Fuel filler location...how come?

Most gas stations here require a turn at the end of the exit road to enter the gas station. If you continue on straight ahead you enter the parking area that is present at most highway gas stations.
 
Here's an example of a normal one. If you're going the wrong way, you drive past it and turn left on the other side.

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IceBone said:
Here's an example of a normal one. If you're going the wrong way, you drive past it and turn left on the other side.

445886795_05685d7a27_o.jpg
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Not a very popular place, is it? :lol:
 
Nearly all stations are the "american" sort up here in the north as well. And my car has the fuel door on the right and the icon on the dash has the pistol on the right side of the pump, so that makes sense too.

As we drive on the right side of the road and mostly swedish or german makes the fuel door is nearly always on the right side which is the most convenient. The Volvo 740 and 940 had it on the left though, a change from the 240 which had them on the right.

I'll go ahead and put the prequisites list that defines where the fuel filler goes down to:
  1. internal design
  2. tradition
  3. lazyness
  4. a sudden realization the vehicle needs fuel and a eeny meeny miny moe approach to the problem



????5. doing acid in the workplace (aka the Google method)
 
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The reasoning behind this, I've been told, is as such:
Generally, in LHD countries, accidents occur when one is turning left and is hit from the side (Most common or something).
Therefore, it is safer to have the fuel filler cap on the right side of the car, possibly negating a cracked/damaged fuel tank in an accident.

Not sure if it's really true or not, just what I've been told.
 
Pretty sure it's not true. Jeeps have them on the left and they get hit all the time.

Besides, the fuel filler is a rubber hose and not a solid connection so that even if it gets crushed in an accident, you DON'T get fuel loss.
 
NecroJoe said:
How come some cars have the fuel filler on the right side, and some have it on the wrong side?[...]
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Why is there a "wrong side"? If you know on what side it is on your car, it doesn?t really matter, does it? If your car has it on it?s right side, you pull up left from a pump, if it?s on the left side, you pull up on the right side. There is no "wrong" there ... and it doesn?t matter if they are "american style" or "one way" for that ...

tankstelle.jpg


I think it?s rather practical that the fuel filler is on different sides of different cars (you just have to remember) ... if they were all on one side, there?d be more queues on the petrol pumps on that specific side while the other ones would be empty ... (if the stations were "one way" - wich most over here are ...)
 
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Spectre said:
Pretty sure it's not true.
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Definately, the tank is almost always in the mid-rear of the vehicle anyway and it's very high strength.
efoolution said:
Why is there a "wrong side"
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Having it on the left means you also have the pump on the left, and then you need to watch your door when you open it. Which is probably the greatest problem mankind have ever encountered. Most people just give up and commit Seppuku when faced with this problem.
 
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IceBone said:
Here's an example of a normal one. If you're going the wrong way, you drive past it and turn left on the other side.

445886795_05685d7a27_o.jpg
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I know in Columbus they attempt something like that at some stations (there's a place on Polaris Pkwy that rings a bell), and on I80 (a toll road) there's only one way in and out of a service plaza, but again, that's a divided hwy so there's no reason for a standard setup.

There's a station in my town that has 4 different entrances on 2 different roads. That confuses the crap out of people, and I nearly see accidents there all the time. I'd rather pay an additional penny per gallon and get it across the street where there is no wait at all.
 
AiR said:
Definately, the tank is almost always in the mid-rear of the vehicle anyway and it's very high strength.
Having it on the left means you also have the pump on the left, and then you need to watch your door when you open it. Which is probably the greatest problem mankind have ever encountered. Most people just give up and commit Seppuku when faced with this problem.
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No, all you have to do is pull up until you know your front door wil easily clear that cement post, or arch. That alwas made is so my fuel filler was just about right in line with the pump.

And what's all this talk about there being long lines if they were all on the left? You drive around the pump, and come back the other direction on the other side.

Also, who the hell is driving 90 mph into a gas station? I've never once had anything close to an accident in 14 years of driving, and I've never seen any "almost" accidents, and I've never heard anyone say "I saw an accident at the gas station today."

One would think that one manufacturer would at least keep them all on the same side of the vehicle so that maybe they could re-use parts from car to car...otherwise you'd have to make two different sets of parts.

Oh, and the "right" and "wrong" line...I was trying to be a little bit silly, as I think the right side is wrong. I like having it on the driver's side.

