Citroen Relay 2007: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 50 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2007 Citroen Relay were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test).

Summary

With 773 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2007 Citroen Relay differs from the model years either side.

At a glance

How 773 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
50 in every 100
Did not pass first time
50 in every 100387 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
18 yearsabout 121,490 miles
First tests counted
773

What failed most often

  1. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)26 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Suspension mounting area (rear)15 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 2007 Citroen Relay 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.

Suspension

Three faults. The strongest is the suspension mounting area (front): 9.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 383 of 387 failed first attempts (99.0%) 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.

Suspension mounting area (front)

Failed on 33 first tests9.3 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

The load bearing structure within a set distance of a sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting is a prescribed area. Major applies when its strength or continuity is significantly reduced or it is inadequately repaired. Dangerous applies when it is so weakened that control of the vehicle is likely to be adversely affected.

Suspension mounting area (rear)

Failed on 56 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

The load bearing structure within a set distance of a sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting is a prescribed area. Major applies when its strength or continuity is significantly reduced or it is inadequately repaired. Dangerous applies when it is so weakened that control of the vehicle is likely to be adversely affected.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 41 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.

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

Lamps and electrical

Three faults. The strongest is the side repeater indicators: 3.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Side repeater indicators

Failed on 22 first tests3.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Failed on 25 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

Individual sidelight or tail light (rear)

Failed on 25 first tests2.0 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.

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

Brakes

One fault: handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 100 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.

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.

Brake performance (roller test, front)

Noted on 20 first tests2.5 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
50in 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
45in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 49.9% of 773 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 55.4%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 5 fixed and the 45 not fixed make the 50 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002007201020152020Older carsNewer cars
406080100200720102020Newer 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
200550 in every 100340
200653 in every 100604
2007 This car50 in every 100773
200856 in every 100733
200955 in every 100505
201063 in every 100686
201158 in every 100620
201263 in every 100651
201361 in every 100744
201463 in every 1001,045
201565 in every 1001,341
201669 in every 1001,326
201768 in every 1001,088
201872 in every 100716
201980 in every 100643
202078 in every 100430
202178 in every 100581
202287 in every 100403

FAQs

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

With 773 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2007 Citroen Relay differs from the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), about 26 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 49.9% of 773 first MOTs on the 2007 Citroen Relay passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 55.4%. Among 387 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension mounting area (front) appears more often than on similar cars (8.6% of those tests; 33 observed failures; about 9.3× 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 2007 Citroen Relay at the first attempt were Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (26.1%) and Suspension mounting area (rear) (14.6%), 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: Suspension mounting area (front) (8.6% of those tests; 33 observed failures; about 9.3× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension mounting area (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (8.6% of those tests; 33 observed failures; about 9.3× 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 2007 Citroen Relay include Suspension mounting area (front), Side repeater indicators, Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test). 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 2007 Citroen Relay (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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