Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Lexus RX 2008: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 70 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2008 Lexus RX were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2008 Lexus RX follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,256 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
70 in every 100
Did not pass first time
30 in every 100674 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
17 yearsabout 131,676 miles
First tests counted
2,256

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)23 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)8 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 2008 Lexus RX vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: headlight levelling device (rear), 31 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 674 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.

Headlight levelling device (rear)

Failed on 20 first tests31 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A headlamp levelling device that is inoperative is graded Major, and so is a manual levelling device that cannot be operated from the driver's seat. Vehicles with high intensity discharge or LED dipped beam headlamps may have a self-levelling system, and if fitted it must work. Where it is not easy to tell, testers give the benefit of the doubt, and motor caravans are not checked.

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

Brakes

One wear pattern: brake discs (rear), 4.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake discs (rear)

Failed on 33 first tests4.0 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before it is rejected, and being worn below the manufacturer's recommended limits is not a reason in itself. Significantly and obviously worn is Major, as is contamination with oil or grease. A disc or drum that is fractured, insecure, seriously weakened or missing is graded Dangerous.

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

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 37 first tests11 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 201 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Non-component advisories (rear)

Noted on 54 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, 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
70in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
7in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
23in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 70.1% of 2,256 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 77.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 23 not fixed make the 30 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005200820152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020082020Newer 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, 73 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200369 in every 100400
200468 in every 100907
200564 in every 1001,567
200666 in every 1001,978
200768 in every 1002,534
2008 This car70 in every 1002,256
200973 in every 1002,215
201075 in every 1002,378
201173 in every 1001,692
201280 in every 1001,665
201386 in every 1001,761
201485 in every 1001,587
201586 in every 1001,211
201692 in every 1002,025
201791 in every 1001,746
201893 in every 1001,646
201995 in every 1002,056
202095 in every 1001,563
202195 in every 1001,596
202295 in every 1002,205

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2008 Lexus RX.

Of 2008 Lexus RX vehicles with under 101,000 miles, 78 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 166,000 miles or more, 63 in every 100 did.

Under 101,000456 tests
78
101,000–122,000450 tests
73
122,000–141,000 Typical car450 tests
68
141,000–166,000445 tests
69
166,000 and over455 tests
63

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 101,000122,000–141,000166,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)5.78.49.7
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)1.13.13.3

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

When a car fails

30in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

43in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

7in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

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 2008 Lexus RX follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 23 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 70.1% of 2,256 first MOTs on the 2008 Lexus RX passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 77.3%. Among 674 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Headlight levelling device (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (3.0% of those tests; 20 observed failures; about 31× 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 2008 Lexus RX at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (23.0%) and Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front) (8.2%), 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: Headlight levelling device (rear) (3.0% of those tests; 20 observed failures; about 31× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Headlight levelling device (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (3.0% of those tests; 20 observed failures; about 31× 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 2008 Lexus RX include Headlight levelling device (rear). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2008 Lexus RX (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.

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