I did see something funny today...didn't want to start a whole new thread...a guy "hooked-up" and started pumping gas. He then went in to either shop or use the bathroom. While the guy was inside, a guy with a motorcycle pulled his bike up to the side of this truck, pulled out the nozzle, pumped a gallon or two into his own tank, put the nuzzle back in the truck, started up the gas again, and drove off. The guy in the Land Cruiser probably wouldn't even have notice that his fill-up would have cost $94 rather than $90, but he came out just as the guy was leaving, and chucked a traffic cone at the guy on the bike. The bike couldn't get out, because there was other cars trying to get out, and he was blocked in, and the guy with the truck eventually caught the guy. The guy on the bike pulled out a $20, threw it at the guy, and when he went down to pick up the twenty, the guy on the bike drove off. So...he ended up paying about $10 a gallon, or so. :p
 
NecroJoe said:
Also, who the hell is driving 90 mph into a gas station? I've never once had anything close to an accident in 14 years of driving, and I've never seen any "almost" accidents, and I've never heard anyone say "I saw an accident at the gas station today."
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I've been driving for 8 years now and I have seen/heard of several of these type of accidents happening. Nowadays they put speedbumps and corners at the entry of highway. A year or so ago someone committed suicide on a gas station near my house. They just drove in at motorway speed and slammed into the pump on purpose, causing it to explode in a huge fireball.


I did see something funny today...didn't want to start a whole new thread...a guy "hooked-up" and started pumping gas. He then went in to either shop or use the bathroom. While the guy was inside, a guy with a motorcycle pulled his bike up to the side of this truck, pulled out the nozzle, pumped a gallon or two into his own tank, put the nuzzle back in the truck, started up the gas again, and drove off. The guy in the Land Cruiser probably wouldn't even have notice that his fill-up would have cost $94 rather than $90, but he came out just as the guy was leaving, and chucked a traffic cone at the guy on the bike. The bike couldn't get out, because there was other cars trying to get out, and he was blocked in, and the guy with the truck eventually caught the guy. The guy on the bike pulled out a $20, threw it at the guy, and when he went down to pick up the twenty, the guy on the bike drove off. So...he ended up paying about $10 a gallon, or so. :p
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that's actually quite funny. I always pump the gas myself, and besides, I'd never have enough time to go to the bathroom, my car fills up quickly
 
NecroJoe said:
I did see something funny today...didn't want to start a whole new thread...a guy "hooked-up" and started pumping gas. He then went in to either shop or use the bathroom. While the guy was inside, a guy with a motorcycle pulled his bike up to the side of this truck, pulled out the nozzle, pumped a gallon or two into his own tank, put the nuzzle back in the truck, started up the gas again, and drove off. The guy in the Land Cruiser probably wouldn't even have notice that his fill-up would have cost $94 rather than $90, but he came out just as the guy was leaving, and chucked a traffic cone at the guy on the bike. The bike couldn't get out, because there was other cars trying to get out, and he was blocked in, and the guy with the truck eventually caught the guy. The guy on the bike pulled out a $20, threw it at the guy, and when he went down to pick up the twenty, the guy on the bike drove off. So...he ended up paying about $10 a gallon, or so. :p
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These are the stories that make life worth living.
 
NecroJoe said:
And what's all this talk about there being long lines if they were all on the left? You drive around the pump, and come back the other direction on the other side.
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I work at a servo and we dont encourage that. The hose is generally long enough to reach over to the other side so it shouldn't be an issue which side you pull up on.

With regards to the fuel filler location, I would suspect that it is a combination of ensuring it is on the opposite side to the exhaust, and making sure the distribution is even (ie some makes having it on the left and others on the right). I've skimmed through this thread and that seems to be the conclusion people are coming to, and it's supported by a quick glance around I did today.

However, just going back to my first paragraph, the (alleged) even distribution theory is a little flawed. Does it take into account model popularity? You still get massive lines all queuing up in the right lane and the left lane could be completely empty. A lot of small cars around here have the cap on the left, and small cars are rather popular around here. Its good news for me, I have a Commodore (right) which means I never usually have to wait too long.

But people are idiots. I had one old bloke in a Camry sit for ten minutes waiting in line for a pump while the lane next to him was virtually empty. Unfortunately just as he got to the pump, the whole system crashed and I had to reboot which took another 2-3 minutes while I rectified the issue. Of course he was already agitated at having to wait so long and took it all out on me. I gave it back to him, told the bastard if he went into the other lane he could've been gone five minutes ago. Didn't go down too well with him, but I felt oddly satisfied.
 
I don't think the exhaust bit is right, because I see a LOT of cars with a single exhaust as the same side as the fuel filler. Also...what do you do with a dual exhaust?
 
Interesting read, but that doesn't explain everything. Just take my brand for instance. The Carisma has it on the left, the Colt on the right, the Galant on the left... :?
 
Same here. The previous generation Mustang had the filler on the right, and now it's on the left...which is backwards from the article's point.
 
IceBone said:
Interesting read, but that doesn't explain everything. Just take my brand for instance. The Carisma has it on the left, the Colt on the right, the Galant on the left... :?
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Some are engineered in Europe some in Japan (who are RHD).



NecroJoe said:
Same here. The previous generation Mustang had the filler on the right, and now it's on the left...which is backwards from the article's point.
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America - what are you going to do, shrugs. ....
 
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