Fuel filler's on the left, genius!

[StevieC]

My Ausin Mini is on the Drivers side, the Cabriolet is on the Passenger side and my Santa Fe & Neon are on the Drivers side.

I knew de Germanz always had to be different!

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: opus1
I read an interview with Lee Iacocca (I'm sure I spelled that wrong...) years ago and remember him saying in the article that statistics showed that side-impacts tended to happen more often on the left side of the car, so Chrysler started putting the filler on the right side as a safety measure.


That's brilliant. Iacocca was a salesman first. Good at always putting a positive spin on things. Must have been "on" then.

If ten years later the gas caps wound up on the drivers' side he'd probably say you wouldn't drive off with the hose in your tank because you'd see it more easily over there. When Malvo was shooting at self-servers I'd want a filler as close to my driver's door as possible so I could make a quick getaway!

 

[chevrofreak]

When we bought the Subaru, the dealer told us that Subaru puts the fillers on the right to lessen the chance of you getting hit by a car if you run out of gas and are standing there filling it with a gas can.

How much truth there is in that being the reason, I don't know, but it is an advantage.

 

[Gary Allan]

Just see if it's on the same side in the UK. I would think that people need protection like that since so many run out of fuel all the time on either side of the pond.

 

[Jim 5]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
Volvo on the right. Honda on the left. Genius.

Guy getting back in car. Glad no ignition source near.



Most Euro cars are on the right. The rest are usually on the left. I find the little arrow on the gas gauge pointing to one side or the other of the car (to indicate fuel filler side) really helpful. I turned 40 this year and seems like I lost half of my memory recall capacity!

 

[greenaccord02]

I'd be angry if they took away the automatic pumps down here. I'm sure it'll happen eventually. Even people with an IQ of 60 have a 'right to drive.'

Now as to the placement of the filler, I don't know. All my cars have had it on the driver's side and I prefer that. I have terrible short term memory so I get a mile down the road from the station and wonder if I put the cap back on. Well, all I have to do is look over in the mirror and there it is either hanging free or not.

 

[Oilpants]

The person closest to the filler has to fuel the car. If the filler is on the passenger side, the wife has to gas up. The driver stays put.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
When we bought the Subaru, the dealer told us that Subaru puts the fillers on the right to lessen the chance of you getting hit by a car if you run out of gas and are standing there filling it with a gas can.

How much truth there is in that being the reason, I don't know, but it is an advantage.
I pay for a towing package, let them deal with which side it is on.

(J/K)

 

[Oilpants]

A real porblem with the filler on the drivers side is the lack of space when getting in and out of the car!! I'm a very big guy and I don't want to bump into the pump when I get out.

 

[Loobed]

Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
I miss the days when a lot of cars had their fuel filler behind the license plate, dead center of the car.



The easiest tank to fill was my 69 Vette. It was in the center and you could look inside and see the bottom. The tank was rectangle so you could see how full the tank was. The only bad thing was you had to hold the nozzle. You couldn't put it in and walk away.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: Oilpants
A real porblem with the filler on the drivers side is the lack of space when getting in and out of the car!! I'm a very big guy and I don't want to bump into the pump when I get out.


Don't pull so close to the pump, I mean they give you like 6ft of reach in most cases, so I don't see it being a big deal. (No pun intended)

FWIW: I'm a big guy too

 

[oilyriser]

Nothing stopping you from building a car with a filler on each side.

 

[tom slick]

I want a filler on the top with an automatic fuel boom to come down and fill when I pull into the station. Just like an airplane!

 

[crinkles]

there is no problem with pulling the hose to the far side of the car, I do it all the time, PROVIDED: (1) you stay with the handle (down here you have to - no auto pumps) and (2) the hose is long enough.

The issue here was the idiot leaving it in and the hose not being long enough, not refuelling on the "wrong" side.

No point in lining up one side of the pumps if other bays are open.

as always common sense prevails but some bad apples spoil it for everyone.

 

[oilyriser]

Originally Posted By: tom slick
I want a filler on the top with an automatic fuel boom to come down and fill when I pull into the station. Just like an airplane!


That would be really neat. But if the thing malfunctioned and drenched your car with gas...

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: oilyriser
Nothing stopping you from building a car with a filler on each side.


I think the 73-87 chevy trucks with dual tanks was set up like this.

had a work truck that at some point lost the 2nd tank, you could open the door and just see the frame.

 

[Kestas]

An automotive engineering journal stated that filler necks on the passenger side are considered safer. IIRC, it's because any rupture in an accident would make it farthest from the driver. Filler necks are placed on the driver's side for convenience at the filling station. It's a designer's choice.

Mercedes - who are known for safety first in design of their cars - placed the filler neck at the passenger side on my car.

 

[brianl703]

I find that cars engineered in countries where they drive on the left side of the road typically have the filler on the left...and cars engineered where they drive on the right side of the road typically have the filler on the right.

 

[oilyriser]

Who's left?

 

[andyd]

Had a Jag XJ 6 with dual fillers, Bugs with the filler under the hood. Jeep is on the left , BMWs on the right. Iv'e been driving the same model BMW for a dozen yrs and still cant remember where the filler is.