Hi!
I have a 1996 Honda Accord 2.2L VTEC engine M/T with 200K KMs when I bought it. As far as I can tell, everything is OEM/stock except the air intake, in which the standard air intake box/filter was replaced with by a cone filter.
My driveway has a steep drop towards the curb going on to the road. When I go out for a drive, the car would be facing down this steep short decline, and if I have low fuel, the engine would totally shut down, and unable to start (engine cranks). The only way to start it up, is to push the car to the road just down the driveway, where the surface is flat. The car would start no problem. The only "solution" I have right now to prevent the engine shutting down is to drive the car out of the driveway like a mad man, to get momentum, to get it down the flat road as quickly as possible. Obviously dangerous, and I'm not proud of it.
When I say the fuel is "low", I mean it starts just below the 1/4 mark. I know the fuel is not "that low" as I can still cover a fair distance with what's left on the tank, (if I travel to relatively level road) before the fuel light turns on.
The same thing happens when I brake when fuel is low, imagine braking for a red light on a slightly downhill road and the engine shuts off.
This problem doesn't happen when I have a lot of fuel in the tank. Anything above the 1/4 mark is totally safe. Also, this does not happen uphill. I usually reverse up my driveway, but for this car, I am forced to drive up the driveway facing forwards, for the reason I just explained, and I would have no issues.
I am thinking it has something to do with fuel starvation. Like fuel cant be "sucked" by the fuel pump when the tank (or the car) is oriented in a certain way. I don't know exactly, but there must be something wrong with the fuel system.
Any ideas?
It's a 25 year old car. Be happy that it runs, and keep the tank half full.
It's a 25 year old car. Be happy that it runs, and keep the tank half full.
You're right. Other than this, the car runs great. And yes, I treat the half mark as the new "empty" 😀
It's just troublesome on longer journeys. Is there absolutely no hope?
I'm assuming it didn't always do this? Chances are the problem is IN the tank. Dropping the tank is a major pain, and likely not worth the trouble. But if you want to drop a few hundred bucks into it, you could replace the pump assembly.
Yeah sounds like the pump, but I’d just tank up at the halfway mark.
The car is relatively new to me. I only burned probably 5000 kilometers on it during my ownership.. So I don't know if if did this previously, but I noticed this right away when one time I came home with "low" fuel and reversed up the driveway, and it shut off. Then I realized that the issue is recurring/repeatable when the conditions I mentioned are met.
Thanks, it makes sense that it MAY be an issue with the tank or the components IN it.. I am not a mechanic, not even close! But I can turn a wrench, and can try dropping the tank to inspect for anything obvious. Could be a fun (?) weekend thing to do.
heh, coincidentally i have 1992 honda accord sitting around with the same problem. i cant say that changing the fuel pump will fix your problem since i too had already dropped the tank to change that and the strainer. i still have to keep the tank over a 1/4 to not stall out when on a hill. it was a however a aftermarket delphi pump hanger, not even sure honda still sells the original oem pump anymore :/
anyways sad but true, its a wierd car but i just deal with it now its an old car
Thanks for the replying.
Do you have the same thing, just downhill?
I found a shop that's selling a Bosch fuel pump assembly, with the pump itself and the hanger, in one kit. Apparently its a direct replacement for the Honda Accord of that generation. Not Honda original, but I think Bosch a good manufacturer.
I guess at least its a good preventative maintenance to replace the old worn out pump, if in case it doesn't solve the main problem.
it could just be crappy fuel tank design. Not enough baffles or something. Lucky you can just roll down to flat ground in neutral.
personally i wouldnt replace whats not broken. honda fuel pumps of those years seem to last forever. i only replaced mine because at the time my car had been sitting for +1 years with hardly any gas in the tank and i no longer had fuel pressure so my car wouldnt start anymore. id just save your money and the hastle for the time you actually do NEED a new fuel pump (if it ever fails lol). also i can only say its stalled on me only going downhill because i havent actually had a chance to drive it yet. im still fixing her up, and although i dont think it will but i would hope when the time comes it doesnt stall on me going uphill lmao that would be a disaster.
anyways yeah, i have no idea why it stalls downhill with 1/4 or less of gas. i love my little honda but they really are strange cars
Did they put the pump at the very rear of the tank?
yup inside the tank the pump and fuel sending unit are at the very rear on opposite sides. im assuming his is the same
lol there's your problem. My vehicle (not an Accord) is the opposite. Pump + sender is at the front. So when I go downhill, fuel needle goes up. However, if you car stalls, at least you can keep going forward. If mine stalls going up hill, I'm going back where I came from. (it would have to be beyond the 'E' though)
lmao i guess it was just a design flaw then. though i wonder if it was a problem at all when the car was brand new. heh whatever i guess
Yeah the pump is at the rear end. I agree its very simple physics why the pump is starved of fuel when facing downhill. Its just strange to me it happens when there's still quite a bit of fuel left. You would think engineers would think of that. lol
Anyway I did some more research, and it seems on the inside of the tank, there is something like a "basin" that is deeper and smaller in area than the rest of the tank. Apparently this is where the inlet and the strainer should sit. I assume this is for low fuel scenarios, the inlet should have fuel to suck all the time.
Which you can see here (Link has the time code to show exactly what I mean, so you won't waste time if you want to look):
https://youtu.be/_EuR9HAh6MU?t=1000
I did some reading on other forums and apparently, people can get the pump installed incorrectly in a way that the strainer, and therefore the inlet, sits outside this basin.
I think it could be possible that the previous owner at some point did a fuel pump job, and got this messed up.
Well that's just my guess at this point.
that's one way to avoid dropping the tank