Enough is Enough!

Pulling into the local gas station this morning, every car was aimed the wrong way. What is Detroit thinking of when they put the gas tank on both sides of the car? One would think the driver's side is best for several reasons. Why are drivers made to go clear around to the other side to fill the tank? If for some reason the car jumps out of gear or the kids get roudy, which side is it best to be on? If there is a good reason, I want to hear it. Ugh!

Well silly, I know the answer. It is the answer to all the other questions unanswerable. They do it because they can! LOL

It's actually a serious and good question. Here are some possible answers as to why fuel filler doors are located where they are:

1) aesthetics - if they put it on the driver's side, it interrupts that sleek line and spoils the overall view of the vehicle the driver enjoys as he/she approaches. (Vanity, vanity, all is vanity....)

2) safety #1 - it should be located on the side that would be protected if you ran out of gas and had to pull off the road to fill by hand (in the US, that's typically on the right/passenger side)

3) safety #2 - possibly, a left rear fender is more likely to be damaged in a rear-end collision than the right rear fender. (A long time ago, some were located in the rear of the car, which I'm sure caused some problems in rear-end collisions.

4) safety #3 - the length and route of the hose from the fuel filler door to the tank also has a bearing on how safe the vehicle is in certain crash conditions.

Now, why they don't all put them on one side or the other is a good question. You'd think the EPA/DOT would have specified that one side or the other as the "standard" and force all the manufacturers to comply. As it now stands, manufacturers don't consistently put them on one side or the other (especially those that manufacture vehicles to be sold in more than one country.)

I agree with Terry when it comes to safety. But I thought the tanks were equally balanced in the center for better driving control? A car would be imbalanced with fuel to the left or right. I just think it is awkard for the driver (the one to do most the refueling, to go around and then lose sight of his or her door. Do any individual Detroit manufactures have both types?

I'm not a mechanic or engineer, but I think part of the safety problem is the risk that the line will be ruptured. The tank may be centrally located, but the line from the filler door to the tank has to go to one side or the other; hence the safety concerns about the safest route to take the hose.

What is Detroit thinking of when they put the gas tank on both sides of the car?

My guess is that they are giving this issue about as much thought as they are to finding ways to reduce oil consumption.

And why do foreign cars such as the Toyota Prius (which has its fuel opening on the right side) lead the field in alternative energy? The answer my friends is blowing from the oil interests.

BIRD

One of those questions that has no, and will not get, an answer. This situation was created by the same person who decided it is OK to drive on either side of the road. Depending on the country you are in at the time.

I can't imagine driving in England and staying on the 'correct' side of the road. One mistake and bye bye. And how about driving through France (right), taking the boat with your car, and then driving in England (left).

If it is safer to have the gas hose on the right. Can I then sue the manufacture for putting the hose on the left?

Remember the '56 Chevy it was in the tail light.

Paul

We have both a Plymoth Voyager & a Dodge Caravan and they both have the filler on the driver's side.

The car usually available to me was in the shop so I signed out another. The gas tank opening was on the wrong side of the car. *%@ I charged forward, did a U turn and pulled up on the other side of the pump. The tank was still on the wrong side of the car :-) only this time it was my fault. :-) The biggest challenge to safety in motor vehicles is not the loose nut on the wheel but the lose nut behind the wheel :-) I qualify

I don't know about now but in the past some cars had fuel filler caps at different place then I thought they went to a standard rule that they would be located on the side away from the tail pipe This day in time they may be located most anywhere

I know the answer! Or at least the answer I heard yrs ago...

American made cars have the fuel filler on the left-hand side (our driver's side), like Leaflady's Plymouth/Dodge (Ford/Chevy). "Foreign" made cars have the fuel filler on the right-hand side (passenger side) cuz they are made over-seas and are usually (but not always) driven on the "other" side of the road. This way, in either case, the driver can easily get out to fill up.

Check it out. American made cars have the filler on "our" side. Foreign made (Nissan, Toyota, etc) have the filler on our passenger side.

Well, my goodness, Horsey, what you say computes. Now I can go to bed tonight with the question way up above satisfactorily answered.

BIRD

We can always count on Shoe!

The Korean prototypes I drive at work have the filler caps on the drivers side ;-)

Shoe and arptiger seem to have this problem solved for us. Both make a lot of sense.

Scooter...I have no doubt that since I heard that "news" that many car makers would try to make cars that cater to our "american" needs!

I wonder if what I heard only applies to vehicles up to Year XX, and now is no longer valid? (Sure will have me studying cars in the next few weeks, eh??)

I remember one car we had that had the gas cap behind a hinged license plate. (for those who drive in the middle of the road?) Our 77 GMC pickup has the filler on the passenger side, the others have it on the drivers side. I always thought it was so the kid at the gas pump could approach the drivers side, get instructions about how much gas and what kind, and fill the tank without having to go to the other side of the car. In Oregon they don't think we have enough sense to pump our own gas without blowing ourselves up.

""Foreign" made cars have the fuel filler on the right-hand side (passenger side) cuz they are made over-seas and are usually (but not always) driven on the "other" side of the road."

Shoe ... who's foreign??? ;)

If this is the case then I'd say it's more because Japan drive on the left hand side. The UK, Australia, NZ, some of Africa and India aren't notable for their car manufacturing industries these days!

The reason that they're on the wrong side is that men designed them. All stoves and kitchen appliances should be designed by at least someone that cooks.

