At a glance
How 3,429 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 49 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 51 in every 1001,746 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 18 yearsabout 99,844 miles
- First tests counted
- 3,429
What failed most often
- Drive shaft joints and boots (front)15 in every 100 failed tests
- Individual sidelight or tail light (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
- Brake light10 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.
These are patterns across 2007 Citroen Xsara 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.
Seat belts and restraints
One fault: seat belt mounting area (front), 11 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 1,733 of 1,746 failed first attempts (99.3%) 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.
Seat belt mounting area (front)
What it means
A seat belt anchorage likely to become detached in the event of a collision is graded Dangerous. The load bearing structure near an anchorage, called a prescribed area, is Major when its strength or continuity is significantly reduced or it is inadequately repaired. Anchorage points are inspected for all seat belts fitted, except a belt with no corresponding seat.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 23 first tests, 6.8 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.
Body and structure
Two faults. The strongest is the vehicle structure condition (front): 8.5 times as often as on similar cars.
Vehicle structure condition (front)
What it means
Structure that is fractured, deformed, corroded, modified or inadequately repaired is failed on rigidity only if the overall structural rigidity of the vehicle is significantly reduced. Structure that is likely to affect steering or braking adversely is graded Dangerous. Prescribed areas are not covered here, as they are checked under other sections, including brakes and steering.
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Steering
One fault: steering rack (front), 5.9 times as often as on similar cars.
Steering rack (front)
What it means
Steering gear casing retaining devices dangerously loose, or visible relative movement to the chassis or bodywork, is graded Dangerous. A casing not properly attached, or fractured, is Major, but a fracture that affects the stability or attachment of the casing is Dangerous. A gaiter damaged but still keeping dirt out is Minor, and Major once missing or no longer doing so.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Suspension
Three faults. The strongest is the suspension mounting area (front): 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.
Suspension mounting area (front)
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.
Anti-roll bar ball joint (front)
What it means
On an anti-roll bar ball joint, DVSA fails a suspension pin, bush or joint that is excessively worn as Major. One likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 21 first tests, 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.
Wheel bearings (front)
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: brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.
Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear)
What it means
A wheel giving less than a set share of the maximum effort from the other wheel on the same axle is Major. On a steered axle, less than half is graded Dangerous. Testers disregard an imbalance if the lower effort is the result of a locked wheel, or if the higher effort from a wheel is at or below a low set figure.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Noise, emissions and leaks
One fault: diesel emissions test (pre-reg turbo rules before 01/07/2008), 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.
Diesel emissions test (pre-reg turbo rules before 01/07/2008)
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.
Other power steering components
Power steering pipes and hoses
Seat belt condition (front)
Exhaust system (rear)
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
- 49in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 9in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 42in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 49.1% of 3,429 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 58.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 42 not fixed make the 51 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Petrol and diesel
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.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 48 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 51 in every 100 | 560 |
| 2002 | 52 in every 100 | 903 |
| 2003 | 52 in every 100 | 1,258 |
| 2004 | 50 in every 100 | 1,850 |
| 2005 | 49 in every 100 | 2,145 |
| 2006 | 51 in every 100 | 3,582 |
| 2007 This car | 49 in every 100 | 3,429 |
| 2008 | 49 in every 100 | 1,965 |
| 2009 | 53 in every 100 | 1,821 |
| 2010 | 52 in every 100 | 954 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2007 Xsara.
Of 2007 Xsara vehicles with under 74,000 miles, 63 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 130,000 miles or more, 40 in every 100 did.
Petrol or diesel?
| Typical mileage | Passed first time, as tested | Passed first time, same mileage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 92,762 miles | 49 | 48 |
| Diesel | 112,810 miles | 49 | 52 |
Figures are in every 100 first tests. 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 74,000 | 92,000–109,000 | 130,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drive shaft joints and boots (front) | 5.1 | 5.6 | 10.5 |
| Individual sidelight or tail light (front) | 3.8 | 8.4 | 9.3 |
| Brake light | 2.8 | 4.0 | 5.2 |
| Headlight | 3.6 | 2.8 | 6.1 |
| Headlight aim | 3.1 | 2.9 | 6.6 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
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.
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.
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.
Check any vehicle’s MOT history
Full MOT history, mileage records, and reliability insights for any UK vehicle.
Run a free check