Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Citroen DS5 2012: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 59 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2012 Citroen DS5 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Drive shaft joints and boots (front).

Summary

With 916 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2012 Citroen DS5 differs from the model years either side.

At a glance

How 916 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
59 in every 100
Did not pass first time
41 in every 100379 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
13 yearsabout 109,833 miles
First tests counted
916

What failed most often

  1. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)20 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Coil spring (front)18 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 2012 Citroen DS5 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.

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 377 of 379 failed first attempts (99.5%) 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.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 74 first tests3.4 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.

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

Suspension

One fault: coil spring (front), 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Coil spring (front)

Failed on 68 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. 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
59in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
5in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
36in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 58.6% of 916 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 63.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 5 fixed and the 36 not fixed make the 41 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
2012 This car59 in every 100916
201358 in every 1001,507
201462 in every 100930
201568 in every 100358

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

FAQs

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

With 916 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2012 Citroen DS5 differs from the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Drive shaft joints and boots (front), about 20 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 58.6% of 916 first MOTs on the 2012 Citroen DS5 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 63.8%. Among 379 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) appears more often than on similar cars (19.6% of those tests; 74 observed failures; about 3.4× 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 2012 Citroen DS5 at the first attempt were Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (19.6%) and Coil spring (front) (18.0%), 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) (19.6% of those tests; 74 observed failures; about 3.4× 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 (19.6% of those tests; 74 observed failures; about 3.4× 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 2012 Citroen DS5 include Drive shaft joints and boots (front), Coil spring (front). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2012 Citroen DS5 (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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