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Toyota iQ

All generations and engines together · 13,933 MOT tests in the 2025 data

Reliability verdict
ABy miles

Graded against its peers

One of the best city cars per mile driven. Watch brakes and suspension. A solid used buy, provided its MOT history has no repeating brakes advisories.

First-time failure at 50-60k miles
22.1%
Across 1,650 tests. The average for city cars is 30.1%.

What owners report

Reported

Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.

Early clutch wear (shared with Aygo/107/C1)

Confirmed pattern

The iQ 1.0 manual uses the same engine and clutch as the Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1, and all four shared a run of premature clutch failures, sometimes at little more than 12,000 miles and typically inside the first three years. Toyota moved to a bigger, stronger clutch from around January 2009 as a running change, and dealers have been known to help with goodwill repairs on affected cars. A full clutch job on a car this size typically runs to a few hundred pounds.

Reported from as little as 12,000 miles, usually by 3 years old · sources: Honest John, Ask Honest John reader Q&A

EGR and exhaust manifold clogging, loss of power

Confirmed pattern

Soot can build up in the exhaust manifold and EGR passages on the 1.0 and 1.33 petrol engines, showing up as flat, breathless performance pulling away or climbing hills and slip roads. Toyota addressed it with a technical bulletin covering a redesigned exhaust manifold, fitted to cars from around mid-2010, and separate bulletins cover manifold-related rattling and check-engine codes on earlier cars. Sorting it properly, rather than just clearing the fault code, can run to four figures.

Reported from around 60-80k miles · sources: Honest John, Toyota technical bulletin references

Synchromesh failure on the manual gearbox

Emerging

Owners repeatedly report the manual gearbox losing synchromesh between 2nd and 3rd, or 3rd and 4th, so the change crunches or needs a double-shift, sometimes on cars with a full service history and unremarkable mileage. Toyota hasn't put out a fix for it, so each case gets treated on its own merits by dealers. Repairs range from a few hundred pounds for a partial rebuild to well over a thousand for a full gearbox strip.

Reported at varied mileages, no clear pattern · source: Honest John

Multidrive CVT automatic gets jerky

EmergingAutomatic (CVT) only

The auto-only iQ uses a CVT-type Multidrive gearbox, and owners and independent guides both flag it starting to feel rough from roughly 40,000 to 50,000 miles: hesitant or jerky changes, and a shudder in the 40-60km/h range at low revs. It doesn't affect the manual car at all. If the actuator or internals need attention rather than just a fluid change, budget for a significant bill given the car's low resale value.

Reported from roughly 40-50k miles on autos only · sources: owner forum reports, Autodoc reliability guide

Brake discs wearing and warping early

Partly in the MOT data

Owners and independent MOT analysis both point the same way here: brakes are the single most common problem area for the iQ across its MOT history, with discs and pads wearing faster than you'd expect and reports of warped discs turning up on higher-mileage cars. Because the car itself is cheap, a set of discs and pads that would barely register on a bigger Toyota looks expensive in proportion. Budget roughly £150-£300 for a front axle, more if calipers are sticking too.

Wear reported from mid mileage onward · sources: MOT test data analysis (cargarages.co.uk), owner forum reports

What to check on this car

Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.

Saveable checklist

From this model’s MOT record

The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.

