Effects of Driving a Car With a Bad Fuel Pump

Last updated on March 24th, 2023 at 05:58 pm

Driving A Car With A Bad Fuel Pump, what are the effects? When it comes to vehicle maintenance, most drivers understand the significance of regular oil changes, tire rotations, and brake checks. But one essential component often goes overlooked – fuel pumps.

The fuel pump is an integral component of your vehicle’s performance, supplying fuel from the gas tank to the engine. A malfunctioning fuel pump can lead to a variety of issues, some of which pose serious safety hazards and necessitate costly repairs if left unrepaired. In this article, we will be providing answers to some frequently asked questions, such as, can a car drive with a bad fuel pump drive?

How to drive a car with a bad fuel pump? And how long can a car drive with a bad fuel pump?

You may be probably wondering and asking can I still drive my car with a bad fuel pump? Well, it is actually possible. However, it is pertinent to state that we do not recommend it unless an emergency permits you to do so. It is best that you immediately fix the bad fuel pump in your car.

Driving a Car With a Bad Fuel Pump

Driving a car with a bad fuel pump is indeed possible, but it comes with a number of problems as well. Below are the effects of driving a car with a bad fuel pump:

Driving a car with an unresponsive fuel pump can present both short- and long-term issues. The pump is responsible for transferring fuel from the tank to your engine, ensuring that there is a constant supply of oxygen-rich air for proper combustion. If your fuel pump malfunctions, this could have several negative repercussions on your car, such as:

1. Poor Engine Performance

A malfunctioning fuel pump may not supply enough fuel to the engine, resulting in running lean (with too little oxygen in the air-fuel mixture). This can result in poor acceleration, power loss, and rough idling.

2. Hard Starting:

If your fuel pump malfunctions, it may not deliver enough pressure to start your engine properly, making it difficult to start your vehicle.

3. Engine Misfires:

An unstable fuel supply can lead to engine misfiring, leading to erratic performance and increased emissions.

4. Engine Damage:

Prolonged operation with a malfunctioning fuel pump can eventually result in severe engine damage, including worn piston rings, damaged cylinder walls, and even complete engine shutdown.

5. Check the Engine Light

A malfunctioning fuel pump may activate the check engine light, signaling an issue with either your vehicle’s emission system or fuel delivery.

 6. Sudden Stalling of Your Engine

An inadequate fuel supply may cause the engine to stall, especially when accelerating or under load. This is especially dangerous when driving in heavy traffic or at high speeds, as it increases the risk of accidents.

The first effect of Driving A Car With A Bad Fuel Pump is that it can stall your vehicle’s engine. Although it is possible to drive a car with a bad fuel pump, one of the potential issues you would likely be facing is that your engine would suddenly stop while you are driving.

This is because a problem with the fuel pump shut-off switch may arise, which would shut off the fuel pumping into the car engine, thereby causing the engine to stop suddenly.

However, a temporary solution to this is that you would have to reactivate the fuel pump by pressing the reset button for the fuel pump switch.

 7. No Ignition

This is one of the most common issues that you would experience driving a car with a bad fuel pump.

In this case, if your fuel pump is greatly damaged and the switch is affected, your engine may fail to start.

You may notice the engine is cranking and trying to pick up, but it will however be unable to start as a result of the bad fuel pump.

 8. Car Surging

This is another effect of driving a car with a bad fuel pump. You would experience continuous car surging anytime your car tries to accelerate.

9. Absurd Noise From The Fuel Tank

If you are driving a car with a bad fuel pump, you may hear some kind of excessive noise whenever you start the ignition.

These absurd sounds are produced as a result of a lack of pressure to transfer fuel from the fuel pump to the engine.

However, absurd sounds can mean other issues in your car. So it is best you simply take the car to an auto repair shop for inspection.

 10. Poor Fuel Economy

What is the use of driving a car with a bad fuel pump if you constantly have to refill your tank? It is stressful and, of course, costly.

When you decide to drive a car with a bad fuel pump, your car will burn fuel at an unusually high rate simply because the valve inside the fuel pump is not opening, thereby causing too much fuel to enter the engine compartment.

 11. Engine Overheating

Another problem that comes with driving a car with a bad fuel pump is that your car engine temperature would rise beyond normal.

This consequently causes stalling and can affect your car in a number of other ways.

In all, driving a car with a bad fuel pump is not at all advisable. There are a lot of issues and risks attached to it.

It is better to take your car to a professional auto mechanic shop for inspection and repair services.

How Long Can a Car Drive With a Bad Pump?

How long a car drives with a bad fuel pump largely depends on the degree of fuel pump damage. Normal fuel pumps are expected to work for about 100,000 miles to as high as 200,000 miles. Therefore, a car with a bad fuel pump will drive for less than 100,000 miles for sure, depending on how bad the fuel pump is. If the damage is seriously bad, the car may drive for about 45,000 miles or even less. How long your car will drive with a bad fuel pump also depends on how you are able to manage the situation.

Usually, a car with a bad fuel pump will drive for only about 15 to 30 minutes before the engine goes off.

How To Drive A Car With Bad Fuel Pump

 1. Attach a Fuel Pressure Gauge

This is the first thing to do when starting a car that has a defective fuel pump.

The work of the pressure gauge is to give you a hint about the actual fault of your car engine.

 2. Make Sure You Maintain Your Car Engine Heat

Driving a car with bad fuel pump usually causes the engine to overheat.

Therefore, whenever you want to drive a car with bad fuel pump, it is necessary to keep the car engine temperature within a safe range.

You would have to allow the engine to cool off when the engine heat is rising rapidly.

Maintaining the heat temperature will stabilize the engine performance and allow you to drive the car for some miles.

 3. Apply Additional Pressure To Start Your Car

The last technique used in driving a car with a bad fuel pump is the application of external pressure to start your car.

Since the fuel pump is malfunctioning, it won’t be able to provide the sufficient pressure needed to pump fuel into your car engine.

And when your car engine receives insufficient pressure, it begins to stall and may not start.

For this reason, you have to add extra and external pressure to your car engine so as to provide it with the sufficient pressure needed to make it start.

However, it is necessary to note or keep in mind that these alternatives regarding how to drive a car with a bad fuel pump are all temporary. Sooner or later, you will have to change your fuel pump.

Moreover, these methods may not work if the condition of the faulty fuel pump is very critical.

Conclusion On Driving A Car With A Bad Fuel Pump

We hope this article has enlightened you on how to drive a car with a bad fuel pump as well as the problems associated with it.

There is no need to bother yourself with the question can you still drive a car with a bad fuel pump?

The best solution is to replace the bad fuel pump in your car. It will save you unnecessary costs as well as the stress that comes with driving a car with a bad fuel pump.

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