US - Canada cross border service issues - cross the border at you own risk!

[Rick0]

I have a Canadian 2021 Crosstrek PHEV and recently had the misfortune to break down while travelling in the US. I had the car towed to a Subaru dealer, who told me that the brake booster had to be replaced but they wouldn't be able to do the work. I was surprized to find out that the US dealers don't have access to the Canadian VIN numbers and any repairs that require programming work cannot be done for Canadian cars by US service agents. I found that hard to believe so I called my Subaru dealer in Canada and they confirmed that it is the same situation for US cars in Canada. I had to rent a car to get back home and then have the car transported 1600 km to the local Subaru dealer. It cost a fortune!

Have any of you Subaru owners experience similar problems? Were any of you aware of this issue? Is this unique to Subaru or do other car manufacturers have similar cross-border issues?

 

[Dave in Costa Rica]

I cannot use my 2026 Forester's VIN to enroll in MySubaru. The Japan-source VIN is not compatible with it.

I also had a disappointment years ago when I tried to buy a common part for my Korea-source Hyundai Terracan from a U.S. parts source. They couldn't identify the vehicle, which had never been sold in the U.S., even if I gave them the part number I was looking for.