172,260 tests in 2025
Citroen Berlingo reliability and MOT pass rate
69.5% passed first time. The 30.5% fail rate is 7.9 points worse than the all-car average, on a median example 10 years old with 89,666 miles.
Pass rate
69.5%
22.6% of all cars failed; 30.5% of these did.
Fixed on the day
10.4%
Passed after a defect was put right during the visit.
Median at test
89,666 mi
10 years old.
Fail rate by age
| Age at test | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3-5 years | 29,776 | 18.4% |
| 6-9 years | 52,388 | 26.2% |
| 10-13 years | 46,669 | 35.2% |
| 14+ years | 43,050 | 39.3% |
What the Berlingo fails on
Share of failed tests with at least one fail item in each DVSA inspection section. A test can fail in several sections at once.
- Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment823 dangerous51.9%
- Suspension947 dangerous36.9%
- Brakes6,778 dangerous25.1%
- Body, chassis, structure386 dangerous24.7%
- Tyres12,168 dangerous21.6%
- Visibility43 dangerous17.7%
- Noise, emissions and leaks124 dangerous11.9%
- Steering358 dangerous9.7%
Is the Berlingo getting worse?
The fail rate rose 1.7 points to 31.1% from 2022 to 2025, against a rising rate across all cars.
| Year | Tests | Median age | Fail rate | All cars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 185,645 | — | 29.4% | 22.5% | |
| 2023 | 187,795 | — | 30.5% | 22.8% | |
| 2024 | 163,563 | — | 31.2% | 23.2% | |
| 2025 | 165,124 | — | 31.1% | 22.6% |
Fail rate is first attempts at class 4 tests. Median age is the age of a typical Berlingo at its test that year, and it is the number to watch: across the whole fleet each extra year of age adds roughly 1.9 points to the fail rate, so a model whose age and fail rate rise together is simply getting older.
The exact defects that fail it
Every failure item DVSA recorded against a Berlingo in 2025, counted by how many tests each one appeared on.
- 1Position lamp: not working9,021 tests
- 2Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt8,857 tests
- 3Stop lamp: not working7,765 tests
- 4Coil spring: fractured or broken7,154 tests
- 5Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm5,866 tests
- 6Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps5,623 tests
- 7Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick4,500 tests
- 8Ball joint: ball joint excessively worn4,050 tests
What wears out first
Advisories are the tester flagging wear that is still legal. A typical Berlingo collects 2.63 of them per test, and these are the ones that come up most. Treat it as the running-repairs list for the next year or two.
- 1Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm36,857 tests
- 2Brake discs: in such a condition that it is seriously weakened17,157 tests
- 3Engine oil leaks: leaking excessively from engine16,216 tests
- 4Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick15,265 tests
- 5Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn14,045 tests
- 6Condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure9,531 tests
- 7Individual direction indicators: incorrect colour4,521 tests
- 8Tread depth: tread pattern not visible over the whole tread area when minimum depth required is 1.0mm4,502 tests
Questions
What is the Citroen Berlingo MOT pass rate?
69.5% of the 172,260 Citroen Berlingo first-attempt MOTs in 2025 passed. The fail rate of 30.5% compares with 22.6% across all cars. A further 10.4% passed after a defect was fixed during the test visit.
What does a Citroen Berlingo usually fail on?
The single most common failure is "Position lamp: not working", recorded on 9,021 failed tests, followed by "Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt" and "Stop lamp: not working". By section, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment appears in 51.9% of failures, suspension appears in 36.9% of failures, brakes appears in 25.1% of failures.
Does age change the odds?
Sharply. At 3 to 5 years old the fail rate was 18.4%; at 14+ years it was 39.3%. The median Citroen Berlingo tested in 2025 was 10 years old with 89,666 miles.
Is the Citroen Berlingo getting less reliable?
The fail rate rose 1.7 points to 31.1% from 2022 to 2025, against a rising rate across all cars.
First-attempt class 4 tests, 2025, from DVSA’s anonymised MOT data (OGL v3, retrieved 2026-09-12). DVSA records newer cars trim by trim; this page adds every Berlingo trim together. Year-on-year figures come from the same DVSA extracts for 2026 and earlier years. Full method on the pass rates hub.
DVSA has published 45 safety recalls naming the Citroen Berlingo: Citroen Berlingo recalls.
Other Citroen models
Checking a particular Berlingo?
The odds above are the model. The car in front of you has its own record: every test, every advisory, the mileage at each one.
Due a test? Find an approved MOT station near you.