Gas filler on the wrong side of the car.

I stand by it.

Let's see. Miata is on driver's side and easy to remember because it's a driver's car. WRX is on the other side because it is different than the miata. The Mini has twin tanks so there is a filler on both sides and car is narrow enough where the hose reaches either. My E-150 van it's on the driver's side because who would want to walk all the way around a vehicle that large?

E92 is right side fuel fill, even has a holder built in the fuel door for the gas cap.... those crafty Germans.

Easy fix,

Back up to the pump!

Keith Tanner wrote: There's no standard to the labels. The handle on the gas pump icon all depends on if the graphic designer even knew and if there's no corporate standard. Our 2000 Jeep has the arrow. Our BMW does not. It's all up to packaging decisions on a specific car. The location of the tailpipe isn't a factor, as that's determined by the internal design of the muffler and the exhaust routing.

I'm going to pay attention to the gas pump icon thing, but I've long noticed that the exhaust on a car tends to run down the opposite side as the fuel filler.

And that trucks almost ALWAYS have the fuel tank on the left side. German cars almost ALWAYS put the exhaust on the left side, presumably for noise-restriction reasons, since that is something that the TUV/EU/something cares about and you'd think they'd put the sound measuring devices on the side of the road and not the middle of it. Japanese cars almost always have exhaust going down the right side, presumably for the same reason.

And American cars put the exhaust down whichever side made sense depending on if it was designed by Germans or Japanese

And then the fuel filler almost always goes down the side where the exhaust doesn't go, because the fuel tank is going to be shoved over to the side to avoid the exhaust. Usually. As with any general rule, there are exceptions.

Man, wasn't it easier when the fuel fill location was as simple as "flip down the license plate"?

Knurled wrote: Man, wasn't it easier when the fuel fill location was as simple as "flip down the license plate"?

But even then you had some hidden behind the tail light or in the fin.

Hal wrote:

Knurled wrote: Man, wasn't it easier when the fuel fill location was as simple as "flip down the license plate"?

But even then you had some hidden behind the tail light or in the fin.

But enough about tri-five Chevys. They had their time, as did the '69 Camaro after it, now is the time for...

fumbles through Rolodex

the Mustang II? What the heck? Who writes this crap?

(I had a customer with a beautiful restomod '56 Chevy four-door. The battery cut-off switch was where the fuel filler used to be, the kind with a removable key, which was kept on the keyring as a kind of antitheft device. The actual fuel fill was a fuel cell in the trunk. Was very jarring to have a fully tweed-upholstered trunk and then some low-rent JAZ plastic POS fuel cell in the middle of it all. But, I repeat my mantra, "not my car, not my vision, I just work on it...")

Knurled wrote: . And that trucks almost ALWAYS have the fuel tank on the left side. German cars almost ALWAYS put the exhaust on the left side, presumably for noise-restriction reasons, since that is something that the TUV/EU/something cares about and you'd think they'd put the sound measuring devices on the side of the road and not the middle of it. Japanese cars almost always have exhaust going down the right side, presumably for the same reason. And American cars put the exhaust down whichever side made sense depending on if it was designed by Germans or Japanese And then the fuel filler almost always goes down the side where the exhaust doesn't go, because the fuel tank is going to be shoved over to the side to avoid the exhaust. Usually. As with any general rule, there are exceptions.

actually, I am going to hazard a guess that the reason you usually see the exhaust on the driver's side of the car has more to do with not gassing the pedestrians on the sidewalk than noise.

The correct side for a fuel filler is opposite the driver so I can refill my empty car on the side of the highway without standing in traffic, but that would be smart, like not running out of gas on the highway.

My wife's cutlass has the filler on the passenger side. Every dodge I own had a driver's side fill. So I constantly pulled to the wrong side when in her car. I told her it was her car that was wrong. I bought the Daytona and it's on the passenger side too

73-87 GM trucks with dual tanks had a filler on each side of the truck..

