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MOT fail rates

Lexus IS MOT fail rate by age

How often the Lexus IS fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 154,326 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 16 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 16 (n=12,686)28.5%
All cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625)42.6%
Median mileage at test112,207
All cars, median mileage102,757

30 of 264 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 16 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Lexus IS fails 11.6% of MOTs (1,906 tests), about the same as the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 24 years it fails 32.2% (1,362 tests), 5.6 points below the 37.8% average.
  • The gap is widest at 11 years: 16.6 points below all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 16 years: Shock absorber leaking, at 1.9 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 24 years 47.6%

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Lexus IS: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years11.6%1,90612.1%−0.5 pts25,723 miles
4 years10.2%3,35113.4%−3.1 pts33,780 miles
5 years10.3%4,78815.3%−5.1 pts40,660 miles
6 years10.4%6,26117.8%−7.4 pts49,560 miles
7 years11.3%8,01020.6%−9.3 pts57,944 miles
8 years12.5%9,73723.8%−11.3 pts67,432 miles
9 years13.8%9,77827.1%−13.3 pts75,341 miles
10 years14.9%8,58130.3%−15.4 pts80,302 miles
11 years16.6%7,18633.3%−16.6 pts83,727 miles
12 years20.1%6,50036.0%−15.9 pts85,221 miles
13 years22.6%7,56238.3%−15.7 pts90,650 miles
14 years25.7%9,71040.3%−14.6 pts99,572 miles
15 years26.7%12,15841.6%−14.9 pts106,763 miles
16 years28.5%12,68642.6%−14.0 pts112,207 miles
17 years29.4%11,00843.1%−13.7 pts113,190 miles
18 years31.8%9,39843.3%−11.5 pts112,960 miles
19 years32.5%7,29043.2%−10.7 pts111,054 miles
20 years33.9%5,77742.8%−8.9 pts110,189 miles
21 years33.9%4,90142.1%−8.2 pts111,512 miles
22 years35.2%3,76641.0%−5.8 pts114,501 miles
23 years33.7%2,61039.6%−6.0 pts117,749 miles
24 years32.2%1,36237.8%−5.6 pts119,658 miles

Most common fail items at 16 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Shock absorber leaking Major1.9
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded Major1.7

Out of 12,686 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Side/position light not working Major6.5
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect Major4.8
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous4.4
Wipers not clearing screen Major3
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous2.9
Dipped headlight not working Major2.5
Headlamp aim: too low Major2
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major1.5

Out of 12,686 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 16 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Lexus RX27.6%10,80742.6%
Ford Fiesta45.5%257,41242.6%
Ford Focus43.1%189,42642.6%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
200222 years in 202433.9%1,10141.0%
200322 years in 202533.8%1,14241.0%
200421 years in 202533.9%1,30042.1%
200520 years in 202534.0%1,38142.8%
200619 years in 202531.1%2,39043.2%
200718 years in 202529.8%2,97443.3%
200817 years in 202526.0%2,42743.1%
200916 years in 202526.7%2,25542.6%
201015 years in 202525.3%2,18241.6%
201114 years in 202522.1%1,45540.3%
201312 years in 202516.4%1,65536.0%
201411 years in 202515.1%3,05233.3%
201510 years in 202514.1%2,80930.3%
20169 years in 202514.6%1,98727.1%
20178 years in 202510.0%1,57923.8%
20187 years in 20258.7%1,48620.6%
20196 years in 202510.7%1,16817.8%

More on the Lexus IS

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Lexus IS?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources