FIGURE 1 // WHERE IT WEARSDS 3
Top three failure systems, annotated from 151 failed first-time tests. Arrows point to where the defect is found on the car.
Wiper and visibility defects fail the DS 3 2.5× as often as they fail a petrol or diesel car
1,212 inspections in a single year make the 3 a modestly documented electric car in the data. Visibility cause 30.0% of its failures; visibility take 2.5× the share they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
First-time test findings
The three-year vs four-year picture
AT THREE YEARS OLD11.9%
3 failure rate. Petrol cars of the same age fail 8.2%.
AT FOUR YEARS OLD14.0%
3 failure rate, against 8.9% for petrol.
At three years old the DS 3 fails 11.9% of the time, over the 8.2% of a petrol car the same age. By 4 years that reaches 14.0%. Visibility cause 30.0% of its failures.
FIGURE 2 // WINDSCREEN AND WIPER64 certificates in 2024
The cheapest failure on the list
Visibility take 30.0% of the defects that fail this car, 2.5× the share seen on petrol and diesel cars of the same age. The most common item in that group is "Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen", recorded 64 times in 2024.
SECTION // VISIBILITY CONCENTRATIONYear 3 crossover
Where the curve bends
The crossover with petrol happens around year 3. From there the 3's failure rate climbs faster than the petrol fleet, and the defect list explains why.
Source: DVSA MOT defect items, 2024 test year.
What to check
Trivial to fix, but a car advertised with worn wipers and a fresh failure certificate tells you how it was maintained. Have the suspension joints, bushes and springs checked on a lift. On this car it is a leading cause of failure and it is not visible from the outside. Check tyre age and tread across the full width, inner edge included. Electric cars wear tyres faster; a cheap mismatched set on a used car tells you how it was run. Ask for the full MOT history by registration on the free DVSA service: advisories are next year's failures.
3 inspection points:
✓ Wipers and washers
✓ Suspension joints and bushes on a lift
✓ Tyre inner-edge wear and age
FIGURE 3 // FAILURE RATE BY AGEvs petrol, diesel and all electric cars
Points hidden where fewer than 50 cars of that age were tested. Dashed lines are the same-age petrol and diesel fleets.
Data sheet
- Inspections
- 1,212
- Passed
- 1,020
- Failed
- 151
- Passed after repair
- 41
- Failure rate
- 12.5% (all EV 12.0%)
- Average age
- 3.4 years
- Best year
- 3 yrs · 11.9%
- Worst year
- 4 yrs · 14.0%
- Top cause
- Visibility 30.0%
TABLE 1 // WHAT FAILS, BY SYSTEMshare of failing defects
| System | This car (mark = petrol/diesel) | Share | vs petrol/diesel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 25.5% | in line | |
| Suspension | 21.7% | 1.6× more | |
| Brakes | 10.3% | 1.8× less | |
| Visibility | 30.0% | 2.5× more | |
| Lighting | 7.9% | 2.1× less | |
| Steering | 0.0% | in line | |
| Body | 0.3% | 13.7× less |
TABLE 2 // TOP DEFECTS ON THE CERTIFICATE
- Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen64
- A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc37
- Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements26
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn23
- A tyre seriously damaged22
- A tyre cords visible or damaged18
Wording as printed by the tester, from the DVSA inspection manual.
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Where it holds up
- Brakes fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (10.3% of defects vs 18.7%)
- Lighting fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (7.9% of defects vs 16.5%)
- Steering fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.0% of defects vs 3.1%)
- Body fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.3% of defects vs 4.1%)
Where it fails
- Suspension take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (21.7% vs 13.6%)
- Visibility take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (30.0% vs 11.9%)
- At three years old it fails 11.9% of the time, above the 8.2% of petrol cars the same age
VERSIONS SEEN IN THE TESTSas recorded
- DS 3 CROSSBACK ULTRA PRSTGE EV521
- DS 3 CROSSBACK PRFRMNC LINE EV291
- DS 3 CROSSBACK PRESTIGE EV243
- DS 3 CROSSBACK PFRMNC LNE + EV101
- DS 3 CROSSBACK BASTILLE EV35
- DS 3 CROSSBACK LA PREMIERE EV18
- DS 3 CROSSBACK ETENSE ELEGANCE2
- DS 3 CROSSBACK RIVOLI EV1
OWNER REPORTS // MATCHED TO RECORDED DEFECTS0 read · 0 matched
No owner discussion has been matched to this car's recorded defects yet. Reports are re-collected every quarter; the figures on this page do not depend on them.
Summaries written by us, never quotes; every entry links to its source. Owner reports have no denominator and never feed the failure rate.
SIMILAR CARS IN THE DATAclosest rate and age, other brands
Three things the data shows
- 1,212 inspections in 2024 make this one of the adequately-documented electric cars in the data.
- Visibility take 2.5× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
- Failure rate rises from 11.9% at 3 years to 14.0% at 4: a gentle ageing curve.
LIMITS // WHAT THE INSPECTION DOES NOT TELL YOU
No battery health, no motor, no charging performance. The test covers brakes, suspension, steering, tyres, lights, visibility and structure. A car with a badly degraded battery passes as long as it stops and steers. Read this page as evidence about the chassis, not the powertrain. Cars are tested from their third year, so the newest model years are missing; every figure carries its sample size for that reason. Full methodology.
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