If you're wondering, how do I know when my fuel pump is bad, here are the 10 potential symptoms column
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- Issues when starting your car
- Engine stalling
- Rough engine running at low speeds
- Engine misfiring
- Vehicle hesitating to accelerate
- Weird speed variations
- Significant reduction in power
- Low performance when climbing hills
- Significant fuel consumption
- Check engine light illuminating
Whether you're driving a gasoline or diesel vehicle, a complicated delivery system takes the fuel from the fuel tank to the engine, so the engine generates the required power.
Learning one or two things about this fuel delivery system is extremely helpful and helps you prevent expensive repairs and maintain your vehicle to serve you the longest possible.
Among the different components within your fuel delivery system, the fuel pump is the heart of this system, and it's responsible for pumping any fuel from the tank to the fuel pathways and, therefore, to the engine.
This fuel pump is not designed to last forever, and there will be a point where you must deal with its complications and therefore replace it. Unfortunately, when the fuel pump fails, it can easily result in significant issues that you never want to deal with.
This article provides you with all you need to know to help answer the question, how do I know when my fuel pump is bad?
How do I know when my fuel pump is bad?
As we mentioned earlier, the fuel pump must be working perfectly all the time for your fuel system to work properly and, therefore, for your engine to generate the expected power. Therefore, when the fuel pump fails, you must take care of it immediately and replace it if needed.
Sometimes the early signs of a bad fuel pump help you reduce the repair costs significantly, and that's why familiarizing yourself with the following ten symptoms to help you detect these fuel pump problems and allows you some time to consult your mechanic before you deal with major complications where your vehicle fails:
1. Issues when starting your car
The first and most common problem you might experience when the fuel pump fails is difficulty starting your car. have you ever tried inserting the key and ignition switch and realizing nothing is happening?! This could be a problem related to a bad fuel pump hearing. If I got typically, difficulty sorting your car is commonly linked to problems with the battery.
However, if you checked your battery and confirmed it's in good condition, you might want to check the different components, including inspecting the fuel pump.
Before you do any repairs and spend a penny trying to fix this vehicle, you must consult the mechanic to confirm the actual Copart because you don't want to spend money on something that's not broken.
2. Engine stalling
As the fuel pump fails, you'll start noticing some other symptoms. For example, your engine will start stalling continuously without any clear reason for what's going on.
Of course, engine stalling is one of those common symptoms that you might experience because of some other problems here. That's why you must ensure that the problem is related to the fuel pump, not something else. Sometimes, the issue could be loaned to multiple components, including a failing fuel pump and something else you must fix to eliminate the problem.
3. Rough engine running at low speeds
When you're sitting your vehicle idle or driving at low speeds, you don't typically hear these loud droning noises. So the engine shouldn't be running rough during these situations; if that's the case, this is a clear sign of an internal issue.
Internal issues could be linked to a variety of different components. However, a failing or faulty fuel pump could lead to the engine running rough at low speeds. If that's the case, replace the fuel pump to restore your vehicle and have it running again.
4. Engine misfiring
Engines firing happens because of an issue with the common element in the combustion process. For the combustion process to happen successfully, your engine requires a specific amount of air fuel and the same spark at the right time.
If there is a problem with any of those components, you could easily deal with engine misfiring, which could lead to a variety of other issues that you never want to deal with.
Of course, if the fuel pump is failing, then the engine is not receiving the required amount of fuel, and that's why it will complain in the form of ingenious firing. Therefore, to get rid of the problem and restore your vehicle, you must install a new fuel pump unless it's repairable.
5. Vehicle hesitating to accelerate
When the fuel pump does not send the required amount, your engine will act like it's not receiving fuel. Have you ever driven your car when it doesn't have much fuel? It will hesitate to accelerate, and you'll have to press very hard on the gas pedal to send more fuel for the engine to accelerate the way you want it.
The same situation happens when the fuel pump is not working. It's not going to send the required amount of fuel, and that's why your engine will not generate the required energy, and no matter how much you press on the gas pedal, the vehicle will need some time to react and generate the required energy you're looking for.
