A fuel pump’s aging can significantly affect a car’s fuel economy. Industry research suggests that a partially failing fuel pump may impede your fuel efficiency by up to 25% as it struggles to maintain the proper pressure needed for the fuel injection system. More modern cars use a fuel pump system that is designed to supply exact quantities of fuel in accordance with performance specifications. If the pump is inadequate, this calibration becomes invalid and will produce incomplete combustion, resulting in higher fuel consumption.
AAA’s 2021 vehicle efficiency report, for example, stated that defective fuel pumps are often to blame for engine misfires or a lack of consistency. Just a single misfire can reduce the MPGs of a vehicle from 25 MPG to 18 MPG, which translates to huge extra expenses during daily commutes. The longer the problem continues, the more damage it does to other car parts, such as the fuel injectors and catalytic converter, racking up repair bills that can be over $1,000.
“Preventive maintenance is the cheapest repair,” said John Davis, an automotive engineer at MotorWeek. This statement highlights clearly the need to catch fuel pump wear early. If your car starts to hesitate on acceleration or takes longer than normal to start, this could be a red flag of a pump on the decline. Diagnostics should return whether the pump is functioning within the parameters recommended by the manufacturer (40-70 PSI range) which is essential for adequate fuel injection.
Fuel systems are critical to emissions control — this was emphasized nicely by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2019. An inefficient fuel pump not only wastes gasoline, releasing higher amounts of carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the air. On a vehicle that drives 15,000 miles a year, an inefficient pump can cause a greater than 500 lbs extra CO2 emissions versus a good-functioning pump.
In response to concerns about declining efficiency, manufacturers such as Bosch & Kemso develop fuel pumps with improved durability and reliability. These pumps generally last beyond 100,000 miles, although poor-fuel-quality infusions and rare filter changes can shrink that number down in a hurry.
Drivers who have wondered whether the wear of a fuel pump impacts fuel economy will discover a definitive answer in the data: worn pumps kill efficiency and hit both the wallet and the environment. Keeping your Fuel Pump in great shape not only has performance benefits, but it ensures long term savings. Visit Fuel Pump for more information.