Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Toyota Avensis 2009: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 62 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2009 Toyota Avensis were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2009 Toyota Avensis follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 4,514 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
62 in every 100
Did not pass first time
38 in every 1001,721 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
16 yearsabout 123,567 miles
First tests counted
4,514

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)23 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Coil spring (rear)9 in every 100 failed tests
  3. 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 2009 Toyota Avensis 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: side repeater indicators, 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,721 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.

Side repeater indicators

Failed on 80 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.

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

Brakes

One fault and one wear pattern. The strongest is the rigid brake pipes (rear): 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Rigid brake pipes (rear)

Failed on 76 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Chafing, corrosion or damage to a rigid brake pipe justifies rejection once its wall thickness is reduced by a set amount, although DVSA accepts this is not easy to determine. If a tester is not sure, the benefit of the doubt applies. A leaking pipe or connection is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic system and Major on an air system.

Brake discs (rear)

Failed on 46 first tests2.2 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.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the coil spring (rear): 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Coil spring (rear)

Failed on 149 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 62 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover is Major, and so is one that no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A cover that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. DVSA uses one wording for the dust cover on any suspension joint.

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.

Steering rack play

Noted on 29 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (front)

Noted on 95 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (rear)

Noted on 170 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar (rear)

Noted on 23 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Noted on 60 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame mounting area (rear)

Noted on 32 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Headlight (front)

Noted on 68 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Other suspension component (rear)

Noted on 28 first tests2.2 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
62in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
8in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
30in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 61.9% of 4,514 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 69.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 30 not fixed make the 38 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol2,355106,839 miles6463
Diesel2,133143,304 miles5962

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002000200520092015Older carsNewer cars
40608010020002009Older 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, 63 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200060 in every 100338
200159 in every 100467
200260 in every 100661
200355 in every 1001,505
200458 in every 1002,014
200557 in every 1002,786
200657 in every 1003,614
200758 in every 1004,056
200857 in every 1004,274
2009 This car62 in every 1004,514
201064 in every 1004,842
201165 in every 1003,942
201269 in every 1004,291
201370 in every 1002,810
201473 in every 1002,681
201576 in every 1002,819
201680 in every 1003,203
201781 in every 1002,212
201881 in every 1001,022

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2009 Avensis.

Of 2009 Avensis vehicles with under 86,000 miles, 75 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 168,000 miles or more, 55 in every 100 did.

Under 86,000926 tests
75
86,000–112,000888 tests
62
112,000–136,000 Typical car890 tests
60
136,000–168,000904 tests
57
168,000 and over905 tests
55

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol106,839 miles6463
Diesel143,304 miles5962

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 143,304 against 106,839). At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.

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 86,000112,000–136,000168,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)2.99.710.8
Coil spring (rear)1.62.85.7
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)1.63.43.4
Headlight aim1.33.34.6
Windscreen washers1.22.73.1

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

When a car fails

28in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

48in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

9in 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 2009 Toyota Avensis 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, 61.9% of 4,514 first MOTs on the 2009 Toyota Avensis passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 69.8%. Among 1,721 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Side repeater indicators appears more often than on similar cars (4.6% of those tests; 80 observed failures; about 2.6× 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 2009 Toyota Avensis at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (23.1%), Coil spring (rear) (8.7%) and Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front) (7.7%), 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: Side repeater indicators (4.6% of those tests; 80 observed failures; about 2.6× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Side repeater indicators shows up more often than on similar cars (4.6% of those tests; 80 observed failures; about 2.6× 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 2009 Toyota Avensis include Side repeater indicators, Rigid brake pipes (rear), Coil spring (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 2009 Toyota Avensis (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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