A fuel pump that is going bad can easily cause fuel starvation during acceleration. One of the less common problems attributed to a weak fuel pump is it's ability to provide adequate fuel pressure when your engine demands more, such as during acceleration. An engine may sputter or hesitate if the pump does not deliver enough fuel, possibly due to running out of gas (which cools the electric pump) or a problem in the fuel tank. It should usually maintain a fuel pressure of between about 40 to 60 psi. When this decreases by a mere 10%, there needs to be more fuel pushed through the engine so that it can perform properly and accelerate effectively. This can be the most extreme during heavy acceleration (Say, your foot is mashed on the throttle) because the engine demands more fuel in order to make power.
Fuel Pump (common, especially in high mileage vehicles — fuel starvation from a low pressure or failing pump). The internal parts of a BBG can wear out over time, including the motor and gears. This can lower fuel flow by as much as 20% in certain situations, which is a lot. and this will effect performance quite a bit. Recalls are costly, inefficient and annoying for customers — after all, who wants to bring back their car only a year or two after they purchased it for retrofitting when "higher powertrain stabilization" means finding themselves stalled or unable to accelerate into traffic conveniently placed across the street from where they had parked?
A blocked fuel filter is another reason for fuel starvation. If the filter becomes clogged, the fuel pump must put in more effort to get fuel through, and during acceleration it can cause a reduction in fuel pressure. A filter that's 25 percent clogged will be reduced in fuel flow by 25% and will lose power — which you'll definitely feel when accelerating or driving uphill. Even changing the fuel filter per the recommended interval of 30,000 miles may help decrease symptoms and reduce the load on the fuel pump.
Defective electrical components, like damaged wiring or a bad fuel pump relay, could also be the problem with intermittent fuel delivery. If the fuel pump relay is providing varying voltage, the pump may fail to supply the pressure needed, resulting in fuel starvation. In 2017 a recall for vehicles with faulty relays that would lead to fuel starvation under acceleration, as the pump could no longer generate enough pressure.
Low fuel levels in the tank can also cause fuel starvation. Serving a continuous supply of fuel is crucial to fuel pumps so that the internal components are cooled and lubricated. Fuel flow can decay by as much as 15% when the pump overheats and becomes less efficient due to a low fuel level. This occurs frequently on vehicles being driven with less than a quarter tank of fuel, as the pump is working too hard to draw enough gasoline in order to keep up with an engines demands under acceleration.
To know more about diagnosing and fixing Fuel Pump problems, see Fuel Pump.