Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Citroen Xsara 2008: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 49 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2008 Citroen Xsara were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2008 Citroen Xsara follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,965 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
49 in every 100
Did not pass first time
51 in every 100993 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
17 yearsabout 98,978 miles
First tests counted
1,965

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)18 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Headlight aim10 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 2008 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), 19 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 987 of 993 failed first attempts (99.4%) 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)

Failed on 76 first tests19 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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.

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

Body and structure

Three faults. The strongest is the vehicle structure condition (front): 7.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Vehicle structure condition (front)

Failed on 35 first tests7.9 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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.

Chassis condition (front)

Failed on 21 first tests4.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A main load-bearing structural member that is fractured, deformed, modified or inadequately repaired is Major when structural rigidity is significantly reduced, and Dangerous where steering or braking is likely to be adversely affected. Corrosion of the body, cab or chassis at a mounting point is Dangerous where overall security or stability is impaired.

Exhaust system (rear)

Failed on 42 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible 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 63 first tests, 2.2 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.

Steering

One fault: steering rack (front), 7.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Steering rack (front)

Failed on 36 first tests7.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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.

Brakes

Two faults. The strongest is the brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear): 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear)

Failed on 30 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

Anti-lock braking system (ABS)

Failed on 44 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

ABS is failed as removed only where it has obviously been removed, because not every vehicle in the age range where removal is not permitted has ABS. A warning lamp that does not light or shows an ABS fault is Major, as is a missing or excessively damaged wheel speed sensor. Every failure row for this component is Major.

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

Suspension

One fault: suspension mounting area (rear), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension mounting area (rear)

Failed on 74 first tests2.1 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.

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

Noted on 33 first tests8.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)

Noted on 46 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Track rod end (front)

Noted on 28 first tests2.1 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
49in 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
41in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 49.5% of 1,965 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 59.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 10 fixed and the 41 not fixed make the 51 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Petrol1,04149
Diesel92450

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020052008Older carsNewer cars
4060801002008Older 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, 48 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200151 in every 100560
200252 in every 100903
200352 in every 1001,258
200450 in every 1001,850
200549 in every 1002,145
200651 in every 1003,582
200749 in every 1003,429
2008 This car49 in every 1001,965
200953 in every 1001,821
201052 in every 100954

FAQs

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

The 2008 Citroen Xsara follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 18 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 49.5% of 1,965 first MOTs on the 2008 Citroen Xsara passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 59.1%. Among 993 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Seat belt mounting area (front) appears more often than on similar cars (7.7% of those tests; 76 observed failures; about 19× 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 2008 Citroen Xsara at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (17.8%), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (12.5%) and Headlight aim (9.8%), 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: Seat belt mounting area (front) (7.7% of those tests; 76 observed failures; about 19× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Seat belt mounting area (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (7.7% of those tests; 76 observed failures; about 19× 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 2008 Citroen Xsara include Seat belt mounting area (front), Vehicle structure condition (front), Steering rack (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.
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 2008 Citroen Xsara (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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