I first found out I had a cracked exhaust manifold in the summer of 2008, when the mileage was around the 100,000-mile mark. The crack was X-shaped -- along and perpendicular to the seam between cylinders 2 and 3. I called Honda, and, as you all probably expected, they were less than helpful. They did not want to do anything for me, even though this is a known defect with this model (and probably others). Luckily for me, the extent of the damage was limited to a slight loss in fuel economy, some noise and soot deposits under the hood -- no check engine light or further problems. The emissions test people didn't notice the crack (or, if they did, they didn't say anything), and the car passed with flying colors.

So, on to the repair. This week, I finally got around to removing the manifold myself (it's surprisingly not that hard, just be careful not to round off any nuts or bolt heads, which means more grief). The manifold was light and small enough to fit in my knapsack, so I took three buses across town to a good welder who fixed it for me for about $86 with all taxes. He did a fantastic job of sealing the crack and beefing it up with metal around it to prevent reoccurrence. He recommended that I open up the heat shield to allow better heat dissipation -- which I will do soon. I managed to strip a thread inside the engine block (one of the two top bolt threads), so I re-tapped the thread and used a bigger bolt -- no big deal (if you do this, MAKE SURE YOU TAP PERFECTLY STRAIGHT and DO NOT DRILL ANY DEEPER THAN THE ORIGINAL HOLE. You DEFINITELY don't want to bust the water jacket!). I drilled the corresponding hole in the exhaust manifold mounting flange to make it wider and accommodate the bigger bolt. After all was said and done, I put everything back together, reconnected the two oxygen sensors, and the car is now as quiet as a lamb.

Patience is key in this and any repair. Remember -- haste makes waste, so don't rush. Don't overtighten the bolts or nuts, either -- you can strip some threads. With this fairly easy fix, you can save yourself a lot of money and grief -- cost me under $100. Take THAT, Honda dealership!

The problem has exsisted for quite a number of years. There is a sound of exhaust leaking at times but it was hard to identify what it was. Who would beleive an exhaust manifold on a honda could have so many problems with cracking. The problem shows up with the check enginge light coming on with a misfire code. Then the light goes off for a while and then shows up again during the next cold spell. After reading about it online I looked for cracks and there they were. I didn't even have to look hard just glanced at the manifold and could see the crack. The crack is open but it is very apparent.

Cleaning the engine about a week ago and noticed a crack about 2 inches long between the 3rd and 4th cylinder on the exhaust manifold. With 98k miles, I thought this was a little premature but easy to replace - until I found the price of a new manifold. Between $500 and $700 for the part only. The crack is small so I plan to run it until it completely breaks apart. I drive 95% highway so exhaust gas should be diluted enough to not cause harm.

If this was the only problem I ever had with the car, I wouldn't have bothered posting this complaint.

Bought this car from a good friend since it was in very good share, she was the original owner, and it only had 59,000 miles on it. Replace the timing belt today, and the mechanic informed me that the exhaust manifold is cracked. OK, no big deal I thought, a few hundred dollars, at most. Then he told me it would cost $1,000 since the catalytic converter is in the exhaust manifold, i.e. it's all one piece. Called American Honda today to verify that emissions warranty is or 70,000 miles or 7 years, whichever comes first. So now I have to see if Dublin Honda, my local dealer, will replace it under warranty. I'm expecting the run-around since they may say that the exhaust manifold is not part of the emissions system. I'll let you know.

P.S. Then Yikes, I noticed all the automatic transmission complaints here for this make/model.

I took the car in for it's first 'Smog Inspection'. Last year the 2001 Honda Civic LX, with around 150,000 miles, passed the 'Smog Inspection' with no problem. The smog inspection didn't go through today on this model, because of the cracked exhaust manifold. Since the car has only 70,200 miles, the technician is going to check up on Monday to see if the cracked exhaust manifold can be repaired for free. I bought the car at the same dealership I've been having it serviced at since it was purchased there. No one else has ever touched it. Hopefully, this issue will be taken car of without my having to spend $1,200.00. This is what I was told it would cost to fix this problem.

From the very beginning, when I first purchased the vehicle, I could tell that this car was not as well built as the 2001 Honda Civic LX.

On this 2002 model, the Tachometer has never worked. It can not mark Trip A or Trip B mileage from point A to point B. The service manager discouraged me from having it fixed from the very beginning of the car purchase, stating it wasn't worth fixing it, because it might cause other electrical problems. Well, I've found it to be very inconvenient not to be able to measure a driving distance, from point A to point B.

When the 20,000 mile service inspection was done on this 2002 model, the dealership left the right wheel brake making noises and depositing metallic silt. Up till this day that right wheel brake is still leaving excessive metallic silt and the brakes don't work the same as they did before that 20,000 mile service inspection.

I suspect that because of the economy being so slow, the Concord Honda Dealership is trying to do anything it can to bring in extra revenue. They better not try pulling anything past me!

With reference to the cracked exhaust manifold...had I known of the possible costs incurred, I would have opted for a different brand of vehicle. I only expect the worst now! I believe the dealership will now find any excuse to get me to buy another vehicle from them. What the dealership will do is to drive me away from their business establishment and into a completely different brand of car.

I do not trust car dealerships! ~It's very difficult not knowing who to trust~

Quoted $975.00 to fix. There was a technical bulletin done in Canada for the 1996 to 1999 years. The warranty was extended for 8 years/160,000km for the 1996 to 1999 years only. For the 2002 Honda Civic the warranty is only 3 years so it is out of warranty. Looking at other websites/forums this is a common problem. Crack in between the fourth and third cylinders. One website indicated it was a factory flaw with a low section in the seam of the manifold in which water sits after driving through puddles......If you have this problem report it to Honda Canada. If enough complaints come in they could extend the warranty on the 2002 year also. Also, Honda Canada might be willing to help pay for part of the repair bill...Note: Honda Canada does this on a case by case basis. Note: the crack in my manifold is between the 4th and 3rd cylinder.....