51.2%
Citroën Xsara
Citroën Xsara MOT pass rate and common problems
The Citroën Xsara passed 51.2% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 21.1 percentage points below the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was prescribed areas prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the Xsara 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 Xsara runs 12.4 points behind the Citroën average. It is 21st of the 21 Citroën models in the data. The average Xsara arrived at its test 19.1 years old with 103,501 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.
Xsara MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 to 10 years (small sample) | 2 | 100% | 27.7 pts above |
| 11 years and over | 19,657 | 51.2% | 21.1 pts below |
Too few tests fall into some age groups to compare them reliably. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where Xsara failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Citroën Xsara cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension together account for 47% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common Xsara MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Citroën Xsara cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 38% of everything testers recorded against failed Citroën Xsara cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a Xsara
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: position lamp not working, stop lamp not working, headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect and headlamp not working on dipped beam. 16.3% of failure items.
2
Body, chassis, structure
Recorded most often: joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt and integral vehicle structure condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced. 7.5% of failure items.
3
Suspension
Recorded most often: component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength and ball joint excessively worn. 6.2% of failure items.
4
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems
Recorded most often: prescribed areas prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced. 5.5% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Xsara has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Citroën Xsara buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Citroën Xsara MOT FAQs
What is the Citroën Xsara MOT pass rate?
51.2% of Citroën Xsara cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 19,659 tests. That is 21.1 percentage points below the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 564th of 575 models.
What does a Citroën Xsara most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Citroën Xsara cars failing their 2025 MOT was prescribed areas prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced, on 5.5% of failure items. Next were position lamp not working (5.3%) and stop lamp not working (4.7%).
Which area causes the most Citroën Xsara MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 29.4%, followed by suspension at 17.6%.
Does this mean every Citroën Xsara has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Citroën Xsara 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 Xsara'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.