6. Weird speed variations
Problems with the fuel pump can easily do weird variations in the speed. For example, have you ever driven your car and realized that it speeds at 30 mph but suddenly five mph?! This is very frustrating and can be extremely dangerous, especially if driving on the highways or in traffic.
Tons of potential culprits could lead to this problem, but a failing fuel pump could be one of them that you must inspect before moving forward to check something else.
7. Significant reduction in power
As you might notice, when the fuel pump does not send the required fuel, your engine will do all these weird reactions, and one of them is a significant power reduction. The engine is expecting a steady-state supply of a few overtimes. If this doesn't happen, the engine won't be able to generate the power, and it will work as hard as it can but not generate any energy.
Therefore, overall, you'll feel a significant reduction in your vehicle's overall power. To resolve this issue, you must look closely and determine whether it's linked to a bad or failing fuel pump or not because once you fix the pump, your vehicle is back to normal and will generate the energy you're looking for.
8. Low performance when climbing hills
When you want your vehicle to drive and climb pals, the engine needs to operate more and generate more energy. Therefore, it will ask for more fuel. But, how will the engine receive the required fuel if the fuel pump is not working fine?!
Therefore, if you tried climbing uphill and realized that your engine is not helping you, it could be an issue with the fuel pump. However, this is again a common situation related to some colorful tic implants, and that's why you need to narrow down a list and confirm the issue is related to the fuel pump, not something else, before wasting your money installing or purchasing a new fuel pump.
9. Significant fuel consumption
When the fuel pump is not working fine, your engine will ask for more fuel to generate the minimum required energy clear that's why you feel that you need to go to the gas station more frequent than before because the engine is burning too much fuel trying to generate the energy just because it's not receiving the Steady-state supply of fuel.
If you get to this point, step back and ask yourself, how do I know when my fuel pump is bad? Once you haven't answered this question, you might be able to understand why you're using or purchasing too much fuel a couple of weeks ago.
10. Check engine light illuminating
Finally, if you ignore a bad fuel pump symptom, you might get to a point where you check the engine light illuminates. Keep in mind that the check engine light illuminates various problems, and it's a way for your vehicle to communicate with you to bring your attention to internal problems.
Ignoring the check engine light is never a good idea because it easily leads to major complications that could cost you thousands of dollars on repair. For example, if the issue has to do with a minor problem, we could easily fix it at a very low-cost clear; however, if you ignore the problem for a couple of weeks, you can easily deal with major complications requiring installing significant components which means a lot of money on the repair.
A failing fuel pump can easily trigger a check engine light in your vehicle. However, to get an accurate answer about whether it's related to the fuel pump, you could simply use an OBD scanner that helps seals scan the vehicle's internal computer and gives you an error code.
We can then take this error code and Google it to see what it means. Once you need the answer, you'd be able to determine whether your issue is related to the bad fuel pump or something else in your car.
How much does it cost to replace the fuel pump?
Replacing the fuel pump should cost somewhere between $220 and $1,062. This could mean a significant repair, so you must make an informed decision before spending any penny trying to fix this problem.
Remember that the price range differs significantly depending on your vehicle type and the location where you get the job done. For example, if you have the right mechanical skill sets and can replace the fuel pump yourself, you can significantly reduce labor costs. However, if you decide to go to a dealership, labor costs can be a significant component of your final bill.
Final thoughts
The fuel pump is a significant component in your vehicle's fuel delivery system. When it fails, it will typically show some common symptoms to help you bring your attention to the internal problems and guide you to fix them as soon as possible.
This article walked you through the 10 most common symptoms of a bad or failing fuel pump to help you answer the question, how do I know when my fuel pump is bad?
As you might notice, some of these problems could be severe and some of them very minor. However, fixing the issue and installing a new fuel pump might be costly. That's why we highly encourage you to evaluate the situation carefully and see whether it's worth replacing the fuel pump or not.
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