Actually, after I posted my findings above, I asked DH, whose company produces fuel filler doors for several auto manufacturers. According to him, there is no set side that the door goes on. It's up to the automotive engineers to design the safest route for the filler hose, based on the configuration of everything else, so the same manufacturer may place it one side for one model, and the other side for another model. Aesthetics also plays a role, but it's secondary to ensuring the hose uses the safest, shortest route.

Does anybody remember the old Ford trucks that had the fuel filler on the cab's frame, right next to the driver's side door? That was a bad defect - lots of problems came from that idea (which probably was an idea based on convenience: put it right next to the door of the one most likely to get out and pump the gas.

It wouldn't surprise me if manufacturers start moving all doors to the side opposite the driver's door, in an effort to emphasize that drivers are to stay outside the car during fueling (by making it inconvenient to walk back around and get in, and even if you do, it's less likely that a spark from static electricity would cause a fire if it's as far away from the driver's door as possible.)

Our old "86 Toyota Truck has it on the right side, but the 2000 Nisson Mazda had it on the left, go figure some more!

our 1996 Ford has it on the passenger side. must be a foreign Ford!

LOL, Badseed! Denise

(I still think my answer is the correct one. No one said it has to go in any one place so they put them wherever they want!) LOL

Baa...I hear ya! Good point!

Then again there are the "American-made Japanese" cars...Altho my truck (Nissan) was made in Tennesee, it's made with parts made according to Japanese plans/schematics.

Man oh man, I love the fact that we all know how to really delve into a question and find so many cool ideas and answers! Ain't it grand!?

We should get up a petition stating all cars should have the filler on the same side, either all on the left or all on right!
This would eliminate pulling into a gas station and having to work the jig-car puzzle of figgering out how to manuever around the cars already there...some of them facing one way, others the other way, some backed in (against the backside of another car), ALL of them trying to get the filler side next to the pump!

Badseed, you make sense. If a windshield wiper works well as one design, they will surely design another. And of course the new design never works until it is 'modified'. How many new engines and transmissions, once on the road, had to be 'adjusted'? A lot!

Why don't they just stay with what works? Because they have to prove to their bosses they are worthy of the job.

LOL Yep! I was just gonna say, what would all those designers/engineers do if they could not come up with something 'different'? Different sells and it is also job security. ;)

Dixie
There are more men chefs in the world than women :)

Paul

I had a 94 Ford Tempo that had it on the passenger side. Only advantage was at the tollroad rest areas that sell gas. Most of the cars have theirs on the driver side, and as it isn't real safe to turn around there, so I could usually pull right up to the pumps when those with the fuel door on the drivers side had to wait in line.
Deb

But there are more women cooking three meals a day at home on ordinary appliances. LOL And they pay is reeaally bad! :)

I think the important thing is not to forget to screw the cap back on the gasoline tank. Otherwise you risk slopping gasoline over your nice automobile finish, or worse yet having someone mistake it for a cigarette container.

Does this make sense? I will run it by my wife who is the chef in our home. She cooks on a nice flat top electric stove, and I do the cleaning detail after dinner.

This has been a very interesting thread. Enough is Enough.

BIRD (;>)~ Who is glad that the gas caps nowadays are tethered to the cars.

I'd like to tether that engineer/tech to the bumper of my 4WD pickumup
Another example of .gov doing what they think is good for us'ns...since we can not think for ourselves....blah blahblah....don't get me goin here
(:P

More male chefs in the kitchens of our favorite restaurants? More females cooking at home? Does this have anything to do with the upswing in people going out more often to restaurants? :)

Myself, I enjoy cooking and enjoy having others in for a meal. What is so hard about cooking anyhow? Just read the cookbook and follow instructions. And make sure the gas is at its proper height.

How we have gone from gas cap locations to cooking is one of those mysteries that occur so often at Dave's.

need gas to go to the market ,buy food,gas to go home and most of u prob cook with g....ooopsie wrong gas ??? LOL=)

You probably don't have 5 little ones and one on the way to contend with either - all wanting to know - it is time to eat yet!!

I probably don't have five little ones and one on the way to contend with. I think that it is a good thing that the youth are blessed with the children.

I can vouch for the fact that once a parent, always a parent. One of my "younguns" is 41 years old. Need I say more?

Keep the gas cap on.

BIRD

ROTFLOL Hmmm, one of these posts makes me look a bit guilty. I just got the flat top stove and love it, but um, hubby does clean it most while I cook on it most. I just asked hubby about the gas caps too. He said he has no opinion either way. ;) Oh, we love to eat out, but also love to eat at home and love having company too! Cooking is kind of a pain though, when you can't get hubby and five kids to agree on any one meal or veggie. LOL Okay, I think I hit all of them. OH, my gas cap is on the driver's side on my new car and was on my old car too. I think I prefer it there.

Bad - the flat top stoves are so easy to keep clean. Most of the time I just spray on some ordinary cleaning solution, let it set a minute, and wipe it clean with a paper towel. We were glad to bid goodbye to the old rings which were practically impossible to clean.

BIRD

You'll have to pry my cold, dead fingers off my gas range :o) Having had a commercial-style and a less-expensive white and gray model, I would highly recommend spending the extra $$ for the commercial-style, with the black wrought iron grates. They're tough as nails and almost NEVER need cleaning. Everything else wipes right off. (The gray ones are more susceptible to chipping and staining.)