Lexus Is: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Lexus Is passes its MOT first time more often than the average UK car, by 13 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 13,163 individual Lexus Is tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 89.7% first-time pass rate means roughly 10 in every 100 Lexus Is presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is better than average, so a well-kept example is a reasonably safe used buy. The average Lexus Is tested had covered 77,096 miles and was built around 2016.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Lexus Is bought as a repairable salvage, the mechanical side is less likely to spring surprises, so your repair estimate should hold up reasonably well.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Lexus Is rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged Lexus Is actually sold for at UK salvage auction, from 5 real settled sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Lexus Is

1. A headlamp cleaning device inoperative in the case of LED or gas discharge systems (HID), 0.2% of tests (9.29x the national rate for this defect)
2. A tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative, 0.5% of tests (2.67x the national rate for this defect)
3. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 2% of tests (1.64x the national rate for this defect)
4. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 1.1% of tests (1.21x the national rate for this defect)
5. A tyre seriously damaged, 2% of tests
6. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 1.5% of tests
7. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 0.7% of tests
8. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 0.6% of tests
9. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 0.4% of tests
10. Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 0.4% of tests

From 19,550 DVSA-tracked Lexus Is tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 7.66% of these flagged Lexus Is defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Lexus Is pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Lexus Is year:

• 2013 Lexus Is - 84.4% first-time pass, 410 tests
• 2014 Lexus Is - 88% first-time pass, 3,052 tests
• 2015 Lexus Is - 89.7% first-time pass, 2,813 tests
• 2016 Lexus Is - 89.8% first-time pass, 1,984 tests
• 2017 Lexus Is - 92.2% first-time pass, 1,548 tests
• 2018 Lexus Is - 92.8% first-time pass, 1,455 tests
• 2019 Lexus Is - 92.4% first-time pass, 1,156 tests
• 2020 Lexus Is - 93.4% first-time pass, 561 tests

Lexus Is by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• Hybrid Lexus Is - 90.3% first-time pass, 12,551 tests
• Petrol Lexus Is - 87.2% first-time pass, 509 tests

Other Lexus models

• Lexus Ct - 88.4%
• Lexus Nx - 93.1%
• Lexus Rx - 94%
• Lexus Ux - 95.8%
• Lexus Is250 - 80%
• Lexus Rx400h - 76.3%
• Lexus Rx450h - 82.6%
• Lexus Is200 - 72%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Peugeot 3008 GT Line Puretech S/S - 89.8%
• SEAT Ateca - 89.7%
• Skoda Kodiaq - 89.7%
• BMW 218i M Sport Auto - 89.7%
• Skoda Kamiq Se Tsi - 89.7%
• Vauxhall Grandland X Griffin Edition T - 89.7%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate