Common problems

Toyota iQ common problems

What MOT testers find on the Toyota iQ: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 67,409 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 13 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=15,128)9.8

All cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160)17.0

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=15,128)26.5

All cars, same age (n=6,612,160)25.0

What stands out

No part area of the Toyota iQ fails more than 1 point per 100 MOTs above all cars at 13 years old (n=15,128; all cars n=6,612,160).
Suspension fails are less common: 5.3 per 100 MOTs against 14.9 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 13 years: wipers not clearing screen, on 3.7 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.1).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing, on 12.6 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 13 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.

Toyota iQ at 13 years (n=15,128) against all cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	9.8	17.0	7.8	10.8
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	6.4	5.6	4.7	4.7
Brakes	5.9	9.1	26.5	25.0
Suspension	5.3	14.9	15.4	27.9
Tyres	3.8	7.3	22.4	28.1
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.6	4.3	1.6	8.2
Body and structure	1.4	5.0	6.7	8.0
Seat belts and airbags	0.7	1.2	0.4	0.7
Number plates and VIN	0.4	0.4	3.4	3.4
Road wheels	0.2	0.5	0.2	1.3
Steering	0.1	2.9	0.2	3.5

What testers fail most on the iQ at 13 years

Fail items on the Toyota iQ at 13 years (n=15,128), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,612,160).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.7	2.1	£15 to £30 per blade
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	3.0	4.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.0	2.0	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	2.0	0.9	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	Suspension	1.9	1.4	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	1.7	3.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	1.7	3.1	£10 to £47 per lamp
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	1.7	2.1	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	1.2	2.2	£18 to £86 per lamp
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	1.2	1.8	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 13 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 Toyota iQ at 13 years (n=15,128), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,612,160).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	12.6	9.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	11.1	10.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	9.9	18.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	8.3	5.1	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	8.1	7.3	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	4.6	5.6
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	3.5	8.0	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread	Number plates and VIN	3.3	3.3	£23 to £63 per plate (rough guide)
Exhaust system: mounting defective	Body and structure	2.8	1.4	£28 to £108 per car (rough guide)
Flexible brake hoses: has slight corrosion to ferrule	Brakes	2.8	1.2

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 13 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	Brakes
9 years	2,162	7.3	4.5	3.8
10 years	4,483	8.1	4.9	4.4
11 years	7,051	8.7	5.6	4.7
12 years	9,967	9.8	6.0	5.7
13 years	15,128	9.8	6.4	5.9
14 years	12,611	10.6	6.5	6.6
15 years	9,943	10.7	6.4	6.6
16 years	6,064	12.0	6.9	6.5

Mileage

At 13 years, Toyota iQ cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 11.9% of MOTs (n=1,380); the band that failed most, 90,000 to 120,000 miles, failed 32.5% (n=2,484). For pass and fail rates by age, see Toyota iQ MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Toyota iQ, testers most often record wipers not clearing screen; side/position light not working; washers: provides insufficient washer liquid. 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.

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors

Look for chips or cracks in the windscreen, above all in front of the driver.
Run the wipers and washers: they should clear the screen without smearing.
Check that the mirrors are present, secure and not cracked.

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.

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 Toyota iQ?

At 13 years, the age with the most MOT tests (15,128), the fail items testers record most often on the Toyota iQ are wipers not clearing screen (3.7 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (3.0 per 100 MOTs), washers: provides insufficient washer liquid (2.0 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (12.6) and brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (11.1).

Which parts of the Toyota iQ fail more often than on other cars?

None by more than 1 point per 100 MOTs at 13 years, compared with 6,612,160 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Toyota iQ problems by area

Other Toyota models

All Toyota 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 Toyota iQ?

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