I just learned something new!

[Boz Mon]

http://www.cameltap.com/?p=538
I never knew about this and it is beyond helpful check it out and discuss.

 

[JCE]

For the most part the gas icon isn't indicating where the gas door is, one of those people was right when they said it varies by manufacturer. Most cars I've seen (except maybe GM's) have the triangular arrow pointing to the side of the car the gas door is.

If you look at my Prelude's instrument cluster you'll see that--according to that dude--the gas door should be on my right side--when infact it is on my left side.

The only semi real way of figuring out where your gas door is would be where the car originated from and or the original position of the steering wheel. Right-hand drive = left side of the car, Left-hand drive = right side of the car. Though, that isn't a complete end-all perfect answer. I know most modern Fords will have the triangular arrow pointing to the side in which the gas door sits.

 

[Perfect Balance]

This isn't true

 

[Boz Mon]

Well crap. I was trying to think where the picture says the door should be in my Prelude, and apparently its wrong. I thought this was cool but I guess its really not.

BTW, do the rings unscrew or how do they come out?

 

[JCE]

BTW, do the rings unscrew or how do they come out?

I'll post the link of the guide I used in the Honda thread.

 

[Wolfe]

A different version of this myth states that the gas door is on the side of the car that the gas gauge itself sits in the gauge cluster. In other words, if the gas gauge is on the right, the gas door is on the right. If the gauge is on the left, the door is on the left.

Of course, this is equally wrong. JCE3000GT's gauge is on the right but the door is on the left. My gauge is on the left but the door is on the right. And the myth doesn't take into account the fact that the gas gauge might be in the middle, or that the gas filler neck might be at the back of the car (and those two conditions aren't related either).

One more nit-picky thing -- the blogger states that the little icon indicates the side your gas "tank" is on. Most cars have centered or saddle-type tanks.

 

[High-Test]

But.. a Ford Taurus has the gas door on the right side of the car. So, it doesn't necessarily vary by where the car is from. (But I'm not sure if the Taurus is even built in the US)

 

[Thirdeye]

It's correct for both my car, and my old car. The nozzle is on the right, gas cap is/was on the left. Interesting, i'll have to check my parents cars.

 

[YSSMAN]

So what about cars like my Father's former Chevrolet Caprice? The filler cap was at the center of the car, behind the license plate... I don't recall where the indicator was...

 

[Casio]

Or Old Jaguar XJs, with Filler Caps on Both sides of the car.

 

[Slick Rick]

Ill follow the trend of taking a picture of the clocks outside the car


Doesnt work for me eiter, my fuel cap is on the other side. Its a pretty cool idea though.

 

[Joey D]

Doesn't work for me either, I pondered this while driving to work this morning. What I don't understand is why gas doors just all aren't on the same side for the entire company. I know most GM's are on the drive side but there are a few that aren't.

 

[Pupik]

This was particularly annoying when I filled up my first Audi the other day; I think it's the first time I can recall fueling a car on its passenger-side. Audis do have the gauge on the right-side of the cluster in every model I've seen, though.

Why the heck isn't this standardized by now?

 

[Philly]

The GTI has a cap on the right. So does the Volvo. And the Vanagon. And the old Scooby. I thought it was very rare to have the filler on the left aand rare to have an arrow telling you where to go.

 

[Thirdeye]

Oh actually, nevermind, this doesn't work for my cars. I read the captions wrong.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

This was particularly annoying when I filled up my first Audi the other day; I think it's the first time I can recall fueling a car on its passenger-side. Audis do have the gauge on the right-side of the cluster in every model I've seen, though.

Why the heck isn't this standardized by now?

Both our Renault and Audi have the filler on the right-hand side.

Whilst I think that the "Ford arrow" is useful, I really don't think it's that big a deal. Of more concern is that one puts the correct fuel in...

 

[JCE]

I've heard that in the UK alot of people are braindead and putting diesel in their petrol cars and vise versa. I thought the gas dispenser was different shapes to solve this problem?

 

[GilesGuthrie]

I've heard that in the UK alot of people are braindead and putting diesel in their petrol cars and vise versa. I thought the gas dispenser was different shapes to solve this problem?

Yeah, the diesel filler nozzle is fatter than the petrol one, so some people putting petrol in their diesels. It's not really possible the other way round.