Brake pipes underneathRuns high on this model Follow the metal brake lines with a torch where they run along the sills and over the rear axle. White crust or flaking metal means they are corroding, and the online MOT history usually shows the same advisory creeping up for years before the fail.Recorded on 11.6% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 6.2%
Coil springsRuns high on this model Look through the wheel spokes at the bottom coil of each spring; when springs snap it is usually there, and the break is visible. Step back and check the car sits level too. A dropped corner is often a broken spring.Recorded on 8.8% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 5.0%
Headlamp lensesRuns high on this model Check for condensation inside the headlamps and for cloudy or yellowed lenses. Both attract MOT trouble, and moisture inside a sealed LED unit generally means a whole new lamp.Recorded on 4.5% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 1.3%
Bushes and ball joints Drive slowly over broken tarmac with the windows down and listen for clonks from either end. Back at the car, have someone rock the steering wheel while you rest a hand on each front wheel; play you can feel through the tyre is a worn joint.Recorded on 6.3% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 9.0%
ExhaustRuns high on this model Listen along the exhaust at cold idle for blowing or chuffing, and give the tailpipe a push to check nothing hangs loose. Small blows only get louder.Recorded on 3.8% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 0.9%
Rubber boots and gaitersRuns high on this model On full steering lock, look in behind each front wheel at the concertina rubber boots on the driveshafts and steering rack. Splits, or grease flung around the arch, mean dirt is getting into a joint that costs far more than the boot protecting it.Recorded on 3.5% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 0.9%
Lights and horn walkround With a helper, run every light: dipped, main beam, indicators, brake lights including the high-level one, reverse, fog, and the horn. On newer cars a dead LED section can mean replacing the whole lamp unit rather than a bulb.Recorded on 4.0% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 3.5%

Worth doing on any used car

These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.

Tyres, all fourRuns high on this model Check the tread across the full width of each tyre, inner edge included, and look for cracking and mismatched brands. A set of decent tyres is £500 or more on most cars, which makes this the easiest money to take off a price. If the pressure warning light is on, budget for sensors too.Recorded on 22.2% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 9.7%
Pads and discs Look through the wheel spokes at the brake disc. A pronounced lip on its outer edge, or a rusty and scored face, means discs and pads are due all round, a few hundred pounds on most cars. A haggling point rather than a reason to walk away.Recorded on 15.7% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 11.4%
Windscreen and wipersRuns high on this model Scan the glass in daylight for chips, especially in the driver's line of sight where even a small one can fail the MOT. Run the washers and check the wipers clear without smearing.Recorded on 4.0% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 2.0%

Because of what owners report

Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.

Start the manual from cold and feel the clutch bite point as you pull away. A high, vague or slipping bite point suggests the clutch is on its way out.
Take it up a hill or a motorway slip road at full throttle. Flat, breathless performance that a smaller-engined city car shouldn't have points to EGR or manifold clogging.
Work the manual gearbox hard through 2nd, 3rd and 4th, both up and down. Any crunch or a change that needs a double-shift to go in cleanly is synchromesh wear, not just a stiff cable.
On an automatic, hold it steady at 40-60km/h (25-37mph) at low revs. A shudder or hesitant kick-down here is the Multidrive CVT starting to show its age.
Check the front discs for scoring, lips, or blue heat marks, and brake hard from speed on a quiet road. Pulsation through the pedal or steering means a disc is already warped.
Pull the full MOT history and look for repeated brake advisories. The same brake advisory two or three years running means it's being pushed through rather than fixed.

Open the saveable checklist, tick it off at the car

The MOT data

Measured

Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.

How this model wears

Toyota iQClass average, all tracked models

What testers flag

Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.

Faults with the car itself

The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 13,922 tests in this band.

Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded
Advisory
11.6%class 6.2%
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
Advisory
8.8%class 5.0%
A brake hose ferrule excessively corroded
Advisory
6.7%class 1.6%
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
Advisory
6.3%class 9.0%
Exhaust system leaking or insecure
Advisory
5.7%class 3.1%
Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective
Minor
4.5%class 1.3%
Product on the lens or light source which obviously reduces light intensity or changes emitted colour to other than whit
Advisory
4.4%class 0.9%
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
Fail
4.0%class 3.5%
A suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated
Minor
3.5%class 0.9%
A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded
Advisory
3.4%class 4.3%

Wear, upkeep and luck

Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.

A tyre seriously damaged
Advisory
22.2%class 9.7%
Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured
Advisory
15.7%class 11.4%
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
Advisory
14.1%class 20.9%
A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
Advisory
10.1%class 7.3%
Number plate inscription missing or illegible
Advisory
4.3%class 2.3%
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
Fail
4.0%class 2.0%
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
Minor
3.6%class 3.3%
Wiper blade defective
Minor
2.6%class 0.9%

Others in its class

Same segment (City cars), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.

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