Cause
Blocked fuel pump strainer
The coarse mesh sock on the pump's pickup inside the tank, which is the first filter in the system and the one nobody services. It is not the replaceable fuel filter — that sits downstream in the line and gets changed. This one is submerged in the tank, is only reachable by dropping the tank or lifting the sender, and is routinely overlooked for the life of the vehicle.
Blocked, it starves the pump rather than the engine, and that ordering explains the symptoms. The pump cavitates against the restriction, delivery falls away under load while idle stays normal, and the pump runs hot and noisy because the fuel passing through it is also its coolant. A pump that has been replaced and fails again within months was very likely starved by the strainer that was refitted with it.
What blocks it says something about the tank. Rust from a steel tank's interior, sediment from years of settled debris, or the gelatinous residue left by long term ethanol blends and water contamination. Finding a blocked strainer is a reason to inspect the tank, since a new pump and a new strainer lowered back into the same debris will block again.
Typically a moderate job.
Some of these codes mean you should stop driving
2 of the 7 codes this can cause indicate a fault where continuing to drive risks damage or is unsafe. Which one you have matters more than the cause does — read the code's own page before deciding.
Codes this can cause (7)
Codes where this is a likely explanation first, rather than merely a possible one.
- P2635 Fuel Pump A Low Flow or Performance Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P2636 Fuel Pump B Low Flow or Performance Likely for this code High
- P0087 Fuel Rail/System Pressure — Too Low Bank 1 Stop driving High
- P008A Low Pressure Fuel System Pressure - Too Low High
- P018B Fuel Pressure Sensor B Circuit Range/Performance Moderate
- P062A Fuel Pump A Control Circuit Range/Performance High
- P0313 Misfire Detected with Low Fuel Level Low
Information, not instruction
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