Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Citroen Dispatch 2013: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 53 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2013 Citroen Dispatch were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Drive shaft joints and boots (front).

Summary

The 2013 Citroen Dispatch follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,238 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
53 in every 100
Did not pass first time
47 in every 1001,059 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
12 yearsabout 114,762 miles
First tests counted
2,238

What failed most often

  1. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)25 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)24 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm ball joint (front)11 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 2013 Citroen Dispatch vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Brakes

One fault: brake pedal, 5.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,057 of 1,059 failed first attempts (99.8%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

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.

Brake pedal

Failed on 22 first tests5.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A brake pedal rubber worn smooth is not a defect, and nor is a worn design pattern on an aftermarket rubber. A pedal with no rubber is rejected if its grooves or raised grip sections are worn smooth, unless the vehicle was made without them. Insufficient reserve travel is Major, but a vehicle is failed for it only if the pedal or lever is touching the floor or handlebar.

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

Body and structure

Two faults. The strongest is the drive shaft joints and boots (front): 5.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 269 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Exhaust system (rear)

Failed on 65 first tests3.3 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 54 first tests, 2.5 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.

Lamps and electrical

Five faults. The strongest is the individual direction indicators (rear): 4.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Failed on 60 first tests4.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Direction indicators must be amber, though vehicles first used before a set date may have white at the front and red at the rear when the indicators are combined with stop or position lamps, and sequential or dynamic ones are not a reason to fail. A lamp that is missing, inoperative or has more than half of a multiple light source not functioning is graded Major. A flashing rate outside the permitted range is graded Minor.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 48 first tests, 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Rear fog light

Failed on 39 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing obligatory rear fog lamp, one that is not working, or one that does not emit a steady red light is graded Major. A rear fog lamp adversely affected by the operation of any other lamp is Major too. The manual allows it to go out when main beam is switched on or when dipped beam headlamps are switched off.

Number plate lights

Failed on 104 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Registration plate lamps must light up the rear registration plate and operate at the same time as the position lamps. A missing or inoperative lamp is Major when the plate has only one lamp or all its lamps are not working, and Minor when the plate has several lamps or light sources and not all have failed. A lamp throwing direct white light to the rear is also Minor.

Individual sidelight or tail light (front)

Failed on 250 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A position lamp showing red light to the front or white light to the rear is Major. Rear lamps must show a steady red light, and front ones can show white, predominantly white with a blue tinge, or yellow if combined in a yellow headlamp. With a multiple light source, up to half not working is Minor and more than half is Major.

Brake light

Failed on 92 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

All stop lamps missing or not working is graded Dangerous, and so is a stop lamp that stays on when the brakes are released. A stop lamp that is missing or not working is Major. On some vehicles with LED rear lamps, part of the stop lamp can go out when the rear fog lamp is lit, which is not regarded as a defect.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 51 first tests, 7.7 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: diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008), 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008)

Failed on 55 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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

Suspension

One fault: wheel bearings (front), 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Wheel bearings (front)

Failed on 25 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Excessive play in a wheel bearing, or a bearing that is excessively rough, is Major. Play so excessive that the bearing is likely to break up or directional control is impaired is Dangerous, and so is a bearing so rough that it is likely to overheat or break up.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 27 first tests, 2.7 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.

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.

Other power steering components

Noted on 29 first tests26 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Seat belt condition (front)

Noted on 24 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Transmission oil leaks

Noted on 20 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
53in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
10in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
37in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 52.7% of 2,238 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 63.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 10 fixed and the 37 not fixed make the 47 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201020132020Older carsNewer cars
406080100201020132020Older 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, 49 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200443 in every 100382
200547 in every 100519
200647 in every 100696
200751 in every 1001,228
200849 in every 1001,451
200949 in every 1001,257
201050 in every 1001,711
201150 in every 1001,659
201251 in every 1001,550
2013 This car53 in every 1002,238
201450 in every 1002,979
201550 in every 1003,773
201652 in every 1003,382
201767 in every 1004,102
201869 in every 1004,090
201970 in every 1003,943
202075 in every 1002,800
202169 in every 1002,931
202269 in every 1003,755

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2013 Dispatch.

Of 2013 Dispatch vehicles with under 81,000 miles, 65 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 157,000 miles or more, 48 in every 100 did.

Under 81,000449 tests
65
81,000–104,000442 tests
51
104,000–127,000 Typical car442 tests
52
127,000–157,000456 tests
48
157,000 and over446 tests
48

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 81,000104,000–127,000157,000 and over
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)8.712.710.1
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)6.713.311.7
Suspension arm ball joint (front)2.03.27.8
Number plate lights2.75.95.4
Brake light2.06.34.3

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

When a car fails

24in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

53in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

9in 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 2013 Citroen Dispatch follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Drive shaft joints and boots (front), about 25 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 52.7% of 2,238 first MOTs on the 2013 Citroen Dispatch passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 63.0%. Among 1,059 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Brake pedal appears more often than on similar cars (2.1% of those tests; 22 observed failures; about 5.3× 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 2013 Citroen Dispatch at the first attempt were Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (25.4%), Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (23.7%) and Suspension arm ball joint (front) (10.7%), 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: Brake pedal (2.1% of those tests; 22 observed failures; about 5.3× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Brake pedal shows up more often than on similar cars (2.1% of those tests; 22 observed failures; about 5.3× 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 2013 Citroen Dispatch include Brake pedal, Drive shaft joints and boots (front), Individual direction indicators (rear). 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 2013 Citroen Dispatch (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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