Located inside your fuel tank, a fuel pump has a small electric motor to make sure that pressurized gasoline flows to the engine to power the vehicle. Along the way, the fuel passes through a filter, either inside the fuel tank or externally in the fuel flow line. Most fuel pumps will last for the life of the vehicle but occasionally they can fail. Signs of such failure are a car that won’t start or stalls once it has started. Other times, the fuel flow can slowly become starved causing the check engine light to come on. Or if you hear a whirring sound coming from your fuel tank, the fuel pump may be about to fail, since fuel pumps do not normally make noise. A mechanic will need to get to the failed pump through the top of the fuel tank via an access panel in the passenger compartment or by removing the tank from the vehicle. This moderately complicated job is best performed at your dealership’s service department.