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Fuel pump precautions

3K views 14 replies 10 participants last post by  tom4416 
#1 ·
I recently ran my fuel level low on my '16 Sorento. I was on the home and low price Costco gas is .8 miles from my front door. When I filled up the "Range" display said 1 Mile remaining. I pushed it one other time.

I have a friend that used to own a repair shop and he said if it is an electric fuel pump and located in the tank it could overheat and destroy the pump causing expensive repair, not to mention getting stranded.

Does anyone here have the knowledge of the Kia system to asses this possible risk? Any fuel pump failures?
 
#2 ·
In the majority of cases where fuel level is a contributing factor for an in-tank pump failure, talking to the customer uncovers that the tank is run low on fuel a great deal of the time.
Don't make a habit of the kind of event you describe above, and you shouldn't have this kind of problem.
 
#10 ·
How much left?



I had 1 mile of range left but I had 1.41 gallons remaining in the tank according to my calculations. And no, I'm not going to make a habit of running it to Zero Range. However, IMO, it is a good practice to know your vehicle and it's limitations and capabilities.
 
#7 ·
I don't know of any modern cars that don't put the pump in the tank and yes, it relies upon the gasoline to cool the pump. Our household rule of thumb is never less than 1/4 tank (which is really more like 3/8 of tank with the built in fudge factor).
 
#9 ·
I've had two in-tank fuel pumps fail. Never ran the gas low.

The '95 Toyota Landcruiser would get slower and slower on the highway, adding some gas would cool it enough to get going for a while longer. That was key to diagnosing the problem. The fuel is pumped to the engine and what is not used makes its way back to the tank on a return pipe. This brings engine heat back to the tank.

The '86 Pontiac was out of service due to fuel pump failure for almost two weeks. The third one the shop installed worked OK, the first two replacements were out-of-the-box bad and that was not known until everything was back together.
 
#11 ·
The electric fuel pumps located in the gas tank are cooled by the fuel in the tank.
Yes it is true that the pump can overheat and seize if uncovered enough.
Even though you may have a gallon or two left, it may not be touching the pump.
Modern blow molded plastic gas tanks are very contorted to fit into and around tight spaces.
I'm a child of the oil embargo years (70's) and rarely let my tank get below half.....need to
be on top of the Zombie Apocalypse you know!
 
#15 ·
I'm a child of the oil embargo years (70's) and rarely let my tank get below half.....need to
be on top of the Zombie Apocalypse you know!
I remember leaving my car parked overnight at the gas station, getting up early to go be with it, to get my allotted 8 gallons of gas on my allotted day. I too have become paranoid about anything less than 1/2 a tank because of it.
 
#12 ·
For the pump to overheat due to low fuel, you would have to run it way down (like past zero on your "miles remaining" gauge) and then keep it there for months by putting in a quart of fuel when you go to fill up every time. Nobody does that, which is partly why this design came about. An unexposed fuel pump that, for 99% of the time you drive it, is being cooled by sitting in a pool of fuel will typically last longer than an exposed pump that requires a separate cooling component.. and it's cheaper to manufacture, so it helps keep the overall price low. Kia isn't the only one who does this.

I regularly run my tank down to near empty.. I've done this on many cars I've owned and never had to replace a fuel pump.
 
#13 ·
I know I have a different car, but when mine says it’s dead empty, there still seems to be about 10L left in the tank (fill from “dead empty” is about 53L but listed tank size in the manual is 62L). Is it common to have such a large “reserve” amount left in the tank or is my gauge miscalibrated?
 
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