Car Import into Canada

[kartheeque]

I am planning to move into Canada by driving my car in. It is a Honda Accord 2014 Sedan model that was bought in USA. I checked the RIV website and it says this model is admissible into Canada, but there are a couple of notes. One of them talks about an Eletronic Immobilization System (EIS) that needs to be present in the car. Another note says possible modifications that may be required on the car are Daytime lamps, EIS, metric odometer and speedometer labels. How do I find out if my car has these things or not?

I called American Honda and they said they can issue a letter stating there are no recalls and that the car satisfies US Safety standards. however, they are unable to confirm what systems are present on my car. Is there a way to get to know this and to make the changes before importing the car into Canada? Given that the car is admissible, am I allowed to take the car into Canada and then make the modifications in Canada? Or all the modifications needed before entering Canada?

 

[harirajmohan]

I am planning to move into Canada by driving my car in. It is a Honda Accord 2014 Sedan model that was bought in USA. I checked the RIV website and it says this model is admissible into Canada, but there are a couple of notes. One of them talks about an Eletronic Immobilization System (EIS) that needs to be present in the car. Another note says possible modifications that may be required on the car are Daytime lamps, EIS, metric odometer and speedometer labels. How do I find out if my car has these things or not?

I called American Honda and they said they can issue a letter stating there are no recalls and that the car satisfies US Safety standards. however, they are unable to confirm what systems are present on my car. Is there a way to get to know this and to make the changes before importing the car into Canada? Given that the car is admissible, am I allowed to take the car into Canada and then make the modifications in Canada? Or all the modifications needed before entering Canada?

Most likely and the only modification required is to have Daytime Running Lights. I never had to do anything else for my 2009 nissan altima. As your car is newer than that, you should be all set if daytime running lights come with it.
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/exporting-importing-vehicle-us-to-canada-only.415713/

Do not modify your car.
Import the car.
Take it to garage for inspection.
Inspection slip will be updated to get lights done, if any.
If lights then take the car to dealer/place where you can fix the lights.
Take the car again to the same garage for re-inspection(free of cost) to get the updated inspection sheet for full clearance.
Go to the respective office to register your vehicle.

 

[kartheeque]

Most likely and the only modification required is to have Daytime Running Lights. I never had to do anything else for my 2009 nissan altima. As your car is newer than that, you should be all set if daytime running lights come with it.
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/exporting-importing-vehicle-us-to-canada-only.415713/

Do not modify your car.
Import the car.
Take it to garage for inspection.
Inspection slip will be updated to get lights done, if any.
If lights then take the car to dealer/place where you can fix the lights.
Take the car again to the same garage for re-inspection(free of cost) to get the updated inspection sheet for full clearance.
Go to the respective office to register your vehicle.

Thanks. So, when will this inspection happen? Will it not be at the border? Would it be later after gaining entry? If there are any failures during inspection, would it affect entry?

 

[Samoinp]

Thanks. So, when will this inspection happen? Will it not be at the border? Would it be later after gaining entry? If there are any failures during inspection, would it affect entry?

Doubt it, there are so many rental cars heading into Canada. Not to mention, folks from US going on a vacation by road etc.

 

[shersingh]

I m pretty sure your car will have drl and immbolizer.
Just open your manual and search for the keywords. You should be good.

 

[shersingh]

For drl just start your car, turn the lights off, and peek at the front lights, if you see a faint light then it's the drl

 

[harirajmohan]

Thanks. So,
1. when will this inspection happen?
2. Will it not be at the border?
3. Would it be later after gaining entry?
4. If there are any failures during inspection, would it affect entry?

1. After importing.
2. As i said earlier, import the car first. Which means that finish the formalities of importing and have your car inside Canada.
3. Yes, inside Canada.
4. 2014 car cannot fail. If it fails just bring it back and sell it in US - but failing inspection is impossible. My 2009 car passes inspection.
Inspection is nothing to do with your entry. What entry are you talking about? your PR status doesnt rely on a car. Inspection happens after you enter into Canada.

 

[spirit.varun]

I have 2011 Prius, possible modifications include DRLs(my car doesn't have it), metric odometer( I can manually toggle speedometer back and forth between MPH and KM/H) but the odometer is in Miles and no way to toggle this.

Do I need to modify the odometer to display KMs.

