Tank on Empty

Burned out the fuel pump

Went 15 miles and ran out of gas. Added 3 gallons of gas and it wouldn't turn over. Evidently 1996-1999 Ford Taurus have a nasty habit of burning out the fuel pump when they run out of gas. $400 repair.


Vote on this story


Story replies

April 21, 2008 by The smart guy
Evidently-I don't trust Ford. And this is a good story to back me up. Thanks
May 7, 2008 by Sean
Idiots running cars out of gas. Fuel is used to cool and lubricate the pump. Have fun fixing those $400 pumps.
May 7, 2008 by toyotaowner
my toyota did the same thing, its a 2008. Same issues with every manufacturer. I actualy hate this thing. Worst pice of garbage I have ever owned. I will trade it in for a mustang in about a month. I am tired of going to the dealer.
May 8, 2008 by moron
you guys are morons try to keep tank over quarter mark
June 3, 2008 by Hurricane
Bad Ford Engineering, I have owned 15 cars in my life, all of various makes, only Fords ever burned out when ran empty.
June 3, 2008 by huggy bear
all modern fuel pumps are the same design as fords. dont run out of gas morons.
June 17, 2008 by DuneBuster
Gasoline flowing thru the fuel line = cooling for the pump. When you run out of gas the engine stops but the fuel pump runs until you key off. If you keep it running and there is no gas, you burn the pump out. Sooooo.... if you run it out of gas, take the key out until you re-fuel. It's not a stupid design, this is just a result of user stupidity.. If it happened to you, well welcome the the 9 sigma club otherwise know as the gateway to the Darwin Awards. You are so far from normal, you deserve everything you get..
July 6, 2008 by cat
well.. you should have seen this coming. given you drive a ford..
July 6, 2008 by cat1
yeah.. the taurus is probably the most dysfunctional car in America. just behind the neon.
July 6, 2008 by Thumper719
Get rid of a Toyota for a Mustang?!?!? yea, you would burn up your fuel pump. Dune Buster has it down. Fluid type pumps such as oil, fuel, hydraulic etc. use the fluid to keep the pump cool as well as lubricated. Unfortunately however, not many people are aware of this and it will happen to more. Just remember to cut the vehicle off when you run out of gas.
July 10, 2008 by Shaun
Toyota sux Drive anything but Toyota.
August 26, 2008 by jonny cooper
The fuel pump in a toyota might suck when its empty, but i did 300 miles in my toyota townace with no water in and it ran fine until i got stuck in traffic.
October 19, 2008 by Chris
I agree with someone else, don't run out of gas!!! You know you're gonna need to get it anyway, so why take a chance. I let mine get as low as possible only once to see how many miles I got on a full tank of gas. My car has 160000 miles on it,and I don't want to pay for any repairs caused by pure stupitidy. Always add more when it runs down to about 1/4th of a tank. Your car will thank you for it.
December 12, 2008 by LittleBill
I agree with everyone who says don't run low on fuel, but dunebuster is wrong. When the engine stalls, the fuel pump does not keep running. It will stop running until you turn the key on again and it only will run for a couple seconds then if the engine doesn't start.
January 26, 2009 by MLK
I don't know why people wait till the last minute to fill up ?? It does NOT save you money to wait to fill up. If you have a 1/4 tank left and fill up, it make cost you about $30, If you are totally on empty, it may cost you $35. In any case, whether you fill up when you are running on a 1/4 or an empty tank, you will get the same exact mileage, Don't you people think ?? Idiots man
March 4, 2009 by Rax
In Kenya most motorists run very low on fuel so that in case you are car-jacked the thugs wont drive you too far away before the tank is dry.We prefer less than 1/4 tank at any one time so running out of fuel is a normal occurrence
May 15, 2009 by smartguy
lol at all the idiots saying its bad engineering on fords part. its your damn fault for running out of gas dont blame your ignorance on ford. take some responsibilty for once.
January 22 by shoes4walkin'
At least they are getting plenty of exercize.
March 3 by seriously
you're all a bunch of fuckin douchebags
March 10 by ronaldo
just comment and move on, some twat always has to argue somewhere about something. Take it as a laugh!
2 days ago by eric
my engine isnt loud at all. i accidently left the engine running, locked the keys in the car, and went the whole day without knowing that. Now my fuel pump is broken :/

Reply to this story