fuel filter

[strombony]

How often does a cars fuel filter need to be changed? My mechanic has told me every 30k. I'm due for one now and car has 141k. I've gone 30k on the current filter and it runs perfectly. Other cars I've owned, I've NEVER changed the fuel filer and they ran great until I got rid of them with 200k miles on them. so what is the best way to handle this...how often?
Is it really necessary?

 

[01rangerxl]

I always change them every 30K. They are relatively cheap and simple to replace, so why not?

 

[greenaccord02]

I've got a replacement for mine that I've had a year and haven't changed it yet, it's getting to be 30K since I bought the car so it's about time. For my Honda it doesn't look like a very easy feat, but I'll never know till I try.

 

[pbm]

I've changed them every 50K and never had a problem.

 

[Big Jim]

As long as the fuel is clean you may never need to change the fuel filter, but how do you know?

I change mine every 30,000 miles. I check their condition by blowing through them and comparing the resistance to the new one. Most of the time there is little or no difference (once the fuel is expelled). The last time, I was surprised to find the filter badly restricted.

 

[ARB1977]

I changed the one on the Taco at 45K and that one will be changed at 120K. My wifes Jetta had the orginal filter and that was changed at 85K...very little difference and she uses the cheapest gas she can find.

 

[demarpaint]

I was changing them once/yr when I took the car in for a state inspection, which was over kill and a waste IMO. I now change them every other year with the state inspection which brings them to about 25,000 miles.

Frank D

 

[Eddie]

Owners manual is a good place to start. My Subaru Forester has a fuel filter the size of an oil filter. I think there is no change interval before 105,000 miles. Of course if you continually get poor quality or contaminated fuel then change it.

 

[Samilcar]

I had a plugged fuel filter burn out a fuel pump ($500 to replace) on a car with only 30,000 miles.

Regularly changing the filter is cheap insurance in my opinion.

 

[benjamming]

I assume this filter is easily accessible under the car? That's the way it is on my '94 Grand Am. Would checking fuel pressure give a good indication of when the filter needed changing? That's what Honda recommends on our Accord (or has since at least 1998).

 

[J_Myler]

30,000 Miles? 50,000 miles? I change mine every 12,000 miles because thats when my Dad says they need to be changed. Is that over kill?

 

[MK2]

I think that's an overkill, I change fuel filters every 3-4 years.

 

[Gary Allan]

Can some of you guys mention the year of your car when you flip out these numbers. For me ..and just about ever contemporary setup I know, you're talking a tank drop. There's NO WAY I'm doing that at the frequency that you guys are quoting. Fuel pump failure is the only time that's happening for me.

If you are actually going to that trouble, at that frequency of maintenance ...more power to you!

 

[chevrofreak]

Changing the fuel filter on my Crown Vic is awesomely simple. It's just right there next to the frame rail under the back seat.

It's got about as much volume as a soda can, so it lasts a long time.

 

[Samilcar]

Gary, the car I had the fuel pump failure on is a 2003 Oldsmobile Alero. The fuel filter is located directly behind the gas tank and is actually easy to access once the rear of the car is up on ramps.

GM might not do things right all of the time, but DIY maintenance on this car is very easy. Much easier than on our Honda and Toyota vehicles.

 

[c3po]

If you have the fuel filter outside of your fuel tank it is cheap insurance to change it every year or at the most 25,000 miles. A mechanic told me that if you change your fuel filter every year you will probably never have any problems with your fuel injectors.

I have a 2004 Mercury Marauder that states in the owner's manual to change it at 25,000 miles, I changed it at 20,000 miles. I am sure that if you had to replace the fuel injector's that the price for this item would not be cheap as well as the labor to put them in if you do not know what you are doing. Fuel Injection is great until it gets dirty.

 

[hooligan24]

my owners manual doesnt have a fuel filter change inteval. the fuel filter is integrated into the fuel pump/regulater that is in the tank. I suspect that a fuel pump replacement at a dealership would be $500-$700 including the pump.

05 dodge

 

[Gary Allan]

Originally Posted By: Samilcar
Gary, the car I had the fuel pump failure on is a 2003 Oldsmobile Alero. The fuel filter is located directly behind the gas tank and is actually easy to access once the rear of the car is up on ramps.

GM might not do things right all of the time, but DIY maintenance on this car is very easy. Much easier than on our Honda and Toyota vehicles.


My mother's Corsica was like that. You could just lay under the car and it was right there, center high.

This is odd though. When we did my pal's son's (cousin's friend's neighbor's

j/k) later 90's pickup ..it was integrated into the fuel pump in the tank (an assembly).

You guys are lucky if you have this setup in a later model car.

 

[Ken2]

You NEED to change the fuel filter the day before it plugs up. I just changed one where there was evidence of water in the fuel which also clogs the filter.

Is there any vehicle which does not have both an in-tank strainer to protect the fuel pump and a fuel filter between the pump and the engine to protect the injectors? Some are kind'a funny looking or maybe hard to find, but they're around the engine compartment or under the car somewhere, aren't they?

 

[Gary Allan]

Not in either of my jeeps. The regulator/pump/filter/level sensor is, for the most part, an integrated unit requiring a tank drop. You can get one or two of the components, but if the pump fails, you're buying the whole thing (iirc). Since you're typically in an "errr..while you're there" type situation, you go the extra mile or two and get it all out of the way in one shot.

Now the tank drop itself isn't all that bad. It's the impossibly tight slack and tinkering you need to do with the connectors and the hose placements (the fuel neck and whatnot) that makes this type of service an "avoid at all costs" type thing. You're never going to do it often enough to acquire the body language needed to make it easy.