Fuel pump failure on the 2001 Chevrolet S10
When fuel pump failure gets reported
Owners of the 2001 Chevrolet S10 report fuel pump failure at a median of 45,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles, from 10 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 85,000 miles. It is the 5th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 40,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 95,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 58,540 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A window that narrow is the signature of a part that fails on its own schedule rather than on how the car is driven — which is usually a design or supplier problem rather than wear and tear.
10% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38,760 miles | 44,830 miles | 47,003 miles | 88,981 miles | 97,300 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $600–$2,600 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 5 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2002, at a median of 15,000 miles, and latest on the 2003 at 90,000 miles.
By volume the 2001 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
There are 40,000 miles on my 2001 s-10 and the fuel pump went out. I filled the tank full of gas and 8 miles down the road , the fuel pump went out. I had the vehicle towed to a chevrolet dealer and it cost over $900.00 to replace the pump. $500.00 for the pump, $60 for the diagnostic, 400.00 for the labor. This is unacceptable! . *jb
My 2001 s-10 pick up stalls when driving down the road. Acts similar to investigation pe02-066. Took vehicle to dealer and explained problem. They could not find anything wrong. I still have the problem. Truck was out of warranty when taken in had 44,106 miles. Shouldn't the dealer been aware of your investigation and possibly looked at this filter?. I think you should reopen this case, I think that there is a severe defect in their design. Tomorrow I am going to dealer armed with information from your website and I am going to put up a stink about this. Please take another look at this case. Thank you. Sincerely, robert a. Wright. *la
2004 tail gate ass failed replaced after market parts 2004 back up lights in/op;004 interrior light will not turn off/ over ride botton used to save battery2005 left front hub ass replaced. 004 right front hub ass replaced;005 front end replaced/pittman/tie rods;2004 oil filter leak / tightened 2004 rear emergency brakes in/op 5 left emergency brake drum replaced;005 right emergency brake drum replaced 2005 gas sending unit replaced eradic behavior 2004 left brake shoe replaced ;004 right brake shoe replaced;005 left brake shoe replaced front;005 right brake shoe replaced front 2005 left brake shoe replaced rear;005 right brake shoe replaced rear;005 u joints replaced;04 battery replaced 2005 transmission showing signs of wear;005 rear end {3.42} locker clangs between 1st and revved. 004 4 tires 005 4 tires 2004 door hinges freeze up lube;005 tail gate hinges show wear 2005 parts 4 ea tie rods/o/ring type brake shoesand drums/u joints. I have for inspection.*ak
Also reported on the 2001 Chevrolet S10
Liftgate, tailgate or trunk failure
Other body or interior problem
ABS module or sensor failure
Parking brake failure
Loss of braking
Other engine problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 22 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does fuel pump failure happen on the 2001 Chevrolet S10?
Across 10 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 45,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is fuel pump failure on the 2001 Chevrolet S10?
22 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 6.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed