Our MyChoice team used Statistics Canada’s 2009 Canadian Vehicle Survey to analyze how many kilometres Canadians drive each year. We also referenced Transport Canada’s 2023 traffic and vehicle statistics and FSRA’s explanation of Ontario auto-insurance rating factors.
Annual vehicle use is an Ontario auto-insurance rating factor; this guide shows how to estimate your annual mileage from the odometer and how it affects a quote.
What Is The Average Annual Distance Driven In Canada?
As a rough guide, a proxy estimate for 2023 is about 17,000 vehicle-kilometres per registered motor vehicle. However, this is not a replacement for the now-defunct survey and should not be treated as an exact trend, as it uses a rounded, modelled fatality rate to produce the estimate. This was obtained by dividing the number of vehicle-kilometres travelled, estimated at 436.4 billion vehicle-kilometres by Transport Canada, by approximately 25.689 million registered light-duty vehicles, commercial vehicles and motorcycles.
Why The 2023 Proxy Is Only A Cross-Check
The denominator includes commercial vehicles and motorcycles in addition to light-duty vehicles. These data can only provide a cross-check, especially as households could have more than one vehicle and vehicles could have more than one driver.
At What Mileage Should You Replace Your Car?
A good inspection of a prospective purchase is much more helpful than any arbitrary mileage limit. There is no substantiated mileage in Canada at which a vehicle should automatically be replaced.
Instead, decide based on the vehicle’s condition, safety, and maintenance records.
How bad is the rust? Are the battery and powertrain okay? Are there recalls? How much will repairs cost compared to the car’s value?
Read More: Compare Keeping a Used Car With Buying New
Ideal Mileage On Used Vehicles
A car with more kilometres doesn’t necessarily mean a bad investment, especially if it’s well maintained, newer, and has up-to-date safety features.
Avoid treating mileage rules of thumb, like 80,000 to 100,000 km, as gospel. Dig deeper by checking its mileage per year, maintenance history, number of cold starts, frequency of short trips, rust, accident history, outstanding recalls, tire condition, and inspection results.
Remember, a car that has been on the highway for ten years poses a different set of risks than a lower-mileage car that skipped some maintenance visits.
Read More: Compare Mileage With Vehicle Reliability Before Buying Used
Impact Of Mileage On Insurance
Don’t assume hitting a certain number of kilometres will get you a discount. FSRA lists annual kilometres driven, commuting distance and how a vehicle is used among the factors Ontario insurers can use when setting auto-insurance rates. More kilometres can mean greater exposure to collisions. Depending on their FSRA-approved rating model and the rest of the driver’s risk profile, some insurers may raise rates accordingly.
Do not assume routine mechanical breakdown raises auto-insurance premiums. Ask for quotes based on your best estimates for annual kilometres driven and how you use your vehicle. If your driving habits change, give your insurer a new estimate of your expected driving and keep your calculations for reference.
What MyChoice Quote Data Shows About Annual Mileage
We analyzed 50,000 insurance quotes collected on the MyChoice platform since the beginning of 2026. We found that drivers reporting less than 8,000 kilometres per year had premiums about 9.9% lower than drivers reporting at least 20,000 kilometres.
For example, in Ontario, where an annual premium is $2,345, that drops to about $2,114.
However, savings aren’t guaranteed, since annual mileage can correlate with other pricing factors, such as where you live, how you use your car, an insurer’s rating criteria, and the types of coverage and protection you choose.
Always provide an honest estimate of your annual mileage. If your commute or work use changes, update your insurer. Feel free to ask how much it will affect your quote.
Read More: See Current Car Insurance Information for Ontario
How To Estimate Your Mileage
The most reliable way to estimate your mileage is to subtract an odometer reading you noted about 12 months ago from the current mileage. If you didn’t happen to note it, you’ll have to estimate your total distance.
Estimate the number of kilometres or miles that you regularly drive: For example, if your commute is 15 km (one way) x 2 = 30 km each day. At 30 km x 4 days onsite, you’re driving 120 km a week. Multiply 120 km x 49 weeks = 5,880 km just commuting.
Estimate the number of km or mi driven on infrequent trips: For example, if you visit relatives, 200 km (one way) x 2 = 400 km. At 400 km x 4 visits per year, you’ve added another 1,600 km to your annual distance.
Add up all of your trips, errands, kids’ trips, trips for other family members, seasonal trips, work-related travel and so on to determine the total distance driven each year. If your family has more than one car, estimate how many of these trips each car will make; don’t add the total to each car.
Check your estimate against subsequent odometer readings each month.
Tips For Maintaining A High-Mileage Car
- Wash off road salt used during Canadian winters. Also, check areas prone to corrosion.
- Keep records. Save all service and maintenance invoices.
- Check for recalls and pay attention to any service or other warning lights that are on. Get them fixed.
- Follow the maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual for your car’s make and model. Contrary to popular belief, higher-octane fuel isn’t automatically better. Follow your owner’s manual for fuel and other fluid requirements.
- Contrary to popular belief, replacement doesn’t necessarily depend on Canada’s average kilometres travelled. Pay attention to repair costs and evidence of safety and reliability to decide whether it’s time for a new ride.