Bulletin No.: PIC5453D
Published date: 07/22/2020

Preliminary Information
PIC5453D Handling Requests For Modi cations To Permanently
Import / Export Vehicles Between The US And Canada
Models
Brand:
All

Model:
All

Model Years:
2000 - 2020

VIN:
from
All

Engine:

to
All

All

Transmissions:
All

Supersession Statement
This PI was superseded to update Recommendations / Instructions. Please discard any copies of PIC5453C.

Condition / Concern
General Motors (GM) and General Motors of Canada Company (GMCC) do not support cross
border sales. Dealers are not authorized under their agreements with GM or GM Canada to
sell vehicles for export. Dealers in Canada should refer to GMCC Home Office Letter #2015704 Vehicle Export, Import & Sale for Resale.
Customers that live in one country but plan on moving to the other should contact the GM
Customer Care Center (CCC) for information on warranty coverage. For additional
information to assist our Customers, refer below to the section applicable for their
destination.
IMPORTANT: GM cannot facilitate the import/export of vehicles with Branded titles (i.e.,
salvaged, totaled, rebuilt, etc.) or vehicles first sold as incomplete vehicles.
IMPORTANT: Recall clearance must be verified prior to importing the vehicle in order to avoid
any delays during the import process. Open recalls must be addressed in the country of the
vehicles existing registration prior to importation. GM cannot make any exceptions for
Recalls that remain Open due to lack of parts.

Recommendations / Instructions
Exporting / Importing Vehicles from Canada to the USA
A customer may be permanently relocating from Canada to the United States and request to
make modifications to their vehicle in order to meet U.S. requirements.
Before purchasing and importing a vehicle into the USA, the Customer should be directed to
the General Motors of Canada Customer Care Centre for information on vehicle admissibility.
The General Motors of Canada Customer Care Centre is the sole authorized provider of a
certification confirmation letter which helps our customers identify if their vehicles meets
the required USA regulatory standards necessary for importation into the USA. Contact the
General Motors of Canada Customer Care Centre at 1-800-263-3777
(English) or 1800-263-7854
(French).
General Motors of Canada provides this service at no charge to our Customers as long as the
vehicle is being imported for personal use and not for resale according to Box 2B of US DOT
Declaration Form HS-7 (http://icsw.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/HS7_r.v.7.pdf).
In the case where GM Canada CCC is not able furnish a compliance letter, the vehicle could
only be imported into the United States on a permanent basis under Box 3 on the HS-7
Declaration form. Customers should be directed to a Registered Importer (RI) to modify the
vehicle so that it complies with all applicable FMVSS following importation.
A list of RI’s in active status with NHTSA can be found at www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import.

General Motors of Canada does not provide support for customers importing or exporting
vehicles to and from countries other than the USA.
IMPORTANT: In some situations, it may not be possible to install a US Instrument Panel
Cluster into a Canadian vehicle, as the required software calibrations may not be available.

Safety:
A General Motors of Canada certification confirmation letter may be issued to the Customer
who is personally importing a vehicle if it complies with required FMVSS and is admissible to
the USA under the provisions of NHTSA 49 CFR Part 591.5(g). Some CMVSS-certified vehicles
may not meet some FMVSS such as FMVSS 138 TPMS and FMVSS 208 Passenger Airbag
status indicator labeling. The Customer should contact GM Canada CCC to determine if
vehicle is admissible to the USA. It may be possible to retrofit their vehicle to comply. This is
a Customer-paid expense; not covered by GM warranty. The Customer will need to provide a
Repair Order from a GM Dealer to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent as evidence
that specified retrofit work was completed.

Emissions:
General Motors (GM) vehicles sold in Canada must comply with Canadian emission
standards. Since 1998 model year, Canadian emissions regulations have been aligned with
those of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A selected number of Canadian
vehicles are certified for all 50 states for emissions. It is important to refer the customer to
the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) of the destination State to determine if the vehicle
is admissible since a number of States have aligned with the California Air Resources Board
(CARB) Standards rather than the EPA Standards. GM will not retrofit a vehicle to meet CARB
if it is already certified to EPA Federal emissions standards. 1996-1997 MY GM Canada
vehicles were not compliant to EPA emissions standards and need to have the OBD retrofit
completed before considered compliant. As noted in GM Service Bulletin #02-06-04-039, the
retrofit can only be completed by a GM U.S. dealer at the customer’s expense. Customer will
need to provide a Repair Order from a GM Dealer to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection
agent as evidence that specified retrofit work was completed.

Warranty Coverage in USA:
IMPORTANT: Refer to GM service bulletin #16-NA-119: Warranty Administration - Servicing
Vehicles from Canada (U.S. Dealers Only)
GM Service Policy & Procedures indicate that Canadian owners that are relocating their
residence to the U.S. must register their vehicle properly in the U.S. and if applicable, pay
the cost to have their odometer converted to miles by an authorized GM Electronic Service
Center for the vehicle to be eligible for warranty coverage. Some vehicles may provide
distance readouts in the original country's unit of measure (e.g. kilometers) and also miles
and therefore do not require conversion. In keeping with the General Motors Export Policy,
New vehicles originally sold in Canada must have been in service in Canada for at least six
(6) months and must have at least 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles) before a GM Service
Agent in the U.S. is authorized to perform warranty work.

Exporting / Importing Vehicles from the USA to Canada
A customer may be permanently relocating from the United States to Canada and request to
make modifications to their vehicle in order to meet Canadian requirements.
Before purchasing and importing a vehicle into Canada, the Customer should be directed to
the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) program, for information on vehicle admissibility,
RIV exemptions, recall clearance documentation, vehicle modification requirements, vehicle
branding history and Environment Canada requirements http://www.riv.ca ).
General Motors of Canada Company does not provide support for customers importing or
exporting vehicles to and from countries other than the USA.
While we make no claims about the accuracy, we understand that the following website
associated with the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) and created by Transport Canada
has information regarding the importation of vehicles into Canada, including the legal
requirements for modifications to such vehicles. http://www.riv.ca

Warranty Coverage in Canada:
IMPORTANT: For latest dealer Documentation & Policy Updates, GMCC dealers should refer to
General Motors of Canada Home Office Letter #2015-704 Subject: Vehicle Export, Import &
Sale for Resale.

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