Driving with a clogged fuel filter is a bad practice practiced by some motorists due to negligence or ignorance. While the car may not stall immediately, it eventually will, forcing you to carry out an expensive repair.
Some drivers ask themselves how long can you drive with a clogged fuel filter?
To answer the question, let me explain that a fuel filter doesn’t clog instantaneously. The process happens gradually, one drive after the other until it gets fully clogged.
At that point, the engine will immediately stop and not be able to start. There’s no definite answer to the question as to how long you can drive with a clogged fuel filter.
It all depends on how frequently or how long your engine runs at any particular point in time. The more frequently or longer it runs, the quicker your car will stall and vice versa.
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Is It Bad to Drive With a Bad Fuel Filter?
It’s a very bad idea to drive with a bad fuel filter. That’s because it can cause serious problems that may destroy your engine, leaving you with a useless engine. And as you know, replacing a dead engine isn’t a cheap affair.
How Do You Tell If You Have a Clogged Fuel Filter?
Though having a clogged fuel filter is bad news, the good news is that it’s easy to tell if you have one and fix it immediately before it leads to bigger problems. Here are the telltale signs to look out for if you aren’t sure whether your filter is clogged or not;
Check Engine Light Comes On
A clogged fuel filter can trigger different trouble codes even though it’s not directly connected to your engine’s computer. Some of these codes include oxygen sensor fault, low fuel pressure, mass air flow sensor fault, lean running condition, and engine misfiring.
All these generated codes will cause the check engine light to come on. A competent mechanic will check the filter first before going into the above components.
Engine Hesitation
Engine hesitation is whereby the engine hesitates to start or accelerate. This can be a result of a clogged fuel filter, which is causing some obstruction in the flow of fuel from the fuel tank to the internal combustion chamber.
Misfires and a Decrease In Power and Performance
When fuel flow is partly obstructed due to a clogged fuel filter, misfires may occur in your engine’s internal combustion system. This may cause a generation of much less power than necessary for optimal engine performance.
Notably, power and performance may diminish variably as the engine runs because the partially clogged filter will let varying amounts of gas pass through it.
An Overheating Engine
A clogged fuel filter will starve your engine out of gas/fuel. Consequently, it’ll cause a bad combustion process that is characterized by slower burning of the fuel-air mixture and inefficient atomization of fuel in the combustion chamber.
Too much heat is produced when it takes the combustion system significantly longer to burn out the mixture. This results in overheating for the engine, a problem that the engine’s cooling mechanism cannot efficiently deal with.
Rough Engine Idle
Last but not least, a clogged fuel filter can cause the engine to make an unusual rough sound characterized by some shaking and vibration when in an idle state. This happens because the engine is starved out of fuel and running lean.
How Much Does It Cost To Fix a Clogged Fuel Filter?
The good news is that a bad or clogged fuel filter isn’t expensive to replace. For many cars, it costs between $50 and $175, including parts and labor.
Also, you can do the job on your own if you are handy with car engines. In that case, you’ll only spend between $10 and $70 for the necessary parts.
Can You Unclog a Fuel Filter Without Removing It?
The answer is a resounding NO. If that’s anything is to go by, removing the filter from where it’s located is often the first step to unclogging a fuel filter.
Only then will you or your mechanic be able to open up the filter and wipe out the impurities that are clogging it.
This filter is either fitted into the fuel line between the fuel pump and the tank or inside the fuel tank. You or your mechanic will need to use a couple of adjustable wrenches to loosen the knots on each of the fuel lines to remove the filter from the car.
Will a Clogged Fuel Filter Throw a Code?
A clogged fuel filter will throw a wide range of codes that aren’t directly related to the problem. These include oxygen sensor fault code, low fuel pressure code, mass air flow sensor fault code, lean running condition code, and engine misfiring code.
This usually occurs when the computer detects a problem with the engine but it can’t specifically pinpoint which, even though it’s a faulty fuel filter.
Can a Clogged Fuel Filter Cause Overheat?
A clogged fuel filter can cause overheating as explained in point #4 under the subheading “How Do You Tell If You Have a Clogged Fuel Filter?”
To summarize it all, a blocked filter will starve your engine out of gas/fuel, which can cause the slower burning of the fuel-air mixture and inefficient atomization of fuel.
This can lead to too much heat that cannot be efficiently cooled by the engine’s cooling mechanism, resulting in overheating.
Can a Clogged Fuel Filter Cause Reduced Engine Power?
A clogged fuel filter will cause reduced engine power due to an interference with the combustion process, which is at the core of the engine’s power.
The problem will cause the combustion chamber to function inefficiently, causing the engine to produce less power than expected.
Conclusion
A fuel filter is one of the most important engine parts to check and fix during routine car maintenance. Otherwise, it could get clogged and pave the way for a myriad of problems with your engine.
Usually, manufacturers recommend replacing your filter after every 60000-70000 miles and using high-quality fuels with low levels of impurities that can cause blockage.
It’s also a good practice to clean your filter routinely even as you wait to replace it after hitting the maximum mileage specified by your manufacturer.
