Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Citroen C3 Aircross 2019: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 83 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2019 Citroen C3 Aircross were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Drive shaft joints and boots (front).

Summary

The 2019 Citroen C3 Aircross follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 9,282 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
83 in every 100
Did not pass first time
17 in every 1001,614 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
6 yearsabout 37,628 miles
First tests counted
9,282

What failed most often

  1. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)15 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Brake pads (rear)7 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (rear)7 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2019 Citroen C3 Aircross vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Body and structure

Two faults. The strongest is the exhaust system (front): 19 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,614 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Exhaust system (front)

Failed on 89 first tests19 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Exhaust fumes causing a danger to health of persons on board are graded Dangerous, and so is a silencer likely to become detached. Fumes entering the cabin are Major. One or more missing or defective mountings does not necessarily make the exhaust insecure, since testers assess the overall security of the system.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 126 first tests, 16 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 238 first tests8.8 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Brakes

One fault and two wear patterns. The strongest is the brake discs (rear): 5.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake discs (rear)

Failed on 112 first tests5.1 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before it is rejected, and being worn below the manufacturer's recommended limits is not a reason in itself. Significantly and obviously worn is Major, as is contamination with oil or grease. A disc or drum that is fractured, insecure, seriously weakened or missing is graded Dangerous.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 353 first tests, 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake discs (front)

Failed on 95 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before it is rejected, and being worn below the manufacturer's recommended limits is not a reason in itself. Significantly and obviously worn is Major, as is contamination with oil or grease. A disc or drum that is fractured, insecure, seriously weakened or missing is graded Dangerous.

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 42 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A wheel with no recorded braking effort on the roller test is graded Dangerous. Inadequate effort, a brake grabbing severely, abnormal lag and excessive fluctuation in effort are each Major. So is significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied, which indicates a binding brake.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 52 first tests, 3.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: petrol emissions (with catalyst), 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Petrol emissions (with catalyst)

Failed on 52 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Emissions levels over the manufacturer's specified limits are Major, as are levels over default limits, which apply when no exact match is found for the vehicle. Dense blue or clearly visible black smoke at idle, held for a set period, is Major, except for certain older vehicles and two stroke engines where smoke is unavoidable. An induction or exhaust leak that could affect emissions levels is Major too.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Exhaust system (rear)

Noted on 24 first tests6.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Engine oil leaks

Noted on 41 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
83in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
3in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
14in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 82.6% of 9,282 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 86.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 14 not fixed make the 17 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol8,72437,127 miles8383
Diesel55846,584 miles8082

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

406080100201720182019202020212022Older carsNewer cars
406080100201720182019202020212022Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 85 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201776 in every 100896
201878 in every 1009,137
2019 This car83 in every 1009,282
202087 in every 1004,362
202191 in every 1004,176
202292 in every 1006,065

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2019 Citroen C3 Aircross.

Of 2019 Citroen C3 Aircross vehicles with under 25,000 miles, 91 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 53,000 miles or more, 76 in every 100 did.

Under 25,0001,920 tests
91
25,000–33,0001,720 tests
86
33,000–42,000 Typical car1,954 tests
81
42,000–53,0001,856 tests
78
53,000 and over1,832 tests
76

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol37,127 miles8383
Diesel46,584 miles8082

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 46,584 against 37,127). At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 25,00033,000–42,00053,000 and over
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)1.12.83.3
Brake pads (rear)0.21.71.6
Tyre condition (rear)1.01.11.0
Brake discs (rear)0.71.41.6
Tyre tread depth (front)0.61.21.3

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

56in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

17in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

5in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2019 Citroen C3 Aircross follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Drive shaft joints and boots (front), about 15 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 82.6% of 9,282 first MOTs on the 2019 Citroen C3 Aircross passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 86.1%. Among 1,614 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) appears more often than on similar cars (14.7% of those tests; 238 observed failures; about 8.8× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2019 Citroen C3 Aircross at the first attempt were Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (14.7%), Brake pads (rear) (7.4%) and Tyre condition (rear) (7.1%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (14.7% of those tests; 238 observed failures; about 8.8× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Drive shaft joints and boots (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (14.7% of those tests; 238 observed failures; about 8.8× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2019 Citroen C3 Aircross include Drive shaft joints and boots (front), Exhaust system (front), Petrol emissions (with catalyst). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2019 Citroen C3 Aircross (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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