Lexus NX MOT failure rate and common faults
31,619 Lexus NX cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 9.8% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 18.7% of the time, which makes the Lexus NX 48% less likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
9.8%
failed first time
31,619 MOT tests in 2025
-48%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 18.7%
3 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
37.2
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 77.3
What fails on a Lexus NX MOT
Failure items recorded per 1,000 tests, by part of the car, set against an average car with exactly the same spread of ages. A figure well above average is a weak spot worth checking before you buy.
The most common Lexus NX MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 31.6 |
| Tyres: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords | Tyres | 14.7 |
| Suspension arms: pin or bush excessively worn | Suspension | 12.0 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 11.0 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 10.8 |
| Tyres: has ply or cords exposed | Tyres | 8.2 |
| Headlamp aim: too high | Lights and electrics | 8.0 |
| Headlamp aim: too low | Lights and electrics | 5.7 |
| Tyre pressure monitoring system: malfunctioning or obviously inoperative | Tyres | 5.2 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt | Suspension | 3.8 |
Lexus NX MOT failure rate by year
Every car fails more often as it ages, so each registration year is compared with the average for all cars of the same age. Years with fewer than 500 tests are left out.
| First registered | Tests | Failed | Same age average | Average mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3,221 | 4.5% | 11.4% | 25,000 |
| 2021 | 4,349 | 7.7% | 12.8% | 30,800 |
| 2020 | 3,977 | 8.4% | 14.1% | 37,400 |
| 2019 | 4,389 | 10.2% | 16.5% | 43,800 |
| 2018 | 4,280 | 9.9% | 19.1% | 53,600 |
| 2017 | 3,787 | 10.8% | 21.8% | 60,300 |
| 2016 | 3,692 | 12.1% | 25.1% | 67,200 |
| 2015 | 3,091 | 14.3% | 28.1% | 78,000 |
| 2014 | 833 | 14.1% | 31.4% | 81,900 |
Advisories to look for in a Lexus NX's MOT history
An advisory is a tester's warning that something is wearing but has not failed yet. These are the ones written most often on the Lexus NX, per 1,000 tests. If the car you are looking at has one of these, ask whether it has been fixed since.
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge237.3
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing146.1
- Suspension arms: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement124.9
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened70.8
- Brake pads: wearing thin68.1
- Brake discs: worn, but not excessively34.3
Checking a used Lexus NX before you buy
The Lexus NX has no part of the car that fails well above average for its age, so check the areas that fail most often overall.
Tyres
Check the tread across the full width of every tyre, inner edge included. Uneven wear points to worn suspension or out of line steering geometry.
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors
Look for chips or cracks in the driver's line of sight, and test the wipers and washers. Windscreen damage in the swept area is an MOT failure.
Suspension
Drive over speed bumps with the radio off and listen for knocks. Look at the car side on: a corner sitting lower than the others often means a broken coil spring.
Averages only take you so far. The specific car's MOT history shows whether it has already failed on any of these, how often advisories were ignored, and whether the mileage climbs steadily from test to test. Read our guide to reading a car's MOT history before you go to view it.
Lexus NX MOT questions
What is the Lexus NX MOT failure rate?
9.8% of Lexus NX cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 31,619 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 18.7% of the time, so the Lexus NX was 48% less likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Lexus NX MOT?
Tyres caused the most failure items, at 45 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively", recorded 31.6 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Lexus NX year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2022 registrations did best: 4.5% failed against an average of 11.4% for cars that age. Older cars always fail more often, so compare a year with its age group rather than with newer cars.
Does this tell me whether a particular Lexus NX will pass?
No. These are averages across every Lexus NX tested in 2025. The car in front of you has its own record: its full MOT history shows every pass, failure and advisory it has had, and it is free to view by registration.
Other Lexus models
- Lexus CT17.4% failed
Ranked close to the Lexus NX
- Porsche 911rank 1
- Porsche Macanrank 2
- Porsche Cayennerank 4
- Mercedes-Benz S-Classrank 5
How these figures are calculated
Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 release. We count first tests of cars and small vans (class 4) aged 3 to 20, so a car that fails and is retested is counted once. A failure includes faults fixed and passed within the same visit. The same age average weights the national failure rate for each age by how many Lexus NX cars of that age were tested, so a model is never penalised for having an older fleet. Make and model are as recorded at the test; trim levels are combined. Full method and rankings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.