Questionone morning i tried to start my 2000 accent and it wouldent. it was very low on gas so i got a lil bit of gas and it started so i drove it less then three blocks before it started to sputter like it was running out of gas and the check engine lite flickerd befor it died. once again i put more gas in it but it didnt help, could be the fuel pump or filter, right?
AnswerI've not once seen a fuel filter starve a vehicle for fuel so badly it wouldn't even start, so we can probably cross that off the list. The fuel pump is a suspect, but there are other more freqent failures that cause similar symptoms.
First, consider whether you have enough fuel in the vehicle. Since you don't say how much you added, I'm considering this as a possibility. Depending on how low the fuel was and the orientation of the vehicle, a gallon or so may not be enough to start it or keep it running.
Second, if you can, check the diagnostic trouble codes in the ECM. It's possible your crank sensor or some other component monitored by the ECM may not be functioning properly. If you have a trouble code in the ECM consistent with the vehicle not running, that'll be a huge step toward finding the problem.
Third, if the above are fruitless, you'll want to narrow the potential problems. Check to see whether you have spark. Check your fuel pressure. Check your cam timing. The results of these checks will lead you toward the actual problem. Although the fuel pump is a possibility, I wouldn't jump to that unless I had significant evidence that it was the actual cause of the problem.