Im surprised no one said this or has realized. But the side of the gauge cluster that the fuel gauge is on denotes where the filler is. And if its not it has an arrow under the gauge pointing which side. This theory has never failed me and its still my theory until i drive every car in the world muhahaha

In reply to chiodos:

My RX-7 has the fuel gauge on the right, no arrow, and the filler is on the left.

My Volvo also has the fuel gauge on the right, no arrow, and the filler is on the left.

This annoys me ENDLESSLY because I could SO TOTALLY swap in an Evo III halfcut or the nearest US spec equivalent (1st gen some Mitsubishi SUV apparently. Aventador? Ascender? Begins with an A)... but Evos had the fuel fill on the right, not the left, and the driveshaft would go straight through the Volvo fuel tank. So the mythical Evo drivetrain swap is stymied by the fuel tank.

Also: First gen Evo = right hand fuel fill, left hand exhaust, in a RHD world. Volvo = left hand fuel fill, right hand exhaust, in a LHD world. I did say there are always exceptions.

Range Rover has it on the right and the key has to be in the off position in order for the door to pop open. Wouldn't be safe to fuel a running vehicle left to warm up on a cold day. Button is well hidden on the bottom of the instrument cluster pointing skyward. Steering wheel blocks your view of it when you are sitting in the drivers seat. Care to guess how long it took me to figure out how to refuel the first time? The TVR 280i I use to own had it in the door jam. Looked like a rubber covered button to control the interior lights when the door was open. Spent over an hour at a rest stop gas station in NJ on the way home from buying the car in Maryland trying to figure it out. Called everybody I could think of before I found someone that could tell me where the release was.

In reply to Knurled:

Thats totally weird but i guess those are two cars i havent driven so that defeats my theory. But 9/10 if your unsure you can at least look at the gauge and try the side its on first (or do what the arrow says). Strange cause all my volvos had the gauge on the fill side and miatas too. Maybe volvo and Mazda decided to screw with everyone for the s40 and rx7

chiodos wrote: Im surprised no one said this or has realized. But the side of the gauge cluster that the fuel gauge is on denotes where the filler is. And if its not it has an arrow under the gauge pointing which side. This theory has never failed me and its still my theory until i drive every car in the world muhahaha

So looking at the picture of the Samurai gauge cluster on page 1, the fill cap should have been placed in the rear center (behind the license plate).

My 92 Corvette has a handle on the right, but the filler is in the middle...

There's an easy, foolproof method to tell which side the gas pump is on in a Samurai. Just look behind you and see where the hump for the filler tube is

The place I usually gas up at is one way. One way in, one way out. I have a filler on the right. Most of the vehicles that come in are Merican, and seem to fill on the left.

People get incredibly impatient and start to do weird things like pull in backwards to get to the seldom used left hand pumps, or just flop the hose over the back and bash the hell out of the paint because they're in a hurry.

Is the middle a side? I remember back when only pick-ups and ferrin' cars had a side filler.

I think I read someplace that it is a law or some such in the EU that the filler has to be on the non road side of the car so you do not get run over while filling on the side of the road.

In reply to Knurled:

Fuel cell.

This thread reinforces my incredibly neurotic nature (to me). I have to drive different vehicles for work, often with trailers, so refueling is often a challenge. I always check, confirm the arrow, if present is correct, check tire pressure, and lights, and tons of other stuff before getting underway. If I can't remember, my mind visualizes the engine, then exhaust ( tank is USUALLY on the opposite side). It's sort of like the "Mind Palace" sequences in SHERLOCK. Please note, this is not a claim of intelligence, but rather an admission of a potential mental illness.

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: I think I read someplace that it is a law or some such in the EU that the filler has to be on the non road side of the car so you do not get run over while filling on the side of the road.

Yup, I remember hearing that too, as well that American cars are usually on the left because we're lazy and can't be bothered to walk all the way around the vehicle

mainlandboy wrote: Sorry to dismiss your theory, but I'm with Keith on this one. My Miata has the filler on the left side, but the picture of the gas pump on the gauge has the handle on the right side.

Yeah, but you can touch the filler door from the drivers seat in a miata!