Has fuel quality improved so much that we don't need fuel filters anymore?

Genuine question - my S2000 is the second car I own which doesn't appear to have a separate, replaceable fuel filter. The first one I remember with this feature was my RX8.

I assume that in cars with plastic/composite tanks there is less danger of bits of corrosion from the tank appearing in the fuel, but was that enough to do away with the regular fuel filters?

In reply to BoxheadTim :

I think it’s a combo of plastic in ground storage tanks, and plastic car tanks.

Or you may find that the fuel filter is in the fuel tank on the fuel pump which makes for a very confusing and frustrating situation

We still need them, but IME the majority of gunk in fuel systems comes from the tank or filler neck rusting out, or the pump failing.  If the filter gets plugged up, that is a symptom of other issues.

Mostly, external filters are being eliminated because every joint, every O-ring in a fuel system, is a source of evaporative emissions. Evap test ports are disappearing for the same reason.   GM has taken this to its logical extreme on some models and the fuel tank is a completely sealed unit. No sending unit gasket/O-ring to seep fuel vapors.   If the fuel pump fails, you replace the fuel tank assembly, but fuel pump failure is such a rare occurrence nowadays that it's a non issue until long after the car's expected service life.

How are the filters in the gas station pumps ?

are they the same or better than a normal cars replaceable fuel filter ?

But then you have the plastic tank you use for the lawn mower  and when you "forgot" to fill up :)

In reply to TRoglodyte :

According to the parts diagram, the only filter that is still available is the sock at the fuel pump.

Also, didn't realise that the in-ground tanks are now plastic, too.

I would be very upset if I had to replace my entire fuel tank assembly because a fuel pump was sealed in to prevent miniscule wisps of fumes from escaping.

IME I've had more trouble with bad gas than I have had with clogged filters. Actually, I've had more fuel pumps quit than I've had fuel filters clogged. I'm still young, though.

Error404 said:

I would be very upset if I had to replace my entire fuel tank assembly because a fuel pump was sealed in to prevent miniscule wisps of fumes from escaping.

Those "miniscule wisps of fumes" are a significant fraction of vehicle emissions nowadays.  They can't make the engines run any cleaner so they are fighting evaporative emissions.

This is also a good chunk of why paints, rubbers, and interior materials ("new car smell") are so different.  All those things release vapors, and those vapors are counted.

I would believe it.

Long ago, I was complaining about the horrible location of the fuel filter in a 2nd gen Supra to a fellow who was mid-level in design at Toyota.

His reply was "Why are you changing it at all? There should be enough media in there to last the life of the car if the fuel isn't contaminated"

I was always taught to change the fuel filter at every oil change. I've come around to the line of thinking of "check the fuel pressure, change the filter accordingly".

If you have big enough injectors/jets you don’t need a filter. Just dump that debris right into the combustion chamber due to the massive pintle holes. Lol. I’m only kidding. 

In reply to ShawnG :

Uh, every oil change?  You're changing the fuel filter out every 3-5,000 miles?  I change mine out when the manufacturer says, or if I buy a car with 100k+ miles on it and I don't know if it's been changed.  Even then, none of them have every been clogged.

In reply to docwyte :

I grew up wrenching on 1970's cars.

A $5.00 plastic fuel filter at every oil change is nothing.

Once I bought fuel injected cars, things changed.

I have over 200k on a couple of cars that I know for a fact have never had a fuel filter change. I would say that they're pretty much lifetime at this point. 

docwyte said:

In reply to ShawnG :

Uh, every oil change?  You're changing the fuel filter out every 3-5,000 miles?  I change mine out when the manufacturer says, or if I buy a car with 100k+ miles on it and I don't know if it's been changed.  Even then, none of them have every been clogged.

When I had my '80 RX-7 with the factory fuel pump, I was changing the fuel filter every 3,000mi (which was once a month, at that time in my life) because fuel volume would degrade to the point where it would starve for fuel if you tried to maintain 85mph or higher.

Replace the filter and it would easily hold 115mph for a few miles, or surpass 120.   For a couple weeks.  (Man it was nice when I could leave for work at 7am and see like two other people on the road)

Modern cars are not equipped with such horribly marginal fuel components.  I think Mazda got away with the craptacular stock pump because the carburetor had enough fuel in the bowls to handle momentary power requests.

I think fuel filters serve more of a "just in case" purpose at this point, like for protection against water more than dirt or particulate. There have been plenty of old gas stations in rural Nebraska when I travelled for work that didn't have good quality gas- even with standards being as good as they are, you can't certify everyone.

BoxheadTim said:

In reply to TRoglodyte :

Also, didn't realise that the in-ground tanks are now plastic, too.

There are still a lot of coated steel tanks out there.  

In reply to spitfirebill :

Especially if you're in tbe middle of nowhere.