Pass rate
88.0%
Above average — 10.8 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 3,552 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £25–£67
2012 Lexus RX450H MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 94,111 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
33.2% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2016 97.6% pass
- Avoid 2005 77.6% pass
Across the 12 years on record, a spread of 20 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 86.5%
- Typical mileage
- 94k mi
The 2012 Lexus RX450H MOT pass rate is 88.0% of its MOT tests — 10.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 33.2% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.6× the national share
Suspension accounts for 33.2% of everything recorded on the 2012 Lexus Rx450h, against 21.0% nationally — 12.2 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 77.2% and this one manages 88.0% — 10.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 35% 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 RX450H? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Lexus RX450H compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 10.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 86.5%. The median 2012 Lexus RX450H in this dataset had covered 94,111 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 87.5% of the time, April–September 88.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 3.10% of tests.
- 3,552 recorded tests behind this page.
- 88.0% overall pass rate, 86.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Lexus RX450H, the average is 84.6% — best year 2016 (97.6%), worst 2005 (77.6%).
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
- 3,552
- Typical mileage (median)
- 94,111 mi
- Make and model
- Lexus RX450H
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Ball Joint
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the RX450H MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 74% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Lexus RX450H is most common
Across all RX450H model years on record (2005–2016): 10,350 Lexus RX450H cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 23,764 tests. London (SE) has the most, with 506 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 | London (SE) | 506 | 90.0% |
| 2 | Croydon (CR) | 455 | 89.1% |
| 3 | London (NW) | 433 | 86.5% |
| 4 | London (E) | 380 | 91.1% |
| 5 | London (N) | 352 | 87.1% |
| 6 | Ilford (IG) | 298 | 88.3% |
| 7 | Hounslow (TW) | 297 | 85.8% |
| 8 | Romford (RM) | 286 | 86.6% |
| 9 | Guildford (GU) | 265 | 79.0% |
| 10 | Wembley (HA) | 264 | 86.5% |
| 11 | Hayes (UB) | 242 | 92.1% |
| 12 | Reading (RG) | 225 | 81.7% |
| 13 | Birmingham (B) | 219 | 90.5% |
| 14 | London (SW) | 212 | 85.3% |
| 15 | Kingston upon Thames (KT) | 206 | 81.1% |
| 16 | Dartford (DA) | 190 | 88.8% |
| 17 | Slough (SL) | 154 | 90.0% |
| 18 | Ashford (TN) | 146 | 80.8% |
| 19 | High Wycombe (HP) | 144 | 81.7% |
| 20 | Leicester (LE) | 132 | 86.2% |
The twenty areas with the most Lexus RX450H 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 RX450H
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 1,265 | 88.3% |
| London | 667 | 90.1% |
| East of England | 321 | 87.9% |
| North West | 271 | 86.7% |
| South West | 217 | 83.4% |
| West Midlands | 206 | 92.2% |
| East Midlands | 205 | 87.3% |
| Yorkshire | 154 | 85.1% |
| Scotland | 107 | 86.0% |
| Wales | 75 | 80.0% |
| North East | 55 | 90.9% |
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 2012 RX450H
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 2012 RX450H
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 suspension joints 3.1% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the windscreen 2.9% 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 lights 2.5% of tests
“position lamp not working”
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.
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 2012 RX450H through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £25–£67 — and 35% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £25–£67
- Cheapest common item: position lamp not working
- £5–£25
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 90%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 35%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 3,552 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 RX450H, side by side
12 model years on record, from 2005 to 2016. Across them the pass rate runs from 77.6% to 97.6% — a spread of 20 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2005 77.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 82.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2007 79.9% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2008 83.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 83.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2010 84.1% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2011 84.6% position lamp not working
- 2012 88.0%ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2013 92.7% obviously under inflated
- 2014 92.4% position lamp with a multiple…
- 2015 88.3% linkage ball joint dust cover…
- 2016 97.6% 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 2012 Lexus RX450H 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 2012 cars with a similar record
- Toyota Estima 88.3%
- Audi A7 86.8%
- Honda Fit 89.3%
- Toyota Iq 86.5%
- Porsche Cayenne 86.4%
- Audi Tt 86.1%
Closest pass rates among 2012 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 2012 Lexus RX450H 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 4,726 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 | 1,581 | 33.20% | 20.98% | +12.22 |
| Tyres | 1,106 | 23.20% | 19.76% | +3.44 |
| Brakes | 886 | 18.60% | 20.89% | −2.29 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 445 | 9.30% | 12.21% | −2.91 |
| Visibility | 241 | 5.10% | 4.97% | +0.13 |
| Non-component advisories | 213 | 4.50% | 4.18% | +0.32 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 111 | 2.30% | 1.76% | +0.54 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 93 | 2.00% | 5.57% | −3.57 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 29 | 0.60% | 5.52% | −4.92 |
| Steering | 21 | 0.40% | 2.57% | −2.17 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.1% | £18–45 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.9% | £80–200 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 2.5% | £5–25 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.2% | £5–25 |
| Position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.7% | £5–25 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 1.5% | £18–45 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.3% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 1.2% | £25–65 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 1.1% | £18–45 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.0% | £18–45 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 20.6% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 15.3% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 8.9% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 8.7% | £18–45 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 7.5% | £45–95 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 3.9% | £30–75 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 23 | 91.3% | 23,881 mi |
| 30-60k | 367 | 92.4% | 49,472 mi |
| 60-90k | 1,201 | 90.3% | 76,980 mi |
| 90-120k | 1,124 | 88.1% | 103,862 mi |
| 120k+ | 836 | 82.4% | 145,020 mi |
Source: 3,552 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.
2012 RX450H MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Lexus RX450H?
88.0% of the 3,552 2012 Lexus RX450H tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 86.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Lexus RX450H?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (3.10%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (2.87%), position lamp not working (2.51%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Lexus RX450H MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 91.3% of the time, falling to 82.4% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Lexus RX450H in this dataset had covered 94,111 mi.
Does the season affect the 2012 Lexus RX450H MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 87.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 88.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.