driver side gas cap

My '97 SL2 has the locking gas cap on the driver's side.

I was at the showroom yesterday to see all models with the unlocked gas cap
on the passenger side.

I asked the salesman and he told me that the reason is that if you pull of
the road on the right, it is safer to add emergency fuel.

But the problem is that if you're on the highway and in the left lane, you
can pull off to the left shoulder and thus, if the gas cap is on the
passenger side, you expose yourself to oncoming traffic.

I hate the fact that all current and future models are based on that.

I may have to choose another brand when I'm ready to shop for a new car.

Saturn should have put the gas cap on the rear center, so you can fuel from
a neutral zone.

 

That salesman is full of crap. Car designers put the gas cap wherever
it fits. If you don't like it, you're pretty much stuck with living
with or buying some other car. I personally don't care, as I have run
cars out of gas exactly twice in my entire life, and never on a highway.
In both cases, I got some help pushing the car off the road where I
was out of traffic when I poured the gas in.

 

More significantly, if you pull up to the gas pump island on the
right, which is standard traffic in the U.S., then the filler on the
left is convenient to fill the tank.

Meanwhile, the people with fillers on the right have to pull to the
left side of the pump island, bucking all the vehicles trying to fill
up on that side of the pumps, creating a horrendous traffic jam with
with left-side and right-side cars going head-to-head on each side of
the pumps. Otherwise, some people try dragging the hose across the car
to fill on the right, scratching the paint or leaving black marks from
the hose.

I don't know who the idiot is who decided to start putting gas fillers
on the right of U.S. cars. Maybe they're all trying to emulate
Japanese cars, except that all the Japanese cars intended for U.S.
delivery that I've noticed have the filler on the left side of car,
just like normal U.S.-made cars--since that's where they all seem to
be made anyway.

I think I'll just try to keep my SL2 forever and ever.

RK Henry

 

I understood that they stopped putting the fuel filler in the center
rear because it was a potential explosion hazard in collisions. The
filler cap is usually found on the opposite side of the car from the
exhaust tip for the same reason. If I am wrong, please correct me,
but I know I heard that somewhere.

 

(snip)

I haven't really seen these tremendous traffic jams, at least here in
Ohio - there's normally enough space in the gas station to make the
maneuvering fairly easy.

(snip)

My 2004 Subaru has it on the right. Our 1995 Mazda did, too, IIRC. I
don't think I ever had a problem with traffic in gas stations that I
could attribute to that. Oh, and a new Infiniti FX35 I drove recently
also had it on the right. (How "Japanese" you regard these, I don't
know. My Subaru was actually made in Japan, but I don't know about the
Mazda and Infiniti.)

Maybe gas station design varies from region to region? (Not that I've
really noticed much difference.) Sometimes we drive our own cars to
other places, but sometimes we fly and get hire cars, and I can't
remember what side the cap's been on cars we've rented.

-- Mark

 

there is no standard, Japanese or otherwise. I have 5 vehicles in our
family, ranging from 1991 through 2001. Three from Chrysler, 1 from GM, 1
from Mitsubishi. They all vary some on left (driver), some on right
(passenger), even the three Chryslers. There simply is no "standard" here
based on my personal experience.

I agree with the previous poster who said designers fit this in wherever
they can based on appearance, location of the fuel tank, and lowest cost.

Bob

 

filler cap is usually found on the opposite side of the car from the

That is true, but what side the tip is on and what side the gas filler neck
is on has no rhyme nor reason.

 

For the elderly, like my father, the extra walk for the gas cap on the right
is a real problem.

 

In most cases, it is on the opposite side of where the exhaust pipe is.
It seems that most European cars have it on the right, and most U.S. and
Asian cars have it on the left, but there are plenty of exceptions.

 

I have an '03 Ion without power windows.

Around metro Boston, often, the cheapest gas is to be had at the
mom-and-pop stations with a single island that are
full-serve-only. At these places, the attendant invariably walks
up to the *passenger* side window, on the assumption that
everybody has power windows. It's not just one gas station
either; I've seen this a bunch of places. Cripes, how hard is it
to walk around to the driver's side of the car?

Real PITA if you don't have a front-seat passenger in the car to
roll the window down.

 

I'd just roll the drivers side down and start talking. I'm sure they would
eventually catch on and come around.

 

Try not to take too much offence but if he can't walk around the car he
shouldn't be driving. You are supposed to take an occasional walk around the
car to visually check things like tire pressure and lights. I say this as
much for his safety as others.

As for running out of gas in the left lane, If you are getting on a
multi-lane divided highway without enough gas to get to where you are going,
or at least to get to an exit with gas station, then you should also not be
driving. This isn't just dangerous for you when you are putting in your
"emergency gas" but any car I've ever driven loses the power steering when
the engine is shut off, not to mention the power brakes loose their boost
also.

Sorry if I offended anyone but I just got back from a drive where an old guy
pulled out of a gas station parking lot in front of me (I was doing the
posted limit of 80kph) I had to lock up the brakes and skid to the side so I
wouldn't hit him. The best part is the cop sitting in the parking lot
watching for speeders didn't even flinch.

 

I don't take offence but he has a son to watch the oil level and tire
pressure, lights, etc. I also fill the car with gas occasionally for him so
he doesn't have to take the long trip. He uses a walker but still drives
fine.

And I've seen similar moves by young and middle age drivers. Especially
those that cannot separate cigarettes or phones from their heads as they
drive.

 

I agree there are bad drivers of all ages, this one today just happened to
be older. And the cop didn't seem to care.

 

See http://tinyurl.com/dm43f for a previous Usenet discussion on the subject
of fuel filler loactions.

Ed

 

C. E. White sez...

That was very good reading.
Thank you!