Toyota 'Made for Canada' Fact or Fiction

Heck, most populated Canadian areas are warmer in winter than Cutbank, Montana or International Falls, Minnesota. And Vancouver in winter is not a lot colder than Seattle. Toyota is blowing cold air up the customer's asses.

Come to think of it, I have heard of cars built for tropical countries.

We're not talking about importing a vehicle from Honduras, the Canadians buying up vehicles in the US are from Woodstock, Windsor or Regina... maybe Calgary. For many of the smaller border communities the US dealerships may be closer in proximity to anything in Canada. If I cross the Ambassador Bridge from the US into Canada, I probably won't have to worry about upgrading my alternator beforehand in order to make the trip.

I think there may be differences in the Yaris and Corolla, but the other vehicles are the pretty much the same. There are differences in the vehicles spec'd for Guam and Puerto Rico - smaller heaters, batteries, etc.

There is no doubt that a 'Made for Guam' campaign is going on as we speak, and in that case maybe Toyota does make some modifications, I've never been to Guam and don't know much about the vehicles they drive there. Using the Yaris as an example and comparing the specifications between Canada and those requested using an Arizona Zip Code I don't see much difference (and Canadians aren't going to buy new vehicles in Arizona, they will be bought in Detroit and Maine). Both vehicles come with All-Season tires (wow they really do have seasons in the US, learning is fun!), Both also come with 'Heavy-Duty' electric rear window defrosters. Neither makes any mention of heated mirrors. Air conditioning does seem to be an optional feature in Canada but, naturally, is a standard feature in Arizona. Funny, the Made for Canada promotion does not mention the removal of features...

U.S. dealers were importing "gray market" cars from Guam and Puerto Rico for a while, and customers used to complain about hard starting and lack of heat. I doubt if there is much of a mechanical difference between Toyotas for the U.S. and Toyotas for Canada. The biggest reason that I would want to purchase Toyota "made for Canada" if I lived in Canada would be warranty coverage. U.S. vehicles can get warranty coverage in Canada but dealers have to go through several extra steps to have the VIN input in Toyota Canada's database, and if they make a mistake along the way, they won't get paid. To avoid getting stiffed, they can wait to perform the work until the VIN shows up in TCI's database or they can ask the customer to pay for the work, and the dealer will reimburse the customer when they get paid. Of course, most customers wouldn't want to pay up front for warranty repairs.

In my experience with Toyota the warranty was very important, some of the repairs I had to have made including multiple ECM replacements, throttle position sensor, radio/cd player and several interior panels, would be too much to expect anyone to pay for up front, especially the ECM. Also, initially (three times within the first 2000 km) my Tacoma had been in the shop for extended periods, up to 6 days at a time. During that time I was able to get a rental at no charge through the dealer, might not get that if purchasing in the US. To avoid these problems altogether get a Honda, I just ditched my Tacoma for a Ridgeline today, Honda is taking a different approach than Toyota at combating cross border shoppers, reduced financing/lease rates. Also it seems the sticker price of a Honda may no longer be as unmovable as it had been for so many years.