Importing a 4x4 from the US to Canada

Hi! I will be 'landing' in Montreal as a skiller worker and would
really like to drive my Toyota 4Runner 87 which has only 100.000 miles
(from the US).

My question is, does anyone has experience importing this kind of
truck? I've been doing some research and I know I can import such
because it's older than 15 years but I'm uncertain on the changes I
need to make to the vehicle; anyone has specific experiences or
general/specific advice?

Regards,

Todd

www.riv.ca

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"Todd Warren" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Hi! I will be 'landing' in Montreal as a skiller worker and would
> really like to drive my Toyota 4Runner 87 which has only 100.000 miles
> (from the US).
>
> My question is, does anyone has experience importing this kind of
> truck? I've been doing some research and I know I can import such
> because it's older than 15 years but I'm uncertain on the changes I
> need to make to the vehicle; anyone has specific experiences or
> general/specific advice?
>
> Regards,
>
> Todd

On 2005-08-04, Todd Warren <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi! I will be 'landing' in Montreal as a skiller worker and would
> really like to drive my Toyota 4Runner 87 which has only 100.000 miles
> (from the US).
>
> My question is, does anyone has experience importing this kind of
> truck? I've been doing some research and I know I can import such

In general, the only modification needed will be for DRL (Daytime Running
Lights) if the truck does not already have them, and assuming it has a
speedometer marked in kilometers as well as miles, will need a sticker
stating that the odometer is in miles rather than kilometers. See the
Canadian Customs site for more info on the exact process.

-Elron

Todd Warren wrote:

> > I will be 'landing' in Montreal as a skiller worker and
> > would really like to drive my Toyota 4Runner 87 which
> > has only 100.000 miles (from the US).

[email protected] replied:

> In general, the only modification needed will be for DRL
> (Daytime Running Lights) . . . .

Actually, probably not even that.

First, vehicles that are at least 15 years old can (AFAIK) be
imported into Canada "as is", without having to meet any of the
Canadian standards.

Second, the DRL requirement didn't come into force until late
1989, and cars manufactured prior to the introduction of DRL's
in Canada were not required to be retrofitted with this new
feature (even in a time when such cars were less than 15 years
old and needed to meet Canadian standards in general in order
to be importable).

At one time, many US-market vehicles from the late 1980's could
not be imported for permanent use in Canada because some of the
US-mandated "passive restraint" seat belt designs from this time
were not acceptable to Canadian regulators (and aftermarket
modifications of such seat belt designs were not allowed). But
the fact that the vehicle in question is over 15 years old will
trump this issue, as far as I'm aware. Some early-90's-vintage
US-market cars might still run afoul of this Canadian rule, BTW;
if a vehicle doesn't have front air bags =AND= is less than 15
years old, it's quite possible that this will be a showstopper.

Also, many US-market vehicles made during or after the mid-80's
were unimportable because they didn't meet Canada's requirement
for a secure "tether anchorage" (a specially reinforced spot for
insertion of a hook to attach a rear tether strap for a front-
facing, toddler-type car seat). Again, retrofitting of a tether
anchorage where none had originally existed was generally not
allowed. This issue might still affect some US-market cars, but
I don't believe it would be an issue for the vehicle in question
here because the 15-year-old rule takes precedence.

In any case, the original poster should definitely contact the
agency responsible for certifying vehicles to be imported into
Canada -- the "Registrar of Imported Vehicles" (http://www.riv.ca)
-- and find out what rules (if any) apply to the importation of
the vehicle in question. Make very, very sure that the person
you speak with at the RIV is fully aware that the vehicle you're
planning to import is over 15 years old (and should therefore be
exempt from the ordinary importation rules). You'll probably
still need to go through the regular paperwork process (and pay
the standard certification fee), but my understanding is that
you should =not= be required to have any modifications done to
the vehicle at all in order to import it legally into Canada.

Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.richw.org
*NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.

Daughter's 95 YJ was brought in from states by previous owner, we bought
it off a car lot, no airbag, no problem, so the airbag and 15 years doesn't
seam to apply.

