Common problems

Lexus IS common problems

What MOT testers find on the Lexus IS: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 154,326 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 16 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=12,686)14.6

All cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625)20.4

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=12,686)28.7

All cars, same age (n=4,858,625)28.4

What stands out

No part area of the Lexus IS fails more than 1 point per 100 MOTs above all cars at 16 years old (n=12,686; all cars n=4,858,625).
Suspension fails are less common: 3.4 per 100 MOTs against 17.1 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 16 years: side/position light not working, on 5.7 per 100 MOTs (all cars 5.9).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 18.8 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 16 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Lexus IS at 16 years (n=12,686) against all cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	14.6	20.4	14.3	15.3
Brakes	9.6	11.6	27.7	29.5
Tyres	6.9	7.5	28.7	28.4
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	3.8	6.2	3.7	12.0
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.8	6.8	5.3	5.7
Suspension	3.4	17.1	17.1	33.7
Body and structure	2.4	7.6	7.6	12.6
Number plates and VIN	0.6	0.6	5.4	4.8
Road wheels	0.6	0.6	0.4	1.5
Seat belts and airbags	0.5	2.1	0.3	1.1
Steering	0.5	3.4	1.7	4.6

What testers fail most on the IS at 16 years

Fail items on the Lexus IS at 16 years (n=12,686), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,858,625).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	5.7	5.9	£10 to £47 per lamp
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	3.3	3.0	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	3.2	3.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	2.6	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.4	2.6	£15 to £30 per blade
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	2.4	2.4	£18 to £86 per lamp
Shock absorber leaking	Suspension	1.7	1.6	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Headlamp aim: too low	Lights and electrics	1.6	1.7	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.4	1.9	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Electronic stability control: warning lamp indicates a fault	Brakes	1.3	0.3

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 16 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Lexus IS at 16 years (n=12,686), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,858,625).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	18.8	18.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	10.1	6.8	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	9.7	11.2	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	6.9	9.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	6.6	8.8	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Headlamp: has a product on the lens but not seriously reducing light output	Lights and electrics	5.7	2.5	£28 to £98 per lamp (rough guide)
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	Suspension	5.3	4.1	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread	Number plates and VIN	5.3	4.7	£23 to £63 per plate (rough guide)
Headlamp: lens slightly defective	Lights and electrics	5.1	2.8
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	4.5	4.6	£182 to £263 per section

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 16 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Brakes	Tyres
3 years	1,906	1.4	0.6	7.2
4 years	3,351	1.6	0.6	6.3
5 years	4,788	1.7	0.8	5.6
6 years	6,261	2.1	1.2	5.6
7 years	8,010	2.8	1.4	6.2
8 years	9,737	3.1	1.7	6.5
9 years	9,778	4.4	1.8	6.8
10 years	8,581	4.5	2.6	7.2
11 years	7,186	5.4	3.8	7.1
12 years	6,500	7.3	6.0	6.6
13 years	7,562	9.4	7.0	6.6
14 years	9,710	12.1	8.2	6.6
15 years	12,158	13.7	8.8	6.6
16 years	12,686	14.6	9.6	6.9
17 years	11,008	15.0	9.6	7.0
18 years	9,398	14.9	10.0	7.3
19 years	7,290	14.8	8.4	7.1
20 years	5,777	15.3	8.1	7.6
21 years	4,901	14.4	7.4	7.2
22 years	3,766	15.1	8.9	6.7
23 years	2,610	14.7	8.4	7.2
24 years	1,362	14.1	7.8	6.7

Mileage

At 16 years, Lexus IS cars showing 60,000 to 90,000 miles failed 22.5% of MOTs (n=2,547); the band that failed most, over 150,000 miles, failed 36.2% (n=2,135). For pass and fail rates by age, see Lexus IS MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Lexus IS, testers most often record side/position light not working; headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect; tyre tread below 1.6 mm. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Tyres

Check the tread across the full width of all four tyres, and the spare if there is one.
Look for cuts, bulges and cracking in the sidewalls.
Wear on one edge only can point to worn suspension or the tracking being out.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Lexus IS?

At 16 years, the age with the most MOT tests (12,686), the fail items testers record most often on the Lexus IS are side/position light not working (5.7 per 100 MOTs), headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect (3.3 per 100 MOTs), tyre tread below 1.6 mm (3.2 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (18.8) and brake pads: wearing thin (10.1).

Which parts of the Lexus IS fail more often than on other cars?

None by more than 1 point per 100 MOTs at 16 years, compared with 4,858,625 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Lexus IS problems by area

Other Lexus models

All Lexus models · Common problems by make

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Lexus IS?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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