2002 Honda Civic 02 Civic LX making a "woodpecker"

DAGOOSEISLOOSE

MEMBER
2002 HONDA CIVIC

Noises problem
2002 Honda Civic

Hello all,

My '02 Civic LX has been making a rattling noise at low RPMs.

When you first get in the car and turn it on, the noises aren't there. But after a minute or two of driving, or if you put the car in reverse, you start hearing this woodpecker-like noise at low RPM's. The noise goes away when you start picking up speed. It is also exaggerated when you turn the steering wheel one way or another.

I took it in and the Honda dealer said my exhaust manifold is cracked (which seems to be quite a common problem for 01 and 02 Civics given the amount of times this is reported online) but I know enough about what a manifold is to know that it won't cause this kinda noise.

By the way, my heat shield's not the problem if anybody's wondering.

Cheers all.

1 Reply

TED-E-DEE

MECHANIC
109 POSTS

I can't believe the Dealer results ! Anyway, ck. Your outer axle boots to see if ripped. There will be grease on lower control arms, maybe even on inside of frt. Wheels. Even if they are not ripped, sounds to me like your outer axle joints are bad, especially when you say it's worse on turns. From a stopped posistion, turn steer wheel all the way to left. Take off & see what it sounds like then. Turn all the way to right & do the same thing. An empty parking lot works good for this procedeure if you have nowhere else. If it's more audible doing this, I'm certain it's the axle joints. If you return to Dealer, ask them to show you what they find. You have a right to ask & ask service manager to accompany you out to shop to look at your car on hoist. Did they even road test your car? Please let us know how you make out, or if we can assist you further. I worked on Honda cars for 18 years. You can even request to ride w/tech. Or service manager to point out the noise. Always ask for old parts, if they have to return core, you still have the right to see the old parts & get an explanation before they send cores back. Good Luck.