Buying a truck imported from Canada?

I just purchased a 2018 Tundra SR5 Plus with the TRD Off-road package. 30 miles on the odometer for $39k. Loving it so far! It is basically a Limited without leather, climate control or blind spot detection, but it DOES have heated seats, led headlights and foglights and a sunroof.

 

Bought my 16 In Aberdeen,WA. Clean clean, CARFAX and all, truck came from Vancouver area, only about 250 miles from home

 

I purchased a 15 limited CM that had been imported by my dealer here in MN. Had everything listed on the car fax report and so far no issues. Only issue with mine was the grill had been it by a rock on the transport so I ended up getting a little off for that so I could replace it, and somehow in the conversion from KMH to MPH my gauge is now 5 MPH off (not a huge problem as I will get it re calibrated when I go with larger tires) Had my local Toyota dealership check everything out and verify the majority of the carfax report and everything came out looking right.

 

What dealer did you buy from in Minnesota?

 

In August 2018 I bought a silver 2015 SR5 TRD Tundra in Michigan that came out of Quebec. Only 19,700 miles, immaculately clean, some additional options (block heater, power sliding rear window, Bak-Flip bed cover, undercoated three years in a row)...$31,999 USD. About $4,000 under any other Tundra like it around that mileage that I could find across the U.S. on AutoTrader.com. I felt it was an excellent deal. Bought a 9-year, 100,000 warranty just in case...good deal on that also.
Not one problem! I call this my 'Ten Year Truck.' Barring any collisions, I plan on having it at least that long. Did 11 years with a used GMC Sierra already.
Only downside, the Entune app will not work in it. From what I have read, that's no loss.
I'd buy a Tundra out of Canada again in a heart beat.

 

Glad to hear this worked out for you. I just purchased a 2014 Tundra Limited Crewmax. Did not know until a week later trying to get EnTune to work that the truck was from Canada. Seems to me legally that should be disclosed. Toyota customer care let me know in no uncertain terms there is absolutely no work around. It was " engineered" differently. Actually suggested I go back to the dealership and try to get a deal on a different truck!
Emailed the sales people, but the sale is done and all I get are crickets! I'll bring in the General Manager at the dealership next, but I expect nothing more from him.
Hopefully my feeling of regret buying this Toyota will fade over time!

 

Yeah, at first I was disappointed about the Entune not working as well. Then I began to read that Entune was not a very good service, had a lot of glitches, poor interface, etc.
I soon realized, and hope you will also, that you are not really missing out on anything by not having a functional Entune system.

 

Almost exactly 1 year ago I bought my 2016 Double cab from a dealer in Utah with less than 15k miles on it. Carfax said it was first purchased in Alberta, then in 2018 ended up in Louisiana for 11 months and then somehow ended up at a Toyota dealer in Utah. Carfax showed no accidents reported. I brought a buddy who knows about cars with me to look at it. We crawled under it and looked in every nook and cranny looking for signs of being in a flood. We saw nothing. The paint looked good no mismatch color anywhere that we could see. I bought the truck. The very first time I washed it by hand I noticed the gap between the drivers side fender and the hood wasn't the same as the passenger side fender and hood. After looking further I noticed a plastic seal in the windshield wiper area doesn't exactly fit right on the drivers side right next to the fender. I believe the truck was in a wreck and not reported on Carfax. I've now put over 17k more miles on it since I bought it and so far so good.

 

Entune didn't work right with my iPhone in my 2016 Tacoma, and it doesn't work right in my 2018 Tundra, either. I can get the phone to link up to accept and make calls, and that's it. Messaging doesn't work. Also, if I get out of the truck and leave it running to do something, upon my return, the phone disappears and won't re-sync with Entune until the truck has been shut off and started again. Oh well, my phone is just another distraction anyway.

