2002 Honda Civic Fuel system Problems

For many months, I have been smelling gas inside the car even when the car has been stationary for an extended period. I recently did a Google search and found many reports and YouTube videos related to fuel leaks caused by a cracked fuel pump housing or module located under the rear seat. It can leak enough to leave a puddle of fuel where the housing goes into the tank. This has apparently been a problem for many years. The fuel pump works as it should and the engine runs fine. I removed the rear seat yesterday and found that I have this problem. It is severe enough that fuel visibly sprays out of the cracked housing whenever the key is in the on position and causes a puddle.

NHTSA ID

11491330

Incident

May 1, 2022

The contact's friend owns a 2002 Honda Civic. The contact stated that there was fuel leaking from the fuel tank. There was fuel on the body of the vehicle. There was an abnormal odor of fuel detected. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA but, no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 235,900.

NHTSA ID

11449770

Incident

Jan 1, 2019

Mileage

235,900 mi

2002 HONDA CIVIC LX. SINGLE OVERHEAD NON VTEC 1.7 L. CURRENT MILEAGE 181,000 I NOTICED EVERY SO OFTEN THAT I WOULD GET A SMELL OF GAS ON THIS VEHICLE. WHOEVER IT WAS MORE PRONOUN WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS RUNNING THAT I WOULD SMELL GAS,. AFTER SOME RESEARCH I DECIDED TO REMOVE THE BACK SEAT AND REMOVE THE FUEL INSPECTION COVER APPARENTLY MY ONLINE RESEARCH HOLD UP A KNOWN ISSUE WITH HONDA CIVICS HAVING CRACKED TOP FUEL PUMP HOUSING AKA FUEL FILTER, HONDA SAYS YOU HAVE TO REPLACE THE WHOLE PART. PERSONALLY I CAN UNDERSTAND HOW THIS IS NOT A DEFECT BECAUSE SOMETHING THAT IS DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND THE ELEMENTS AND BEING AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE THERE IS GASOLINE. SHOULD NOT CRACK. IF FUEL IS LEAKING OUT OF THE HOUSE AND NEXT TO AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR? WOULDN'T THIS BE CONSIDERED A SAFETY DEFECT?

NHTSA ID

11282785

Incident

Nov 26, 2019

Mileage

181,000 mi

FUEL PUMP HOUSING FOUND CRACKED AND ACTIVELY LEAKING FUEL WHEN PUMP RUNS. DISCOVERED FOLLOWING STRONG FUMES INSIDE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT AND OUTSIDE THE CABIN. CRACKS IN FUEL PUMP HOUSING APPEAR TO BE FATIGUE CRACKS. OEM P/N 17045-S5A-A00 OR 17045-S5A-A31

NHTSA ID

10903762

Incident

Aug 22, 2016

Mileage

112,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING EARLY THIS MORNING AROUND 6:45AM. WAS DRIVING AROUND TO GET COFFEE AND SUCH, THEN GOING 45MPH TO GET TO ONRAMP OF I-75. AFTER ACCELERATING NORMALLY TO 68MPH, THE ACCELERATION STOPPED AND PRESSING ON THE GAS DID NOTHING. I SLOWED TO AROUND 20MPH AND THAT IS THE MAX SPEED I COULD GO ON THE INTERSTATE UNTIL I PULLED OVER. THERE WERE NO WEIRD SOUNDS OR SMELLS OR LEAKS, TRANSMISSION FLUID WAS FULL. I CAN START THE CAR FINE AND DRIVE IT AROUND GOING 20MPH, BUT WONT SHIFT AFTER THAT. TOOK TO BELLE TIRE MECHANICS AND THEY CLAIM ITS A BAD TRANSMISSION. EVERYTHING I'VE RESEARCHED ONLINE SHOWS THIS TO BE A DEFECTIVE CLUTCH PACK CARRIER AND IS A KNOWN ISSUE TO HONDA AND MOST MECHANICS, BUT THEY CLAIM TO NOT KNOW ANYTHING FOR OBVIOUS REASONS TO AVOID HAVING TO PAY FOR THEIR MISTAKES. THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED BY HONDA AS THIS IS NOT THE FAULT OF NORMAL WEAR/TEAR. THIS IS A BLATANT MISTAKE BY HONDA!! SOMEONE NEEDS TO FILE A CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST HONDA FOR THIS. I'VE SEEN HUNDREDS OF OTHER PEOPLE WITH THE EXACT SAME ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10484949

Incident

Nov 16, 2012

Mileage

170,356 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FUEL PUMP ASSEMBLY WAS LEAKING FUEL AND THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED THAT THE FAILURE COULD POSSIBLY RESULT IN A FIRE. NEITHER THE DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE, NOR WAS THE VEHICLE DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 160,000 AND THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 159,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID

