Pass rate
80.3%
Around average — 7.7 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 608 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £40–£106
2003 Lexus IS300 MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 109,677 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
27.3% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2016 92.2% pass
- Avoid 2001 79.0% pass
Across the 9 years on record, a spread of 13.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 76.7%
- Typical mileage
- 110k mi
The 2003 Lexus IS300 MOT pass rate is 80.3% of its MOT tests — 7.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.3% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 27.3% of everything recorded on the 2003 Lexus Is300, against 21.0% nationally — 6.3 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- 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 72.6% and this one manages 80.3% — 7.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
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 IS300? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Lexus IS300 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 7.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 76.7%. The median 2003 Lexus IS300 in this dataset had covered 109,677 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 79.9% of the time, April–September 80.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 8.72% of tests.
- 608 recorded tests behind this page.
- 80.3% overall pass rate, 76.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Lexus IS300, the average is 81.2% — best year 2016 (92.2%), worst 2001 (79.0%).
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
- 608
- Typical mileage (median)
- 109,677 mi
- Make and model
- Lexus IS300
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the IS300 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 70% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Lexus IS300 is most common
Across all IS300 model years on record (2001–2016): 1,132 Lexus IS300 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 2,514 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 36 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) | 36 | 91.3% |
| 2 | London (SE) | 28 | 84.8% |
| 3 | Reading (RG) | 26 | 86.2% |
| 4 | Guildford (GU) | 25 | 83.3% |
| 5 | London (E) | 24 | 84.6% |
| 6 | Croydon (CR) | 23 | 95.5% |
| 7 | Brighton (BN) | 22 | 81.8% |
| 8 | High Wycombe (HP) | 22 | 81.5% |
| 9 | Crawley (RH) | 22 | 93.5% |
| 10 | Hounslow (TW) | 22 | 79.1% |
| 11 | Manchester (M) | 22 | 83.3% |
| 12 | Chelmsford (CM) | 20 | 82.6% |
| 13 | Southampton (SO) | 20 | 81.0% |
| 14 | Ipswich (IP) | 19 | 64.7% |
| 15 | Sheffield (S) | 19 | 79.5% |
| 16 | Swindon (SN) | 19 | 84.6% |
| 17 | Peterborough (PE) | 19 | 86.8% |
| 18 | Cardiff (CF) | 18 | 79.6% |
| 19 | Ilford (IG) | 18 | 84.8% |
| 20 | Romford (RM) | 17 | 87.8% |
The twenty areas with the most Lexus IS300 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 IS300
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 168 | 86.3% |
| East of England | 92 | 76.1% |
| London | 85 | 82.4% |
| South West | 78 | 69.2% |
| West Midlands | 61 | 75.4% |
| North West | 45 | 82.2% |
| Scotland | 23 | 82.6% |
| Yorkshire | 18 | 83.3% |
| North East | 17 | 88.2% |
| Wales | 15 | 80.0% |
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 2003 IS300
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 2003 IS300
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 8.7% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
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 3.6% 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 corrosion 3.0% of tests
“component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength”
Look under the sills, around the jacking points and where the suspension mounts meet the body. Flaking, holed or crumbly metal fails; a brown stain on sound metal does not.
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 2003 IS300 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £40–£106 — and 49% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £40–£106
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 49%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 608 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 IS300, side by side
9 model years on record, from 2001 to 2016. Across them the pass rate runs from 79.0% to 92.2% — a spread of 13.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 79.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 80.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 80.3%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 81.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 79.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2013 84.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 82.1% headlamp aim too high
- 2015 91.2% anti-lock braking system warning…
- 2016 92.2% has ply or cords damaged
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 2003 Lexus IS300 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 2003 cars with a similar record
- Porsche Boxster 80.4%
- Subaru Impreza 80.0%
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class 81.7%
- Jaguar Xj 78.8%
- Mercedes-Benz Slk 78.3%
- BMW Z4 77.5%
Closest pass rates among 2003 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 2003 Lexus IS300 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 1,384 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 387 | 27.30% | 20.98% | +6.32 |
| Brakes | 249 | 17.60% | 20.89% | −3.29 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 207 | 14.60% | 12.21% | +2.39 |
| Tyres | 175 | 12.30% | 19.76% | −7.46 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 166 | 11.70% | 5.52% | +6.18 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 77 | 5.40% | 5.57% | −0.17 |
| Visibility | 58 | 4.10% | 4.97% | −0.87 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 27 | 1.90% | 1.76% | +0.14 |
| Non-component advisories | 20 | 1.40% | 4.18% | −2.78 |
| Steering | 18 | 1.30% | 2.57% | −1.27 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 8.7% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.8% | £5–25 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.6% | £80–200 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 3.0% | £180–450 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 2.3% | £60–150 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.1% | £5–25 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.0% | £60–140 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 2.0% | £25–65 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.6% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.6% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 18.9% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 13.0% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 11.2% | £40–150 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.2% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 9.2% | £18–45 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 7.7% | £180–450 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 4 | 100.0% | 24,493 mi |
| 30-60k | 39 | 89.7% | 47,349 mi |
| 60-90k | 125 | 83.2% | 76,371 mi |
| 90-120k | 191 | 78.5% | 104,067 mi |
| 120k+ | 249 | 78.3% | 148,043 mi |
Source: 608 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.
2003 IS300 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Lexus IS300?
80.3% of the 608 2003 Lexus IS300 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 76.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Lexus IS300?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (8.72%), headlamp lens slightly defective (4.77%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (3.62%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Lexus IS300 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 78.3% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Lexus IS300 in this dataset had covered 109,677 mi.
Does the season affect the 2003 Lexus IS300 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 79.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 80.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.