 

Update: I contacted the service manager. He actually called me back and was much more sympathetic to my issues. Although there was nothing he could do about the EnTune situation, as a way to overcome my bad experience, I ended up with four new Bridgestone tires. Better than nothing! Hopefully there won't be any hidden issues. Pulling our 6000 lb trailer to 6000 feet elevation next week for it's first real test!

 

I bought a 2018 Tundra in Dubai a couple of years ago. Carfax says no accidents, not stolen. Truck is great, no issues. Time for me to move back to the US. I cannot find a Catalytic Converter sticker. The US Government says I need a letter from the manufacturer that says the truck meets EPA and DOT standards. Any experience or information from the Canada spec Tundra owners?

 

Know this thread is a bit dated, but thought I'd see if I could get any additional input from any of the good folks here regarding buying a Tundra imported from Canada to where I live in the PNW.

The one I'm looking at is a 2019, offered by a well-known, large (non-Toyota) dealership. Price-wise it's very tempting not to mention it's the exact model and color I've been looking for. I have a 2020 Tacoma TRD OR crew cab now, sweet truck, but coming from 1st Gen then 2nd Gen Tundras I miss a lot of the Tundra's features.

The truck I'm looking at has a Clean CarFax, but of course only lists where it was first sold (Saskatchewan) and when it was imported. I have a healthy background in auto mechanics and feel like I know what to look for, but I'd really welcome any thoughts or feedback - with respect to a 2019 as well as being a Canadian import. TIA!

 

#1 thing to look for is rust.

I purchased a '20 canada SR5 TRD OR DC. It's been a good truck, no issues, some surface rust on frame welds and such. Cleaned it up and covered it with paint. Even if it is at a good price, talk them down some more. With the exchange rate, they got a deal on it, that's how these things end up down here.

Other than that, it should be same as any truck. Not sure about '19, but my '20 came with heated seats, auto climate control and the remote start works. If you want to get the app to work, you have to call Toyota of Canada and they will transfer it to you. Takes just a few minutes.

 

Thanks for that and all good to know. They've had it for a month now and dropped the price a little bit three times, so I know they're getting itchy to get it off of their lot. Should be able to negotiate a bit more.

I did some research (especially regarding frame rust) when I was thinking about buying a different Tundra from Canada a while back. Most of the areas I checked in and around Regina where this one came from said that they generally used sand instead of salt which is good to know. They do the same thing where I live now although they did just start using salt on some of the worst offending roads in the hills when the ice is really bad. So I'd bring my Magic Creeper and take a good close look at the undercarriage that's for sure.

Good to know about the App too. I read earlier that the Entune (probably 2.0) doesn't work here, but I really don't mind that. I have Entune 3.0 in the Tacoma but I use Car Play all of the time. So as long as I can connect my iPhone wirelessly it should be fine.

Thanks again and welcome any more insight(s)!

 

Speaking of Carplay, i believe that came to the Tundras in 2020... someone can correct me. My '20 has it, works well, i added a wireless adapter since it is wired stock.

Not sure how familiar you are with this gen tundra, but they dropped the air the oil trans cooler in '19 when they switched to the updated refrigerant. I have a thread with the parts list required to add one. It isn't that bad of a job, there is a company on here that sells a complete plug and play kit as well. Just something else to keep in mind.

 

Great advice, thanks!

My 2020 Tacoma has Car Play and I also added a wireless adapter. Works great. I was able to connect my iPhone to my 2nd Gen Tundra Limited’s stereo via Bluetooth so that may be what I’d have to do with this one. Replacing a JBL system is a pain and the one I had sounded fairly decent so I’d like to avoid messing with it if possible.

Good to know about the external cooler. I’m not planning on towing anything and it doesn’t get terribly hot here in the PNW (we’ll, it didn’t) so it’d probably be fine, but in general, cooler is usually better so I’ll keep that in mind.

Many thanks!

Still on the fence a bit, but may take a look at it this Sunday if it’s still there. Welcome any additional advice in the meantime. TIA!