Pass rate
89.8%
Above average — 15.8 pts ahead of the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 108 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £39–£112
2009 Lexus Is F MOT pass rate
- 2009
- 2 trims combined
- typical 102,438 mi
Most common fault
Tyres
28.4% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tyre has a tear. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2011 94.3% pass
- Avoid 2010 89.7% pass
Across the 4 years on record, a spread of 4.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 88.7%
- Typical mileage
- 102k mi
The 2009 Lexus Is F MOT pass rate is 89.8% of its MOT tests — 15.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 28.4% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Lexus Is F does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 1.4× the national share
Tyres make up 28.4% of everything recorded on the 2009 Lexus Is F, against 19.8% nationally — 8.6 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
- 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 89.8% — 15.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 22% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
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 F? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Lexus Is F first registered in 2009 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2009 Lexus Is F compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 15.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 88.7%. The median 2009 Lexus Is F in this dataset had covered 102,438 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 91.5% of the time, April–September 86.5%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier", noted on 3.70% of tests.
- 108 recorded tests behind this page.
- 89.8% overall pass rate, 88.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Lexus Is F, the average is 90.9% — best year 2011 (94.3%), worst 2010 (89.7%).
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
- 108
- Typical mileage (median)
- 102,438 mi
- Make and model
- Lexus Is F
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Battery
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Is F MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 73% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Is F
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| East of England | 23 | 78.3% |
| South East | 22 | 95.5% |
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 F
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 F
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 battery 3.7% of tests
“battery(ies) insecure”
Check the battery is secure and its terminals are clean and tight — a loose battery is a fail on its own, and a weak one shows up as slow cranking on a cold morning.
-
Check the brakes 1.9% 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.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 1.9% of tests
“catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
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 F through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £39–£112 — and 22% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £39–£112
- Cheapest common item: headlamp lens slightly defective
- £5–£25
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 22%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 108 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 F, side by side
4 model years on record, from 2008 to 2011. Across them the pass rate runs from 89.7% to 94.3% — a spread of 4.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2008 90.6% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2009 89.8%battery(ies) insecure but not…
- 2010 89.7% battery(ies) insecure but not…
- 2011 94.3% headlamp lens slightly defective
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 F 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
- BMW M3 90.3%
- Porsche Cayman 90.3%
- Porsche 911 91.3%
- Porsche Boxster 91.4%
- Toyota Estima 86.7%
- BMW Z4 85.3%
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 F 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 9 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 95 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 27 | 28.40% | 19.76% | +8.64 |
| Brakes | 25 | 26.30% | 20.89% | +5.41 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 18 | 18.90% | 12.21% | +6.69 |
| Suspension | 9 | 9.50% | 20.98% | −11.48 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 4 | 4.20% | 5.57% | −1.37 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 4 | 4.20% | 5.52% | −1.32 |
| Non-component advisories | 4 | 4.20% | 4.18% | +0.02 |
| Visibility | 3 | 3.20% | 4.97% | −1.77 |
| Road Wheels | 1 | 1.10% | 0.75% | +0.35 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.7% | £60–140 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.9% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.9% | £60–250 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.9% | £5–25 |
| Obviously under inflated Tyres | Minor | 1.9% | £45–95 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.9% | £5–25 |
| Brake performance not tested unable to be tested Brakes | Major | 0.93% | £60–150 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.93% | £60–250 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 0.93% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.93% | £30–80 |
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 | 12.0% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 4.6% | £18–45 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Advisory | 4.6% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 4.6% | £80–180 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 3.7% | £45–110 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 3.7% | £30–75 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 10 | 100.0% | 44,614 mi |
| 60-90k | 26 | 92.3% | 78,475 mi |
| 90-120k | 39 | 92.3% | 105,236 mi |
| 120k+ | 33 | 81.8% | 151,809 mi |
Source: 108 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 F MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 Lexus Is F?
89.8% of the 108 2009 Lexus Is F tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 88.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 Lexus Is F?
The three most recorded items are battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier (3.70%), brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (1.85%), catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (1.85%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 Lexus Is F MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 81.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 Lexus Is F in this dataset had covered 102,438 mi.
Does the season affect the 2009 Lexus Is F MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 91.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 86.5%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.