Any replies/guidance will be greatly helpful.

 

[harirajmohan]

1. I have 2011 Prius, possible modifications include DRLs(my car doesn't have it).
2. Do I need to modify the odometer to display KMs.

1. Yes this is the only possible modification required.
2. No need, at least in Ontario. You can call the canadian tire in the target province and they will tell you.

Checking if anybody has done successfully the modifications to meet Canadian standard, wondering if there is possibility to estimate cost of total modifications needed.

Call few dealerships at canadian side to get to know the rates. They will easily tell you for DRL surely.

 

[spirit.varun]

1. Yes this is the only possible modification required.
2. No need, at least in Ontario. You can call the canadian tire in the target province and they will tell you.

Call few dealerships at canadian side to get to know the rates. They will easily tell you for DRL surely.

Thank you!
Another dumb Qs: is there a way to determine what modifications are required for certain before leaving into this, does RIV do the inspection, if so: can they be contact for list of modifications.

 

[harirajmohan]

Thank you!
Another dumb Qs: is there a way to determine what modifications are required for certain before leaving into this, does RIV do the inspection, if so: can they be contact for list of modifications.

No, as usual the garage will tell that you need to bring in the car to know and he will say that he needs to check the car before telling the list.
But i dont see it as a big deal/expense for sure for 2011 car. my 2009 had to do only with drl. so not seeing this as an issue.

 

[spirit.varun]

No, as usual the garage will tell that you need to bring in the car to know and he will say that he needs to check the car before telling the list.
But i dont see it as a big deal/expense for sure for 2011 car. my 2009 had to do only with drl. so not seeing this as an issue.

Thank you, could you share how much did it cost you out the door,

I know for sure DRL addition is needed, checking if there is a mandate to get it done only after post pre-inspection and also within Canada itself, if not, I see various DIY options .

Also, I still can't get my head around odometer change, RIC just states possible modifications include odometer, I am just worried that without surety before starting the process this may bite me at the end after the export process is done, redacting at that point might be super difficult.

Any pointers on what garages are official for RIC inspection, and may be pin down exact modifications, not sure if hybrid car would add any to already existing comp,.

Edit: sorry, I see you had mentioned Canadian tire, will start pinging them on 2011 Prius,.

 

[21Goose]

Thank you, could you share how much did it cost you out the door,

I know for sure DRL addition is needed, checking if there is a mandate to get it done only after post pre-inspection and also within Canada itself, if not, I see various DIY options .

Also, I still can't get my head around odometer change, RIC just states possible modifications include odometer, I am just worried that without surety before starting the process this may bite me at the end after the export process is done, redacting at that point might be super difficult.

Any pointers on what garages are official for RIC inspection, and may be pin down exact modifications, not sure if hybrid car would add any to already existing comp,.

Edit: sorry, I see you had mentioned Canadian tire, will start pinging them on 2011 Prius,.

The odometer shouldn't be an issue - the speedometer would have been an issue.

 

[spirit.varun]

The odometer shouldn't be an issue - the speedometer would have been an issue.

Speedometer on the model I have can be adjusted to Kmph from MPH, hopefully this would be ok, but other stuff are MPG and/or Miles

 

[harirajmohan]

Thank you, could you share how much did it cost you out the door,

I know for sure DRL addition is needed, checking if there is a mandate to get it done only after post pre-inspection and also within Canada itself, if not, I see various DIY options .

Also, I still can't get my head around odometer change, RIC just states possible modifications include odometer, I am just worried that without surety before starting the process this may bite me at the end after the export process is done, redacting at that point might be super difficult.

Any pointers on what garages are official for RIC inspection, and may be pin down exact modifications, not sure if hybrid car would add any to already existing comp,.

Edit: sorry, I see you had mentioned Canadian tire, will start pinging them on 2011 Prius,.

Inspection: I did it canadian tire.
Modification: I did it in dealership for DRL as others couldnot do it.

No mandate to get the drl only after inspection. You can do it in US or in Canada before inspection. No restriction. If the drl works while they inspect then they will give you clearance right away.

Odometer: Which province are you targeting? If its ontario then its not needed. Also i dont think that this change exists even in other province as modifications are recommended centrally by RIV.
Too many people are importing cars to Canada and why this is a problem just for you.