Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Citroen Relay 2010: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 63 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2010 Citroen Relay were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test).

Summary

A 2010 Citroen Relay passed first time about 7 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2009 and 2011 model years.

At a glance

How 686 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
63 in every 100
Did not pass first time
37 in every 100253 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
15 yearsabout 122,114 miles
First tests counted
686

What failed most often

  1. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)25 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 2010 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

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension mounting area (rear): 4.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 252 of 253 failed first attempts (99.6%) 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 (rear)

Failed on 20 first tests4.1 times as often as similar carsPossible 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 40 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Brakes

One fault: handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 62 first tests3.4 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.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel engine warning light, 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 21 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.

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

Lamps and electrical

One fault: number plate lights, 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Number plate lights

Failed on 27 first tests2.6 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.

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
63in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
33in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 63.1% of 686 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 67.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 33 not fixed make the 37 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201020152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020102020Newer 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, 58 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200550 in every 100340
200653 in every 100604
200750 in every 100773
200856 in every 100733
200955 in every 100505
2010 This car63 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.

A 2010 Citroen Relay passed first time about 7 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2009 and 2011 model years. In 2025, 63.1% of 686 first MOTs on the 2010 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 67.3%. Among 253 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension mounting area (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (7.9% of those tests; 20 observed failures; about 4.1× 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 2010 Citroen Relay at the first attempt were Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (24.6%), 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 (rear) (7.9% of those tests; 20 observed failures; about 4.1× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension mounting area (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (7.9% of those tests; 20 observed failures; about 4.1× 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 2010 Citroen Relay include Suspension mounting area (rear), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), Suspension arm pins and bushes (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 2010 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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