Is the Citroen DS3 reliable?

On MOT evidence the Citroen DS3 is well below average. It passes 51.9% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 61% 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 DS3?

The item recorded most often is "A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened", which appears in 32.4% of failed Citroen DS3 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 DS3?

The most common advisory is "Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured", noted on 31.3% of all Citroen DS3 tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Citroen DS3 usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 84,142 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 DS3 get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 6 to 8 years old, 63.5% of Citroen DS3 tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 50.7%. 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 DS3 models petrol or diesel?

Of the Citroen DS3 cars tested, 50% are petrol, 50% are diesel. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

Model reliability file

Citroen DS3 MOT pass rate & common failures

From 68,173 recorded MOT tests of the Citroen DS3, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

The Citroen DS3 passes 51.9% 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 well below average. Based on 68,173 tests. Its most commonly recorded failure is spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, which appears in 32.4% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 84,142 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

51.9%national average72.3%unadjusted51.8%range covered61%

The DS3 is 20.4 percentage points below the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is well below average. The unadjusted figure is 51.8%; 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 DS3 tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened32.4%
8,716 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained
2.A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc26.9%
7,232 occurrencesDriveshaft CV joint gaiter split or missing explained
3.A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play16.2%
4,350 occurrencesBall joint worn explained
4.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning14.3%
3,837 occurrencesLamp not working explained
5.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements11.2%
3,020 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
6.A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED8.2%
2,208 occurrencesHeadlamp not working explained
7.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn8.1%
2,182 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
8.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn7.4%
1,985 occurrencesBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
9.A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps7.2%
1,929 occurrencesLamp not working explained
10.Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning6.8%
1,830 occurrencesStop lamp not working explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Citroen DS3 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 fractured31.3%
21,341 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
2.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements27.6%
18,803 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
3.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn14.7%
9,989 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained
4.A tyre seriously damaged13.5%
9,227 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
5.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened11.2%
7,621 testsRoad spring broken or fractured explained
6.Exhaust system leaking or insecure11.0%
7,506 testsExhaust leaking or insecure explained
7.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users8.9%
6,076 tests
8.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm7.7%
5,283 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

6–8 yrs63%

9–11 yrs54%

12–14 yrs51%

15+ yrs51%

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

What gets tested

The DS3 fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 84,142
Fuel mix of tested cars: Petrol50.2%
Diesel49.8%

Check a specific Citroen DS3

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 Dispatch — 62.0% adjusted
Citroen C3 Aircross — 84.6% unadjusted
All Citroen models

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

Volkswagen Touran — 75.1% adjusted, ranked 111
Ford S-Max — 71.4% adjusted, ranked 156
Nissan Navara — 68.6% adjusted, ranked 186
Renault Kadjar — 74.0% adjusted, ranked 121

Common questions

Is the Citroen DS3 reliable?: On MOT evidence the Citroen DS3 is well below average. It passes 51.9% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 61% 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 DS3?: The item recorded most often is "A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened", which appears in 32.4% of failed Citroen DS3 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 DS3?: The most common advisory is "Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured", noted on 31.3% of all Citroen DS3 tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Citroen DS3 usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 84,142 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 DS3 get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 6 to 8 years old, 63.5% of Citroen DS3 tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 50.7%. 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 DS3 models petrol or diesel?: Of the Citroen DS3 cars tested, 50% are petrol, 50% 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.