buying a Canadian taco in U.S.

Wondering if anybody else has done this as I'm looking at 2012 4x4 4dr that was just transfered to the US last year. I talked Toyota and they explained the only issue is any recall/inspection work has to be done in Canada even though registration is currently in the US.
Do any of you folks have experience or advice with regards to this?

thanks

 

I live way up there in igloo land- our trucks rust way faster with the salt on the roads. If your anywhere that doesn’t have harsh winters I would never buy one from Canada.

 

Did you actually speak to Corporate or a dude at a dealership? I think that’s BS

 

I wouldn't buy a Canadian Tacoma, harsh winters unless your buying one from the sunshine coast where they never get snow. unless you like rust ide advise against it

 

Also I have a 2012 dc trd sport and have already been seeing what I’ve heard of as “ common 2012 issues” . Secondary air pump problems throwing codes.

 

The US frame WEP clearly states that Toyotas imported from other countries are not eligible for a free frame. Canada now has a frame replacement program. I wonder if a US resident can take a Canadian Taco back to Canada and get a free frame.

 

Thanks for the replies thus far. I live in Northern Mn, an hour from Canada, so sadly I am all too familiar with the rust issues. This truck is in great shape with about 80,000 miles, the dealership (independent) said the frame was inspected and no issues. I did talk to toyota both in the US and Canada. Canada said it has to be inspected and dealt with in Canada when it comes to recalls, she also looked up the VIN and said being a 2012 it wasn't affected by the "frame service bulletin" and there were no outstanding recalls and if I were to buy it I should make sure to register it with them.
I'm wanting the truck, but have my concerns, especially since I currently have a 2005 AC 4x4 (101,000miles) that had the frame replaced last rear and so far is running fine, not that the 05 tacos didn't have their share issues....which is part of why I've been out shopping.
Keep the advice coming...thanks

 

I talked to the closest Toyota dealer about them working on"Canadian " vehicles and he said they do it all the time, just need to get the o.k. from Toyota Canada, he made it sound like it's not a big issue..?

 

As long as you understand that and can live with it, I say go for it

 

My 2012 DCLB TRD-S was a Canadian truck brought over to Michigan. I bought it with only 50K on it. I'm pretty used to dealing with rust on vehicles but I was a little bit disappointed to see the amount of rust that was already surfacing on this truck.

Structurally everything is fine, but the little things like bolts in the engine bay, some of the brackets, crimped hose ends, and electrical grounding points have a fair amount of corrosion. The rear factory receiver also had the powder coat or whatever significantly beginning to come off and rust. On the flip side, the truck has been undercoated at least once, which has helped to protect a lot of the more important areas.

All in all, I was able to talk the dealer down a little bit because I felt that they misrepresented the amount of rust on the truck and I had driven a considerable distance to buy the truck since it was the exact configuration that I wanted. And they gave me far more than I was expecting on my trade-in. It was all a compromise that has so far worked out pretty OK. Will definitely be more conscious of this in the future.

Here's a few pictures to explain what I am talking about:

 

The above 2012 has way more rust than my 2012, wow. Mine has spent its life from Kamloops to Revelstoke. I have already started replacing some bolts here and there that have fully rusted. My hitch receiver looks the same basically.

Engine compartment on the one above is far worse than my 2012.

 

I think it has a lot to do with location. They use WAY more salt in the east than the west. I’m in Calgary, and we use more gravel on the roads than salt. My 15 taco is clean and rust free, but front end has a considerable amount of rock chips.

 

Rock chips is a good one to point out. My front end is littered with them from what I assume is the previous owner tailgating all the time.

 

3M is a must have in Calgary haha, if its not pea gravel its road debris from construction

 

I have a 13 US version truck but swapped the stereo from a 14 Canada version truck. My new stereo is missing the Entune feature and also the whether and traffic app which doesn't bother me cuz I have my phone for that. Don't know if that's a big factor for you.

 

Sorry I'm coming to this late. I'm dealing with some of this at this exact moment. Here's my quick backstory.

I live in Indiana and bought my 2010 DCLB in 2015 from a Michigan non-Toyota dealership in 2015. Shortly thereafter, I learned of the leaf spring recall and took it to my local Toyota dealership for the recall work. They informed my that my truck was from the Canadian (CAN) market and apparently hadn't had the VIN "transferred" to the US market. However, they were super cool and told me they'd get the documentation underway to have the VIN transferred and in the meantime they'd handle the recall work (which they did).

Fast forward four years.

I'd been made aware of the frame rust recall for a few months, but have been dragging my feet to have anything done. I finally got around to it earlier today. When I called my dealership (the same one that had done the previous work), they stated that I called just in time...the recall ends in 2 weeks. That was news to me, because my research had shown that I had until July of 2020. The dealership said that only applied to CAN VIN's. After a brief back and forth, he confirmed that even though the process had been started to tranfer the VIN, it hadn't been completed. (So...apparently my truck is still technically a CAN truck?!) Once again, my dealership is playing it on the up and up and are going to get my truck in to look at the recall/inspection on the frame (and the steering column assembly).

I'm going to keep pushing them on having the VIN appropriately transferred, so I can be appropriately notified on recalls/safety campaigns. I've also reached out directly to Toyota via their "email us" portal, but I figured that's pretty much a crap shoot.

In the end, I can only speak to my own dealership's willingness to help, but I sure wish this could get made right.

Moral of the story. Having a CAN truck in the US shouldn't be a big issue and your local dealership should be able to help. But if your VIN is still CAN and not US, you might be in for a rude awakening when you research recalls and safety campaigns because you may be looking at dates that apply only to CAN vehicles. Do the legwork...get your vehicle on the US rosters. If I find an "easy" way to do that, I'll update this thread.

 

Follow up to ^

After spending some time on the phone with both Toyota US and Toyota CAN, I learned it's not possible for VINs to be transferred across political boundaries (ie the US - CAN border). However, Toyota CAN was super cool about getting all my info in their system. If I've got concerns in the future, I just have to be sure to check the Toyota.ca website vs the Toyota.com. And I've been assured that should my vehicle need any safety campaign/recall work in the future, it is on the timeline posted by Toyota CAN and my US-based dealer can submit any issues to Toyota CAN via a dealer hotline number.

So...not the ideal situation I was hoping for, but also not terrible.