"Rich Wales" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Todd Warren wrote:
>
> > > I will be 'landing' in Montreal as a skiller worker and
> > > would really like to drive my Toyota 4Runner 87 which
> > > has only 100.000 miles (from the US).
>
> [email protected] replied:
>
> > In general, the only modification needed will be for DRL
> > (Daytime Running Lights) . . . .
>
> Actually, probably not even that.
>
> First, vehicles that are at least 15 years old can (AFAIK) be
> imported into Canada "as is", without having to meet any of the
> Canadian standards.
>
> Second, the DRL requirement didn't come into force until late
> 1989, and cars manufactured prior to the introduction of DRL's
> in Canada were not required to be retrofitted with this new
> feature (even in a time when such cars were less than 15 years
> old and needed to meet Canadian standards in general in order
> to be importable).
>
> At one time, many US-market vehicles from the late 1980's could
> not be imported for permanent use in Canada because some of the
> US-mandated "passive restraint" seat belt designs from this time
> were not acceptable to Canadian regulators (and aftermarket
> modifications of such seat belt designs were not allowed). But
> the fact that the vehicle in question is over 15 years old will
> trump this issue, as far as I'm aware. Some early-90's-vintage
> US-market cars might still run afoul of this Canadian rule, BTW;
> if a vehicle doesn't have front air bags =AND= is less than 15
> years old, it's quite possible that this will be a showstopper.
>
> Also, many US-market vehicles made during or after the mid-80's
> were unimportable because they didn't meet Canada's requirement
> for a secure "tether anchorage" (a specially reinforced spot for
> insertion of a hook to attach a rear tether strap for a front-
> facing, toddler-type car seat). Again, retrofitting of a tether
> anchorage where none had originally existed was generally not
> allowed. This issue might still affect some US-market cars, but
> I don't believe it would be an issue for the vehicle in question
> here because the 15-year-old rule takes precedence.
>
> In any case, the original poster should definitely contact the
> agency responsible for certifying vehicles to be imported into
> Canada -- the "Registrar of Imported Vehicles" (http://www.riv.ca)
> -- and find out what rules (if any) apply to the importation of
> the vehicle in question. Make very, very sure that the person
> you speak with at the RIV is fully aware that the vehicle you're
> planning to import is over 15 years old (and should therefore be
> exempt from the ordinary importation rules). You'll probably
> still need to go through the regular paperwork process (and pay
> the standard certification fee), but my understanding is that
> you should =not= be required to have any modifications done to
> the vehicle at all in order to import it legally into Canada.
>
> Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.richw.org
> *NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
> *DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
> or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
> are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.
>

"Greg" wrote:

> Daughter's 95 YJ was brought in from states by previous
> owner, we bought it off a car lot, no airbag, no problem,
> so the airbag and 15 years doesn't seem to apply.

I didn't mean to suggest that =ALL= US-market cars without airbags
ran afoul of Canadian seat belt rules. That's definitely not
true: some US-legal "passive restraint" designs were, in fact,
considered good enough to pass Canadian regulations. Some others,
however, were not.

It was a weird period of time, in which US and Canadian seat belt
regs were widely divergent, and many vehicles built to meet the
requirements of one country were considered insufficiently safe
for use in the other.

This conflict mostly went away when airbags became widespread,
because US cars almost all went back to the traditional lap-and-
shoulder belt design that (together with mandatory seat belt laws
that the US had refused to adopt) had always been the preferred
solution in Canada.

And as for the 15-year rule, this means that a car that's at
least 15 years old is exempt from the regulations and can be
imported even if it doesn't have DRL's, 8-km/h bumpers, etc.
But that absolutely doesn't mean that US-market vehicles less
than 15 years old are banned. Far from it: Transport Canada
maintains a lengthy, detailed list of which makes/models/years
are or aren't acceptable for importation, and what kinds of
modifications (if any) need to be made when specific vehicle
types are OK.

Sorry if you were confused (or if I was confused about what you
were trying to say).

Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.richw.org
*NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.

Thank you all for the feedback and comments. I also called RIV and
they told me I can bypass them. So what I inted to do is:

1) I will contact US Customs at least 72 hours before driving to
inform of the export
2) I will get a Manufacturers recall letter
3) I will also have the title
4) As I'm entering for the first time and as an immigrant, I think I
will be waived the fee they usually charge.
5) I will talk to GEICO and inform them of the move to change the
policy
6) I will also make some repairs here in the US (any suggestions on
the most important repairs so I can pass inspections in Quebec?)
7) I will have to leave Montreal for a few months so I will get an
storage facility.

Regards,

Todd

On Thu, 04 Aug 2005 17:36:04 +0200, Todd Warren
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>Hi! I will be 'landing' in Montreal as a skiller worker and would
>really like to drive my Toyota 4Runner 87 which has only 100.000 miles
>(from the US).
>
>My question is, does anyone has experience importing this kind of
>truck? I've been doing some research and I know I can import such
>because it's older than 15 years but I'm uncertain on the changes I
>need to make to the vehicle; anyone has specific experiences or
>general/specific advice?
>
>Regards,
>
>Todd