How reliable is the Citroen C3 Picasso compared with other cars?

We do not publish a comparison for the Citroen C3 Picasso, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 68.0% across 6,486 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.

What do testers most often warn about on a Citroen C3 Picasso?

The most common advisory is "Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured", noted on 29.2% of all Citroen C3 Picasso tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Citroen C3 Picasso usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 54,787 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Does a Citroen C3 Picasso get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 6 to 8 years old, 70.2% of Citroen C3 Picasso tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 49.8%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most Citroen C3 Picasso models petrol or diesel?

Of the Citroen C3 Picasso cars tested, 65% are diesel, 35% are petrol. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

Model reliability file

Citroen C3 Picasso MOT pass rate & common failures

From 6,486 recorded MOT tests of the Citroen C3 Picasso, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

Across 6,486 MOT tests, 68.0% of Citroen C3 Picasso tests ended in a pass. This figure is not adjusted for age or mileage, so it is not a reliability ranking: the Citroen C3 Picasso fleet does not yet cover a wide enough spread of ages and distances to compare it fairly against other models. Its most commonly recorded failure is transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, which appears in 24.1% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 54,787 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Recorded pass rate

68.0%unadjusted, not comparable6,486 tests

We are not publishing a ranking for the C3 Picasso. The examples tested do not cover a wide enough spread of ages and mileages to compare it fairly, and an unadjusted pass rate mostly sorts models by how recently they were bought rather than how well they were built. The failure and advisory patterns below come from the same 6,486 tests and are worth reading on their own terms.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Citroen C3 Picasso tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc24.1%
368 occurrencesDriveshaft CV joint gaiter split or missing explained
2.Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning17.0%
260 occurrencesStop lamp not working explained
3.A tyre seriously damaged9.6%
147 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
4.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements9.4%
144 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
5.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm8.4%
129 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
6.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn8.1%
124 occurrencesBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
7.A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED8.0%
122 occurrencesHeadlamp not working explained
8.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen7.5%
115 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained
9.A tyre cords visible or damaged7.1%
108 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained
10.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning6.7%
102 occurrencesLamp not working explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Citroen C3 Picasso tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured29.2%
1,892 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
2.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements21.8%
1,416 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
3.A tyre seriously damaged16.4%
1,065 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
4.Exhaust system leaking or insecure9.9%
641 testsExhaust leaking or insecure explained
5.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm8.7%
567 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
6.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn6.5%
423 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
7.Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements6.0%
390 testsLamp of the wrong colour, position or intensity explained
8.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users3.9%
251 tests

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

6–8 yrs70%

9–11 yrs68%

12–14 yrs60%

15+ yrs50%

Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The C3 Picasso fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 54,787
Fuel mix of tested cars: Diesel65.1%
Petrol34.9%

Check a specific Citroen C3 Picasso

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Citroen models

Citroen C3 — 63.9% adjusted
Citroen Berlingo — 61.9% adjusted
Citroen C1 — 68.7% adjusted
Citroen C4 — 63.8% adjusted
Citroen DS3 — 51.9% adjusted
Citroen Dispatch — 62.0% adjusted
All Citroen models

Common questions

How reliable is the Citroen C3 Picasso compared with other cars?: We do not publish a comparison for the Citroen C3 Picasso, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 68.0% across 6,486 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Citroen C3 Picasso?: The item recorded most often is "A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc", which appears in 24.1% of failed Citroen C3 Picasso tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.
What do testers most often warn about on a Citroen C3 Picasso?: The most common advisory is "Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured", noted on 29.2% of all Citroen C3 Picasso tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Citroen C3 Picasso usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 54,787 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.
Does a Citroen C3 Picasso get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 6 to 8 years old, 70.2% of Citroen C3 Picasso tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 49.8%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.
Are most Citroen C3 Picasso models petrol or diesel?: Of the Citroen C3 Picasso cars tested, 65% are diesel, 35% are petrol. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. No adjusted rate is shown because this model's tested examples do not cover enough of the national age and mileage range for standardisation to mean anything.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.