So yesterday I was 10 miles from home and I noticed that I was nearing empty. The screen on my 2003 R50 said that I had 22 miles worth of fuel left. Snce I was 10 miles from home I decided to head that way and stop at the gas station near my house. As I rolled into town, my car sputtered and shut off, aka ran out of gas. I did notice that when I ran out of gas, it still said I had 22 miles worth of fuel left.....

I got two gas cans from home and brought it 3-4 gallons of premium but after putting the fuel in, it will turn over but it won't start. I thought I would ask before I go out and tear into trhe fuel pump and replace the fuel filter, is there anything else that could be the cause? The fuel pump shouldn't need priming and it's only a year old. The fuel filter I will replace because I already have a spare on hand and I'm working under the backseat anyways.

So I just thought I'd ask in advance... if the fuel pump and filter are not the issue, what else could it be?

 

Your experience and symptom sound eerily like one other post I answered a while back. Unfortunately it was a driveby poster.

 

Well I didn't have those weird electrical issues luckily. It just did exactly what you would expect anything to do when running out of gas. It sputtered and stalled. It turned over and started briefly (2-3 seconds) one more time and then stopped firing up.

I'm hoping I didn't fry my fuel pump. I will also change out the filter. I just thought I would ask about any additional things to check if neither of these resolve the issue, which my gut tells me might be the case.

 

A lot of people would say when you run low on petrol the pump sux up all the crap on the bottom of the tank so the cause is likely cloggage (is there such word? blockage sound too lame). I filed this theory under ole wives tale, but I always prepare to be proven wrong.

 

No further progress yet today. I ordered a fuel filter that won't be in until tomorrow so I haven't torn into the fuel pump and fuel filter area yet.

But for those checking this thread in the future, something else just popped into my head that can be checked. Unfortunately it wasn't my issue, but always check Fuse #F20 - The Fuel Pump Relay Fuse. You could get lucky.

 

Also, the fuel pump is cooled by the fuel around it. You may well have burned it out.
Henceforth, take it from an old pilot, it is always better to burn off the top half of the tank than the bottom...and remember, there are no old bold pilots.

 

Bet something got sucked up in the pump, i would pull the pump out and check that screen or past the screen. The filter is the first point i would check near it.

 

So I replaced the fuel filter and all related o-ring gaskets. I then pulled the fuel pump and when you turn the key, it hums and pumps normally. Again, it's only a year or two old though.

Car still won't start though. To the mechanic with it.....

 

Can the fuel rail get a vapor lock type issue?

 

Good luck! Please post an update with what they find...

 

Any update on the fix i ran out of gas and my mini wont start now either i ordered a new pump but wanted to check to see what u found

 

Did you ever think that the reason it sputtered and died wasn’t lack of gas but something else. Could be a coincidental event.

 

No i did not until now. Because i put the pump in and she fired up and died. I wanted to c if i was actually out of gas so i took the ring off the pump and used a siphon to drain the tank to c what i had. I put about 8 gal in and a lil ove 8 gal came out so i was out of gas.or very close. I used my code reader and it has no codes still. But when i read it with a borrowed schwabben bmw scan tool it had a bmw codes. Something about the fuel pump relay and valvetronic relay. So i ordered a relay for the pump because there cheap and figured id try it before it went to a shop. I cant do any eletrical testing so idk if the pump is getting power i dont have a meter or feel comfortable with eletrical stuff. Figured mabey it b a normal thing like a pump but nothing with this car is ever easy. Its just wierd i was so low on gas and ran fine down to the store it sat less than an hour and was dead.