NHTSA Complaint #10041448 — 1998 HONDA CIVIC ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM

Complaint Details

ODI Number	10041448
Vehicle	1998 HONDA CIVIC
Component	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM
Date of Incident	October 3, 2003
Date Filed	October 8, 2003
Mileage	75,000 miles
Crash	No
Fire	No
Injuries	0
Deaths	0
Vehicle Towed	No
State	UT

Consumer Description

10 MONTHS AGO I BECAME AWARE OF EXHAUST SMELL INSIDE MY 98 HONDA CIVIC LX VIN-[XXX]. THE PROBLEM WAS WORSE WHEN I IDLED THE CAR FOR A QUICK WARM UP BEFORE DRIVING. *LA THE PROBLEM GOT WORSE AND I WAS GETTING HEADACHES EACH DAY AFTER MY COMMUTE TO WORK. COMPLAINED OF I REMOVED THE HEAT SHIELD FROM THE ENGINE TO INVESTIGATE THE SOURCE OF THE EXHAUST LEAK. I FOUND THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD HAD SPLIT APPROX. ON EACH SIDE OF THE "Y" FOR A TOTAL CRACK OF 6 INCHES. THIS WAS ALLOWING LARGE AMOUNTS OF EXHAUST GAS TO ENTER THE CABIN WHEN USING THE HEATER OR A/C. I WAS INFORMED BY FOUR HONDA DEALERS LOCALLY THAT THE PROBLEM WAS WELL KNOWN AND ALL 7 LOCAL DEALERS HAD MANY MANIFOLDS IN STOCK IN THEIR PARTS DEPARTMENT. THIS WAS AN INDICATION TO ME THAT MANY OF THESE WERE BREAKING AND I WAS FAR FROM ALONE ON THIS ISSUE. THE REPLACEMENT MANIFOLD PART NUMBER IS- 18160-P2E-A12. AT KEN GARFF HONDA IN OGDEN UTAH, I WAS TOLD THAT AN EXTENDED WARRANTY WAS IN EFFECT FOR THE PROBLEM FOR 8 YEARS OR 80K MILES. (MY CIVIC HAS 93,000 MILES) THEY STATED THIS WAS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM FOR 96,97 AND 98 HONDA CIVICS TO HAVE. MY CONCERN IS IF I HAD SUFFICIENT EXHAUST GAS IN MY CABIN TO MAKE ME ILL AND THE PROBLEM WAS WIDESPREAD THAT THIS COULD BE A SERIOUS SAFETY / HEALTH ISSUE. A PERSON SITTING IN THEIR CLOSED, IDLING CAR WITH THE AC/HEATER ON THEY COULD POTENTIALLY SUCCUMB TO CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING. WITH THE ABOVE IN MIND, I CONTACTED AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO. CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 800-999-1009 TO RELAY MY INFORMATION AND DISCUSS THE ISSUE. I SPOKE WITH A WOMAN NAMED [XXX] WHO TOLD ME SHE WOULD RECORD MY CONCERN. I AM ALSO CONCERNED THAT WERE NO SYMPTOMS TO ALERT ME TO THE PROBLEM OTHER THAN ODOR. A NON "AUTO SAVVY" PERSON COULD EASILY OVERLOOK THE GRADUALLY WORSENING PROBLEM JUST LIKE I DID UNTIL THEY DIED. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THE SCOPE OF THIS ISSUE FURTHER AND I AM CONVINCED THAT THIS IS A WIDESPREAD ISSUE DUE TO THE FEEDBACK I GOT. THANK YOU. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (F

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