Lexus NX 2017: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 89 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2017 Lexus NX were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Windscreen wipers (front).

Summary

The 2017 Lexus NX follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 3,654 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
89 in every 100
Did not pass first time
11 in every 100393 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
8 yearsabout 56,598 miles
First tests counted
3,654

What failed most often

  1. Windscreen wipers (front)18 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2017 Lexus NX vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Suspension

One fault: suspension arm pins and bushes (rear), 25 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 393 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)

Failed on 35 first tests25 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 36 first tests, 15 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Visibility

One fault: windscreen wipers (front), 4.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Windscreen wipers (front)

Failed on 70 first tests4.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Only a clearly damaged or worn windscreen wiper needs to be rejected. A wiper that is missing or not working is graded Major, and so is a blade that is missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen. A defective blade is graded Minor.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
89in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
3in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
8in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 89.2% of 3,654 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 92.4%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 8 not fixed make the 11 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

406080100201420152016201720182019202020212022Older carsNewer cars
40608010020172020Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 88 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201486 in every 100809
201586 in every 1002,995
201688 in every 1003,576
2017 This car89 in every 1003,654
201890 in every 1004,139
201990 in every 1004,236
202091 in every 1003,838
202192 in every 1004,195
202296 in every 1003,085

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage makes a modest difference on a 2017 Lexus NX.

Of 2017 Lexus NX vehicles with under 40,000 miles, 91 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 77,000 miles or more, 87 in every 100 did.

Under 40,000733 tests
91
40,000–51,000719 tests
90
51,000–62,000 Typical car730 tests
90
62,000–77,000728 tests
88
77,000 and over744 tests
87

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 40,00051,000–62,00077,000 and over
Windscreen wipers (front)1.21.91.6

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.


Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2017 Lexus NX follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Windscreen wipers (front), about 18 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 89.2% of 3,654 first MOTs on the 2017 Lexus NX passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 92.4%. Among 393 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (8.9% of those tests; 35 observed failures; about 25× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2017 Lexus NX at the first attempt were Windscreen wipers (front) (17.8%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) (8.9% of those tests; 35 observed failures; about 25× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (8.9% of those tests; 35 observed failures; about 25× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2017 Lexus NX include Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear), Windscreen wipers (front). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2017 Lexus NX (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Check any vehicle’s MOT history

Full MOT history, mileage records, and reliability insights for any UK vehicle.

Run a free check