Moving from Canada to USA - Can I Import My Civic?

[Patbob]

I'll be moving to California in May for work and I was thinking about bringing my car with me. I've gone ahead and requested letters from Honda Canada and American Honda about safety, emissions, and recall stuff. Unfortunately, the Canadian Civics don't come with TPMS (even though it apparently depends solely on software) and don't completely meet the FMVSS according to one of the letters they gave me. I asked multiple Honda dealerships if they would be able to help me and was told to pound sand :/

Also, to clarify, I am a Canadian citizen, who purchased this car in Canada and wants to bring it to the States as a personal possession; I am not trying to pull any shady grey-market stuff!

Is there anybody here who managed to import their Civic to the States and would be willing to share their experience?

Sponsored

 

[Unity Performance]

Don't know much ourselves, maybe this can help

https://www.autotrader.com/car-shop...1#:~:text=Usually, Yes,more than 25 years old.

 

[abitolder]

Your car when sold new would need to meet California emission standards I believe. Honda does not usually help with a compliance letter for US Customs, usually you would require going to. a Registered Importer who modifies your vehicle to meet US FMVSS , charges you an arm and a leg, and stores your car for 30 days while they do the work. You are much better off selling here and purchasing down there after you figure costs involved. Problem is that Honda will normally not issue a list of parts that need changing, the RI determines that and charges accordingly.

 

[JohnnyBoyFC1]

I'm not sure if you've read this page but it provides quite a bit of useful information.

Importing a motor vehicle

 

[hobby-man]

I wonder if the lack of TPMS would be an issue?

 

[L8apex]

I went through this years ago when I moved to California from Toronto and brought my 99 Civic SiR with me. At the time, the car was only about 5 years old so the 25 year old vehicle rule didn’t apply

Another disclaimer, it was about 15+ years ago so the regulations might have changed. But as stated in one of the links above, as long as the same or similar model and trim is available in the US market, there shouldn’t be much issue. Also keep in mind smog regulations vary state to state although I think Canada is about as strict as California anyway, which is stricter than most other states.

As I remember it, I may have filled in the importation paperwork incorrectly because it went rather smoothly. The question was country of manufacture, not country of original sale. Being a 1HG VIN, I did pit down the correct country of manufacture, which may have moved things along with less hassle.

 

[Pop Alexandra]

I used the services from W2C when moving from the US to Canada. Might be worth looking into.

 

[Tommi]

You can import your Civic, but you'll need to modify it to meet U.S. FMVSS standards, including adding a TPMS. Reach out to a Registered Importer (RI) who can handle these modifications and guide you through the process, including obtaining the necessary compliance documentation.

When I moved, I still had all these problems. But it's good that I found https://threemovers.com who helped me with moving things.

 

[KensBlueGenX]

the Canadian Civics don't come with TPMS (even though it apparently depends solely on software) and don't completely meet the FMVSS according to one of the letters they gave me.

Just put an aftermarket valve stem (or in-wheel even) TPMS on it. That will meet the requirement. You can toss it later if you don't like/want it.

Sponsored