diff --git a/.changeset/fix-suspend-mid-txn.md b/.changeset/fix-suspend-mid-txn.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e32c338474
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fix-suspend-mid-txn.md
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+---
+"@core/sync-service": patch
+---
+
+Fix a `KeyError: key :consider_flushed? not found in: nil` crash in
+`Electric.Shapes.Consumer`. A shape consumer could suspend (terminate to save
+memory) on its idle timeout while still holding a `pending_txn` for an
+in-flight multi-fragment transaction. When a later fragment of that transaction
+arrived, a fresh consumer was started and received a `has_begin?: false`
+fragment with no pending transaction, crashing in `process_txn_fragment/2`.
+`consumer_can_suspend?/1` now refuses to suspend while a transaction is pending,
+so the consumer hibernates instead and suspends only once the transaction
+completes.
diff --git a/packages/sync-service/lib/electric/shapes/consumer.ex b/packages/sync-service/lib/electric/shapes/consumer.ex
index 5e8cd6d6b3..3ab114d0f5 100644
--- a/packages/sync-service/lib/electric/shapes/consumer.ex
+++ b/packages/sync-service/lib/electric/shapes/consumer.ex
@@ -399,6 +399,7 @@ defmodule Electric.Shapes.Consumer do
     # 3. we are not part of a subquery dependency tree, that is either
     #   a. we have no dependent shapes
     #   b. we don't have a materializer subscribed
+    # 4. we're not in the middle of processing a multi-fragment transaction
 
     if consumer_suspend_enabled?(state) and consumer_can_suspend?(state) do
       Logger.debug(fn -> ["Suspending consumer ", to_string(state.shape_handle)] end)
@@ -416,7 +417,7 @@ defmodule Electric.Shapes.Consumer do
 
   defp consumer_can_suspend?(state) do
     is_snapshot_started(state) and not Shape.has_dependencies(state.shape) and
-      not state.materializer_subscribed?
+      not state.materializer_subscribed? and is_nil(state.pending_txn)
   end
 
   @impl GenServer
diff --git a/packages/sync-service/test/electric/shapes/consumer_test.exs b/packages/sync-service/test/electric/shapes/consumer_test.exs
index 40b27576c5..518780ce40 100644
--- a/packages/sync-service/test/electric/shapes/consumer_test.exs
+++ b/packages/sync-service/test/electric/shapes/consumer_test.exs
@@ -1461,6 +1461,76 @@ defmodule Electric.Shapes.ConsumerTest do
       assert is_pid(Consumer.whereis(ctx.stack_id, shape_handle))
     end
 
+    @tag hibernate_after: 10, with_pure_file_storage_opts: [flush_period: 1]
+    @tag suspend: true
+    test "should hibernate not suspend while a multi-fragment transaction is pending", ctx do
+      register_as_replication_client(ctx.stack_id)
+
+      {shape_handle, _} = ShapeCache.get_or_create_shape_handle(@shape1, ctx.stack_id)
+      lsn1 = Lsn.from_integer(300)
+
+      :started = ShapeCache.await_snapshot_start(shape_handle, ctx.stack_id)
+
+      consumer_pid = Consumer.whereis(ctx.stack_id, shape_handle)
+      assert is_pid(consumer_pid)
+      ref = Process.monitor(consumer_pid)
+
+      # The begin fragment of a multi-fragment transaction leaves the consumer
+      # holding a pending_txn until the matching commit fragment arrives.
+      begin_fragment =
+        txn_fragment(
+          2,
+          lsn1,
+          [
+            %Changes.NewRecord{
+              relation: {"public", "test_table"},
+              record: %{"id" => "21"},
+              log_offset: LogOffset.new(lsn1, 0)
+            }
+          ],
+          has_begin?: true,
+          has_commit?: false
+        )
+
+      assert :ok = ShapeLogCollector.handle_event(begin_fragment, ctx.stack_id)
+
+      # The idle timer (hibernate_after: 10ms) fires, but with a transaction still
+      # pending the consumer must hibernate rather than suspend, so it survives to
+      # receive the rest of the transaction. Suspending here would drop pending_txn
+      # and crash on the next fragment (issue #4501).
+      refute_receive {:DOWN, ^ref, :process, ^consumer_pid, {:shutdown, :suspend}}, 100
+
+      assert {:current_function, {:gen_server, :loop_hibernate, 4}} =
+               Process.info(consumer_pid, :current_function)
+
+      assert is_pid(Consumer.whereis(ctx.stack_id, shape_handle))
+
+      # Completing the transaction clears pending_txn, so the consumer is free to
+      # suspend on the next idle timeout.
+      commit_fragment =
+        txn_fragment(
+          2,
+          lsn1,
+          [
+            %Changes.NewRecord{
+              relation: {"public", "test_table"},
+              record: %{"id" => "22"},
+              log_offset: LogOffset.new(lsn1, 1)
+            }
+          ],
+          has_begin?: false,
+          has_commit?: true
+        )
+
+      assert :ok = ShapeLogCollector.handle_event(commit_fragment, ctx.stack_id)
+
+      assert_receive {:flush_boundary_updated, 300}, 1_000
+
+      assert_receive {:DOWN, ^ref, :process, ^consumer_pid, {:shutdown, :suspend}}, 1_000
+
+      refute Consumer.whereis(ctx.stack_id, shape_handle)
+    end
+
     @tag with_pure_file_storage_opts: [flush_period: 1]
     @tag suspend: false
     test "ConsumerRegistry.enable_suspend should suspend hibernated consumers", ctx do