1,378 tests in 2025
Citroen C-Crosser reliability and MOT pass rate
59.9% passed first time. The 40.1% fail rate is 17.5 points worse than the all-car average, on a median example 16 years old with 130,071 miles.
Pass rate
59.9%
22.6% of all cars failed; 40.1% of these did.
Fixed on the day
5.6%
Passed after a defect was put right during the visit.
Median at test
130,071 mi
16 years old.
Fail rate by age
| Age at test | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3-5 years | 0 | — |
| 6-9 years | 0 | — |
| 10-13 years | 13 | — |
| 14+ years | 1,365 | 40.3% |
What the C-Crosser 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.
- Suspension20 dangerous58.5%
- Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment5 dangerous43.5%
- Brakes88 dangerous35%
- Steering13 dangerous26.3%
- Tyres98 dangerous15.9%
- Visibility15%
- Noise, emissions and leaks1 dangerous12.3%
- Body, chassis, structure10 dangerous9.2%
Is the C-Crosser getting worse?
The fail rate rose 1.5 points to 40.1% from 2022 to 2025 while the median one tested aged 3 years, which is about what ageing alone predicts (4.2 points). Read it as the fleet getting older rather than the model changing.
| Year | Tests | Median age | Fail rate | All cars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2,257 | 13 | 38.6% | 22.5% | |
| 2023 | 2,019 | 14 | 38% | 22.8% | |
| 2024 | 1,570 | 15 | 38% | 23.2% | |
| 2025 | 1,378 | 16 | 40.1% | 22.6% |
Fail rate is first attempts at class 4 tests. Median age is the age of a typical C-Crosser 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 C-Crosser in 2025, counted by how many tests each one appeared on.
- 1Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play119 tests
- 2Position lamp: not working103 tests
- 3Ball joint: ball joint excessively worn102 tests
- 4Ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt72 tests
- 5Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt54 tests
- 6Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect50 tests
- 7Service brake performance: excessively binding45 tests
- 8Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick44 tests
What wears out first
Advisories are the tester flagging wear that is still legal. A typical C-Crosser collects 4.16 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.
- 1Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded318 tests
- 2Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm299 tests
- 3Sub-frame: corroded and seriously weakened261 tests
- 4Engine oil leaks: leaking excessively from engine247 tests
- 5Brake discs: in such a condition that it is seriously weakened239 tests
- 6Suspension arm: corroded and seriously weakened192 tests
- 7Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn181 tests
- 8Coil spring: corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened143 tests
Questions
What is the Citroen C-Crosser MOT pass rate?
59.9% of the 1,378 Citroen C-Crosser first-attempt MOTs in 2025 passed. The fail rate of 40.1% compares with 22.6% across all cars. A further 5.6% passed after a defect was fixed during the test visit.
What does a Citroen C-Crosser usually fail on?
The single most common failure is "Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play", recorded on 119 failed tests, followed by "Position lamp: not working" and "Ball joint: ball joint excessively worn". By section, suspension appears in 58.5% of failures, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment appears in 43.5% of failures, brakes appears in 35% of failures.
Does age change the odds?
Sharply. At 3 to 5 years old the fail rate was n/a%; at 14+ years it was 40.3%. The median Citroen C-Crosser tested in 2025 was 16 years old with 130,071 miles.
Is the Citroen C-Crosser getting less reliable?
The fail rate rose 1.5 points to 40.1% from 2022 to 2025 while the median one tested aged 3 years, which is about what ageing alone predicts (4.2 points). Read it as the fleet getting older rather than the model changing.
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 C-Crosser 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 11 safety recalls naming the Citroen C-Crosser: Citroen C-Crosser recalls.
Other Citroen models
Checking a particular C-Crosser?
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.