Is the Citroen C4 Cactus reliable?

On MOT evidence the Citroen C4 Cactus is below average. It passes 69.0% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 62% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Citroen C4 Cactus?

The item recorded most often is "Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen", which appears in 20.6% of failed Citroen C4 Cactus 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 C4 Cactus?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 24.1% of all Citroen C4 Cactus tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Citroen C4 Cactus usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 52,882 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 C4 Cactus get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 81.9% of Citroen C4 Cactus tests pass. By 9 to 11 years, that falls to 61.7%. 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 C4 Cactus models petrol or diesel?

Of the Citroen C4 Cactus cars tested, 74% are petrol, 26% are diesel. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

Model reliability file

Citroen C4 Cactus MOT pass rate & common failures

From 21,184 recorded MOT tests of the Citroen C4 Cactus, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

The Citroen C4 Cactus passes 69.0% of MOT tests once results are adjusted for the age and mileage of the cars tested, against a national average of 72.3%. That is below average. Based on 21,184 tests. Its most commonly recorded failure is wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, which appears in 20.6% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 52,882 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

69.0%national average72.3%unadjusted69.9%range covered62%

The C4 Cactus is 3.3 percentage points below the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is below average. The unadjusted figure is 69.9%; the difference is what the age and mileage of this model’s fleet was hiding.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Citroen C4 Cactus tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen20.6%
996 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained
2.A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc17.2%
831 occurrencesDriveshaft CV joint gaiter split or missing explained
3.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements15.7%
758 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
4.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn10.2%
492 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
5.A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED9.1%
439 occurrencesHeadlamp not working explained
6.A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps7.1%
342 occurrencesLamp not working explained
7.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm6.8%
329 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
8.A tyre cords visible or damaged6.3%
306 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained
9.Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning6.2%
301 occurrencesStop lamp not working explained
10.A tyre seriously damaged6.0%
290 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Citroen C4 Cactus tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements24.1%
5,100 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.A tyre seriously damaged20.7%
4,391 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
3.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured14.6%
3,092 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
4.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn11.1%
2,361 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained
5.Exhaust system leaking or insecure9.0%
1,901 testsExhaust leaking or insecure explained
6.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm6.5%
1,371 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
7.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn5.5%
1,155 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
8.Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt3.4%
715 tests

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

3–5 yrs82%

6–8 yrs70%

9–11 yrs62%

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

What gets tested

The C4 Cactus fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 52,882
Fuel mix of tested cars: Petrol74.2%
Diesel25.8%

Check a specific Citroen C4 Cactus

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

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

Fiat 500L — 63.6% adjusted, ranked 235
Skoda Rapid — 73.4% adjusted, ranked 128
Mercedes-Benz SL — 84.1% adjusted, ranked 26
BMW 6 Series — 81.4% adjusted, ranked 46

Common questions

Is the Citroen C4 Cactus reliable?: On MOT evidence the Citroen C4 Cactus is below average. It passes 69.0% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 62% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Citroen C4 Cactus?: The item recorded most often is "Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen", which appears in 20.6% of failed Citroen C4 Cactus 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 C4 Cactus?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 24.1% of all Citroen C4 Cactus tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Citroen C4 Cactus usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 52,882 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 C4 Cactus get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 81.9% of Citroen C4 Cactus tests pass. By 9 to 11 years, that falls to 61.7%. 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 C4 Cactus models petrol or diesel?: Of the Citroen C4 Cactus cars tested, 74% are petrol, 26% are diesel. 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. The adjusted rate is directly standardised across twenty-five age and mileage bands and reweighted onto the national distribution, so this model is compared against cars that have lived a similar life rather than against a younger or lighter-used fleet.

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.