2025 AARO Symposium & Trade Show – Event Itinerary

September 17–20, 2025 | Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale

Get ready for four powerful days of learning, networking, and inspiration tailored for shop owners, technicians, and automotive professionals. Whether you’re interested in electrification, business growth, or cutting-edge diagnostics, there’s something for everyone.

DAY 1: Wednesday, September 17 – EV DAY

Get Ready for EV Day with AARO!
 
Welcome to the automotive repair and service event that’s redefining the future of our industry. Whether you’re already working with EVs or just starting to explore the shift, Next Gear will get you up to speed—fast. Dive into powerful conversations that will drive your business forward.

This is your opportunity to get fully informed on how the electric vehicle (EV) industry is evolving. Join us for a full day dedicated to all things EV— featuring presentations from leading suppliers, insights from top shops on how they’re equipping technicians with the training needed to work on EVs, and hands-on experiences including the chance to test-drive a variety of EVs on site.

Opening Keynote: AARO is pleased to welcome Ontario Premier Doug Ford as the opening speaker.

 
Closing Keynote: The day will wrap up with insights from one of Canada’s most influential voices in the EV and mobility space—James Carter of Vision Mobility. A leading expert and thought leader in the global transportation shift toward electrification. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from someone at the forefront of the mobility revolution.

DAY 2: Thursday, September 18 – Business Training + Trade Show

Fuel Your Knowledge. Fine-Tune Your Strategy. Dominate the Road Ahead.
 
Day Two is packed with dynamic, must-attend sessions designed to empower shop owners and their teams with the tools and insights to thrive in today’s rapidly changing environment. The day will include:
 

• Sessions on vehicle and shop security, vehicle theft prevention, and how to protect your business from credit card scams
• A powerful communication workshop from Dale Carnegie—learn how strong customer conversations drive loyalty and retention
• Legal essentials for Human Resources compliance from WeirFoulds Employment Law Group
• Discover how Support Ontario Youth can streamline your apprenticeship journey
• Without changing your shop management system, learn how to evaluate your shop’s performance with the PME Guru dashboard and compare to your region and set-up objectives

 
Closing Keynote: A thought-provoking closing session with Canada’s best known and most respected public opinion analysts David Coletto, who will unpack how political uncertainty is impacting businesses like yours across Canada.
 

Cap Off the Day on September 18 at the AARO Trade Show!

 
After a full day of learning and inspiration, join us for the AARO Trade Show—a must-attend event for all members. This is your prime opportunity to network with industry peers and connect with leading vendors in a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. Enjoy refreshments while meeting the day’s presenters and exploring the latest innovations from top aftermarket suppliers. Whether you’re looking to strengthen existing partnerships or spark new ones, the trade show is the perfect setting to build valuable relationships that drive your business forward.

DAY 3 & 4: September 19th-20th

 
Whether you’re a seasoned technician or looking to level up your skills, this is the must-attend training event of the year.
 
Renowned as the industry leader in high-quality, advanced automotive technical training, attendees will have the opportunity to attend four unique training sessions that provide the opportunity to dive deep into cutting-edge diagnostics and repair techniques guided by some of the best in the business.

DAY 3: Friday, September 19 – Lindertech Technical Training

Level Up Your Skills with Industry Experts

8:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Subaru 101 – Scott Shotten, Trainer

With Subaru’s sales growing, are you seeing more of them in your shop? This class covers aftermarket scan tools to Subaru’s SSM4. We will explore different sources of service information and Subaru terminology. Module programming will be addressed. A portion of the class will be spent diagnosing issues with the AVCS system on the chain driven engine applications effectively. Whether you are new to Subaru, or have some experience already, this class should have something for you to take back to the shop and put to use right away.

1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Air Fuel Sensors Demystified: A Technician’s Approach to In-Bay Diagnostics – Scott Weatherall, Trainer

Air fuel sensors have been in use for years but still technicians remain confused on how to diagnose them. Following manufacturers flow charts can be confusing and sometimes quite vague on how the information is presented. This course will allow the technician to look at the air fuel sensor in an easier manner using equivalency ratio that is a readily available PID to determine with the use of fuel trim and rear O2 sensor the systems operation. By using these bits of information, the technician can determine if the air fuel sensor is functioning correctly or a problem. Combining theory and real-life case studies we will simplify the functionality of the sensors and control.

DAY 4: Saturday, September 20 – Lindertech Technical Training (Continued)

8:00 am to 12:00 noon
Diagnosing Turbocharged Vehicles with Volumetric Efficiency & Fuel Trim – Scott Shotten, Trainer

This class starts with a quick review of scan data and volumetric efficiency on naturally aspirated engines and quickly moves on to diagnosing turbocharged applications using similar techniques. When testing MAF equipped vehicles, there is a definite difference in how fuel trims and VE behave. We will cover the theory and how to use these techniques for diagnosis. With a little bit of math, don’t worry… we have calculators for that, we can predict what VE should be for any given application or situation. These techniques will help us understand, and reinforce trust, in the multiple “LOAD” PIDs you may see in a data list. Fuel trims are also a very important piece of this puzzle. Case studies of actual good and broken vehicles will be used.

12:30 pm to 4:30 pm (Choose your training session)
Hybrid and EV Operation and Diagnosis – Mark Lemay, Trainer

This class is designed for all technicians. In this session we will look at the Hybrid and EV powertrain and associated systems. Each system will be explained in detail including system operating, scan data, important PIDs that can give you insight into battery condition etc. Diagnostic procedures for many components will also be covered as well as basic safety precautions. This class will give you the tools you need to perform service and diagnostic procedures on Hybrid and EV vehicles.

Register Online