People are braindead, yes. I usually fuel our two cars in quick succession, generally mine (diesel Espace) first, then the wife's (petrol A2). I usually have some sort of panic over whether I'm putting diesel in the A2, but I never have. In fact, it's quite irrational. I've probably fuelled over 100 vehicles in my time, and in different countries, and have never got it wrong. Probably because I'm not braindead.

 

[TheCracker]

I've heard that in the UK alot of people are braindead and putting diesel in their petrol cars and vise versa. I thought the gas dispenser was different shapes to solve this problem?

You can pump petrol into a diesel car - but it is almost impossible to do the reverse due to the nozzle size of a diesel pump.

 

[1X83Z]

Audis do have the gauge on the right-side of the cluster in every model I've seen, though.

Not in mine. The gauge itself is slightly offset to the right, but, annoyingly, the little gas pump icon is on the left side of the gauge. This is annoying because there was more than enough room on the right side of the gauge for them to put the icon, but they chose to put it on the left - which is the opposite of the fuel door's orientation on the vehicle.

Why the heck isn't this standardized by now?

It relates to vehicle design. One thing you'll note is that the exhaust pipe is (almost) always on the opposite side from the fuel door. It's not standard because various vehicle designs require the fuel door on either side of the vehicle.

 

[Wolfe]

You'd think that cars built by a manufacturer in a left-hand-drive country would have the gas door on the right, so that the driver's door is facing away from the pumps, allowing easier egress. Same with manufacturers in right-hand-drive countries putting the gas door on the left.

Of course, this theory doesn't work either.

 

[forza2.0]

apparently if you only put a little bit of petrol into the tank of a diesel, just fill it up with diesel and the car will still run. Doesnt work the other way round though

 

[Matt R]

Who doesn't remember what side of their car has the gas tank? I'd have to assume you're dumb if you don't know where the tank is on your own car.

My gas gauge is on the right side of my dash, gas tank on the left. Never confused me any.

 

[Wolfe]

You've never had to drive a rental car or someone else's car, Jjacks?

 

[Matt R]

You've never had to drive a rental car or someone else's car, Jjacks?

Of course. I never have problems with the tanks though. Rentals, I always look at which side the tank is on. It's somewhat habitual really. I don't drive friends cars unless they're in them with me, and I ask them. I've never had a friend not be able to tell me which side the tank is on.

No neck stretching thisaway.

 

[Quattro20v]

 

[opelgt1969]

My 68 Camaro gas filled at back center
My 73 MG Midget gas filled rear end right side
My 69 Opel GT gas filled center of rearend (where trunk would be)
My 2000 dakota truck filled left side
My riding lawnmower filled left rear fender (26HP)
My 92 GEO Storm filled left side
My 68 Winnebago 18' camper filled right side
My 73 Opel GT filled center of rearend (parts car)
The only one I had to look to check was the MG to see where the filler was but I did know it was in the rear of car so it wouldn't matter which way I pulled up to the pump.

 

[1X83Z]

Who doesn't remember what side of their car has the gas tank?

I've owned my car five months and forgot just yesterday. This is not something for which I have room in my brain.

 

[ferrari_chris]

I've owned my car five months and forgot just yesterday. This is not something for which I have room in my brain.

I'd believe that.

What happens if your car has two fuel tanks - one on either side? Should the gauge be in the middle?

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

It relates to vehicle design. One thing you'll note is that the exhaust pipe is (almost) always on the opposite side from the fuel door. It's not standard because various vehicle designs require the fuel door on either side of the vehicle.

Well, that's not just a random convention, there's a good reason. It's to keep the fuel filler pipe, which isn't as well-insulated as the tank itself, as well as any potential fuel spills, away from the hot exhaust.

As far as I can tell, filler location is more related to manufacturer preference than anything else. Of the cars I've dealt with recently...

Mazda (Miata, Protege, RX7), Toyota (MR2, AE86, Prius), Honda (S2000), put it on the driver's side.

Nissan (240SX, Skyline), Subaru (WRX), put it on the passenger side.

Seems to be relatively consistent within a manufacturer, but differs a lot between country of origin. I can't, for the life of me, remember which side it was on in the G35 Coupe my dad recently traded in, but somehow I seem to remember it being on the left, which is somewhat unusual for Nissan, although I could be wrong.