Fuel door placement

[kschachn]

Waaay back in the late’70s or sometime in the ‘80s, I remember some rag of a car magazine that tested a foreign car that had two fill necks, one on each side. I cannot remember the make or model.

Some old Jaguar cars had dual fuel caps, one on each side. But that was because it had two tanks.

 

[Elkins45]

All four of my vehicles have it on the drivers side. I briefly owned one with the filler door on the passenger side that opened with a cable pull from the inside. It froze closed during an ice storm and was impossible for me to get open. I couldn’t pull the release and pry the door at the same time. I think I had to remove a shoelace and tie the release in the up position then pry the door open with my pocket knife. I think the maneuver would have been easier if the door were closer to the pull.

 

[CleanSump]

Waaay back in the late’70s or sometime in the ‘80s, I remember some rag of a car magazine that tested a foreign car that had two fill necks, one on each side. I cannot remember the make or model.

JAG. I had an XJS with two flip up caps on rear deck between the window and trunk lid.

 

[Shel_B]

Some old Jaguar cars had dual fuel caps, one on each side. But that was because it had two tanks.

My uncle had an XK-140 MC with dual fillers and tanks.

 

[Blinker]

What PF52 said. There was a lot of incidents of fires after an accident, when the fuel filler neck was broke off and/or jammed into the fuel tank. Sparks that were caused by the accidents ignited the gas. The liability for the manufacturers was too much, so no one builds cars with rear fuel fillers any longer.

Well sure, years ago when fuel tanks were all metal including the filler neck, this was a possible scenario.

But fuel tanks have been plastic for what, a few decades now? Most manufacturers started switching over to plastic tanks around the start of the OBD II era. And most filler necks are partly composed of rubber these days.

Everyone is forgetting that FWD cars made it possible to mount the fuel tank in the center of the car. And a solid axle RWD body on frame car you’re pretty much else forced to mounted the tank under the trunk pan, or directly in front of it, there are few exceptions to this though.

In theory you can still mount a fuel filler at the rear of a car, but fuel tanks are required to be mounted near the center of the vehicle, so it’s cost prohibitive to have a fuel filler neck go from the rear of the vehicle to the center. Not to mention it would eat into trunk space and it would be a large undertaking getting gravity to feed fuel fuel from the rear mounted filler neck, to the center fuel tank, the rear suspension would be in the way. It’s easier to mount the filler neck as high as possible while being closer to the fuel tank. Good discussion points by everyone!

 

[Duffyjr]

I wondered what that little arrow/diamond was for, how long they been doing that. My 89 Sierra and the wife's 02 DeVille don't have it but my 08 Lucerne does.

 

[pezzy84]

I read an anecdote quite some time back that at least in the case of the Germans (maybe Swedes too?) the fuel doors were placed on the passenger side so if you need to refuel on side of the road you will have a car between you and the traffic buzzing by. Naturally this does not apply to markets they drive on the left so may just be a tall tale, but as most if not all of continental Europe drives on the right it may be legit.

 

[eljefino]

My 66 Biscayne has the rear license plate filler... it looked cool but was actually a hassle when I tried filling the car from a modern jerry can. I had to manipulate the spout's smog valve, hold the license plate against its spring, and aim for the hole all simultaneously.

 

[mightymousetech]

Manufacturers put it on the driver's side for convenience, or on the passenger's side for safety.

Yup. If you ever had to fill a car that has run out of gas and is sitting on the side of a busy highway, you appreciate it being on the right side of the car.

 

[Shel_B]

I wondered what that little arrow/diamond was for, how long they been doing that. My 89 Sierra and the wife's 02 DeVille don't have it but my 08 Lucerne does.

My 2003 LeSabre had the feature.