2015 Hyundai IX35 1.6L Petrol · AF15 XML

Chronic brake wear, particularly at the front axle, dominates the mechanical profile of this 2015 Hyundai ix35. Across the recorded tests, nearside front brake pads were flagged at dangerously low thickness in early 2022, and both front tyres have been measured at or below the 1.6mm tread limit on more than one occasion, including a dangerous failure in January 2025. A rear brake imbalance advisory appeared in 2023, followed by a binding rear brake advisory at the most recent pass on 16 February 2026, suggesting that brake system attention has not been confined to the front end alone. The January 2025 test also recorded elevated exhaust carbon monoxide content, and the 2026 pass added a registration plate lamp minor and another worn nearside rear tyre, leaving a record that contains one pass with no defects, two passes with no defects, one pass with multiple advisories and a minor, and two failed tests carrying dangerous and major items. The recorded mileage of 108,053 over roughly eleven years equates to an annual accumulation of around 9,800 miles, which sits in the middle of the typical band for a vehicle of this age. Testing has been annual and consistent, with no multi-year lay-up gaps that might point to long periods of disuse or stored-vehicle deterioration. That said, the pattern of front brake, front tyre, and exhaust issues indicates that the car is being used in a way that places meaningful load on those components, consistent with regular urban and mixed mileage rather than gentle low-effort running. The recurrence of binding and imbalance advisories at the rear over consecutive years further suggests that the braking system as a whole is being worked hard and should not be assumed to be simply a case of consumables that were renewed once and forgotten. For a prospective buyer, the front braking area deserves direct physical inspection. The 2022 dangerous failure on both front pads shows that wear can advance rapidly, so the remaining pad material and disc condition on both sides should be measured rather than assumed. The 2025 tyre failures and the 2026 nearside rear tyre advisory point to a vehicle that may chew through rubber relatively quickly, possibly aggravated by alignment, so check for uneven shoulder wear across all four tyres and confirm there is no steering pull to either side under steady motorway cruising. The rear binding advisory from February 2026 warrants a test drive that includes several firm, controlled stops from around 30 mph to feel for any pulling, judder, or a rear that feels reluctant to release, and a hand-on-the-wheel check for warmth at the rear wheels shortly after driving to confirm the calipers are not seizing slightly. The exhaust carbon monoxide overrun recorded in January 2025 should not be dismissed, as on the 1.6 diesel and 2.0 diesel variants this often correlates with ageing oxygen sensors, a tired catalytic converter, or intake-side leaks that allow false air. A buyer should listen for any ticking under load, check for sooty staining around the turbo-to-manifold joint, and ask for evidence of any emissions-related work since early 2025. Beyond the flagged items, the chassis and underbody should be examined carefully because the car is now over a decade old and has covered more than one hundred thousand miles; inspect the front suspension arms, anti-roll bar bushes, and drop links for perished rubber or any clonks transmitted through the floor over speed humps, and look for surface corrosion on subframe mounting points and brake pipes along the underside. A thorough road test on uneven surfaces, paying attention to any knocking from the front, vagueness through the steering, or excessive float over undulating B-roads, will give a much clearer picture than the MOT record alone.