10443188

Incident

Dec 1, 2011

Mileage

159,000 mi

I OWN A 2002 HONDA CIVIC LX SEDAN WHICH I BOUGHT NEW,AND I HAVE NOTICED A PROBLEM WITH THE GAS GAUGE BEING ERRATIC, AND I INFORMED LODI HONDA, AND THEY SAID WHEN IT ACTS UP TO LET A TECHNICIAN LOOK AT IT, BUT IT DOESN'T ALWAYS HAPPEN. AND BY THE TIME I DRIVE TO HONDA THEY WOULD SAY THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. I ONLY HAVE 22,500 MILES ON MY CAR. I SHOULDN'T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS AND NOW MY AIR CONDITIONER MAKES A WEIRD NOISE ON OCCASION WHEN I TURN IT ON. ALSO, THE GAS MILEAGE PER GALLON ON THE CAR WHEN NEW IS FALSE IT GETS ABOUT 22-25 MILES TO THE GALLON.*AK

NHTSA ID

10093340

Incident

Jun 15, 2004

WE HAVE A 2002 HONDA CIVIC LX AUTOMATIC AND A 2003 HONDA CIVIC LX MANUAL. ON BOTH CARS, THE FUEL GAUGE IS HIGHLY INACCURATE; THE LOW FUEL LIGHTS ILLUMINATE IN AN UNPREDICTABLE MANNER AND THE FUEL GAUGES WILL FLUCTUATE TO THE POINT THAT WE ARE UNABLE TO TRUST THE READING WHEN BELOW 1/4 OF A TANK. *LA

NHTSA ID

10041467

Incident

Jul 28, 2003

FUEL GAUGE INDICATOR FAULTY. SOMETIME IT SHOWS AT HALF FULL. WHEN YOU STOP THE CAR AND RESTART IT BACK AT A LATER TIME, IT SHOWS EMPTY WITH YELLOW FUEL LIGHT "ON", ALTHOUGH THERE IS STILL HALF TANK FUEL LEFT. UPON SHUTTING OFF AND RESTART AGAIN, THE FUEL GAUGE THEN SHOWS HALF FULL. WE THOUGHT THIS WAS A ONE TIME ERROR, BUT PROBLEM CONTINUE TO OCCUR FOR A MONTH. TOOK TO RIGHT HONDA SCOTTSDALE (THE DEALER WHERE I BOUGHT THE CAR). THEY TOLD ME THAT THEIR DIAGNOSTIC CANNOT DUPLICATE ERROR AND PROBABLE CAUSE IS ENGINE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OR FUEL GAUGE IS FAULTY. I ASK THEM IF THEY COULD REPLACE THE PARTS TO IDENTIFY FACTOR AND ELIMINATE THE ISSUE BUT THEY SAY NO. AS LONG THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM, THEY CANNOT DO ANYTHING. TO MAKE THE MATTER WORSE, THERE WAS ALMOST NO GAS LEFT BY THEN. WE ASK IF THEY COULD FILL UP THE GAS TANK, EVEN A GALLON WOULD DO AND THE ANSWER IS NO. RIDICULOUS! WHAT HAPPENED IF I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY AND RUN OUT OF GAS, ALTHOUGH THE GAUGE SHOWS I HAVE PLENTY OF GAS? WHAT HAPPENED IF I AM IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION AND MY CAR RUN OUT OF GAS? I PAID $18,000 FOR MY 2002 CAR FOR WHAT IS WORTH. DISGRACEFULLY, THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT REALLY NOT CUSTOMER ORIENTED AND THEY DON'T LISTEN TO WHAT CUSTOMER IS COMPLAINING ABOUT. CUSTOMER DON'T HAVE TIME TO DEAL WITH CAR PROBLEM. CUSTOMER DON'T GO TO SERVICE DEPARTMENT IF NOT OF TWO REASON I.E. HAVE AN ISSUE OR SCHEDULED SERVICE. THIS CAR IS ONLY LESS THAN A YEAR OLD WITH 10,500 MILES ON IT. WHAT IS THE USE OF 3YR MANUFACTURER CAR WARRANTY IF SERVICE DEPARTMENT WOULD NOT ENTERTAINED THE CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS. I WISH THEY TAKE THIS MATTER MORE SERIOUSLY AND BE MORE CUSTOMER ORIENTED BY FILLING UP THE GAS TANK. THE COST OF GAS IS NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT I SPENT ($18,000) AND GOING TO SPEND IN FUTURE (FOR SERVICE & REPAIR).THE SALES CREW SUCK UP TO THE CUSTOMER TO THEIR DEMAND BUT THEN IT THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT WHO PISS OFF THE CUSTOMER AFTERWARDS.*AK

NHTSA ID

10029129

Incident

Jul 1, 2003

Mileage

10,100 mi

CONSUMER STATES, STOP AT THE GAS STATION TO FIILL UP THE GAS TANK, WHILE HE WAS FILLING UP THE VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION:: MR

NHTSA ID

8022611

Incident

Nov 8, 2002