Pass rate
84.6%
Around average — 10.6 pts ahead of the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 429 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £24–£67
2009 Lexus Is MOT pass rate
- 2009
- 7 trims combined
- typical 107,939 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
26.4% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£40 for Brake pads under 1.5 mm. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2014 90.8% pass
- Avoid 2006 78.7% pass
Across the 11 years on record, a spread of 12.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 82.4%
- Typical mileage
- 108k mi
The 2009 Lexus Is MOT pass rate is 84.6% of its MOT tests — 10.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.4% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.3× the national share
Brakes make up 26.4% of everything recorded on the 2009 Lexus Is, against 20.9% nationally — 5.5 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 74.0% and this one manages 84.6% — 10.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 55% of the repairs this model fails on cost under £30 in parts. The pass rate matters less than what a bad afternoon at the test centre actually costs you.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Lexus Is? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Lexus Is first registered in 2009 is combined here — 7 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2009 Lexus Is compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 10.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 82.4%. The median 2009 Lexus Is in this dataset had covered 107,939 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 52% of tests, with a 83.7% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 84.8% of the time, April–September 84.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp lens slightly defective", noted on 4.90% of tests.
- 429 recorded tests behind this page.
- 84.6% overall pass rate, 82.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Lexus Is, the average is 86.0% — best year 2014 (90.8%), worst 2006 (78.7%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 429
- Typical mileage (median)
- 107,939 mi
- Make and model
- Lexus Is
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Headlight Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Is MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 72% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (52% of tests).
Where the Lexus Is is most common
Across all Is model years on record (2005–2017): 3,896 Lexus Is cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 8,659 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 153 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 153 | 91.0% |
| 2 | London (NW) | 120 | 87.8% |
| 3 | London (E) | 109 | 93.1% |
| 4 | Leicester (LE) | 98 | 91.0% |
| 5 | London (SE) | 97 | 91.6% |
| 6 | Croydon (CR) | 84 | 92.1% |
| 7 | Romford (RM) | 82 | 87.2% |
| 8 | Ilford (IG) | 81 | 91.3% |
| 9 | Wembley (HA) | 79 | 89.2% |
| 10 | Hayes (UB) | 78 | 88.7% |
| 11 | Guildford (GU) | 72 | 84.7% |
| 12 | Bradford (BD) | 72 | 90.1% |
| 13 | Manchester (M) | 71 | 81.1% |
| 14 | Hounslow (TW) | 69 | 89.2% |
| 15 | Reading (RG) | 66 | 85.3% |
| 16 | Sheffield (S) | 65 | 87.2% |
| 17 | Coventry (CV) | 63 | 82.8% |
| 18 | London (N) | 60 | 87.6% |
| 19 | Slough (SL) | 59 | 89.7% |
| 20 | Dartford (DA) | 57 | 92.0% |
The twenty areas with the most Lexus Is cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the Is
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 102 | 86.3% |
| West Midlands | 50 | 86.0% |
| North West | 48 | 85.4% |
| London | 43 | 95.3% |
| East of England | 42 | 81.0% |
| South West | 41 | 80.5% |
| Yorkshire | 39 | 84.6% |
| East Midlands | 35 | 88.6% |
| Scotland | 15 | 53.3% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2009 Is
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2009 Is
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the lights 4.9% of tests
“headlamp lens slightly defective”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the windscreen 3.7% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the brakes 2.3% of tests
“brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick”
Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2009 Is through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £24–£67 — and 55% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £24–£67
- Cheapest common item: wipers does not clear the windscreen…
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 55%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 429 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Is, side by side
11 model years on record, from 2005 to 2017. Across them the pass rate runs from 78.7% to 90.8% — a spread of 12.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2005 85.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2006 78.7% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2007 80.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2008 81.7% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2009 84.6%headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2010 85.2% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2011 83.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2012 87.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2013 88.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 90.8% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2017 87.7% has a cut in excess of the…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2009 Lexus Is with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2009 cars with a similar record
Closest pass rates among 2009 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2009 Lexus Is 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 672 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 179 | 26.40% | 20.89% | +5.51 |
| Tyres | 144 | 21.30% | 19.76% | +1.54 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 115 | 17.00% | 12.21% | +4.79 |
| Suspension | 94 | 13.90% | 20.98% | −7.08 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 42 | 6.20% | 5.57% | +0.63 |
| Visibility | 34 | 5.00% | 4.97% | +0.03 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 21 | 3.10% | 5.52% | −2.42 |
| Non-component advisories | 17 | 2.50% | 4.18% | −1.68 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 14 | 2.10% | 1.76% | +0.34 |
| Steering | 12 | 1.80% | 2.57% | −0.77 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.9% | £5–25 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.7% | £80–200 |
| Rear reflectors defective or damaged by up to 50% of the reflecting surface Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.8% | £5–25 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 2.3% | £18–45 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.3% | £5–25 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 1.6% | £18–45 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.4% | £60–140 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.4% | £30–80 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.4% | £8–22 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.2% | £5–25 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 18.2% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 11.4% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 6.1% | £45–110 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 6.1% | £30–75 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 5.4% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 5.4% | £80–180 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 39 | 89.7% | 52,937 mi |
| 60-90k | 97 | 87.6% | 75,802 mi |
| 90-120k | 130 | 86.2% | 105,485 mi |
| 120k+ | 163 | 80.4% | 151,336 mi |
Source: 429 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2009 Is MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 Lexus Is?
84.6% of the 429 2009 Lexus Is tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 82.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 Lexus Is?
The three most recorded items are headlamp lens slightly defective (4.90%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (3.73%), rear reflectors defective or damaged by up to 50% of the reflecting surface (2.80%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 Lexus Is MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 89.7% of the time, falling to 80.4% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 Lexus Is in this dataset had covered 107,939 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2009 Lexus Is?
Petrol: 83.7% pass rate across 221 tests. Diesel: 85.6% pass rate across 208 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2009 Lexus Is MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 84.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 84.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.