent was published in July 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 DS5?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and brakes. 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 DS5'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 DS5?

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.