Fuel Pump Symbol On Left Of Fuel Gauge

japthree · May 30, 2008

Recently there was a discussion in the letters page of Auto Express mag and someone said that the position of the pump on the gauge indicates the driver or passenger side of the fuel tank cap.

As it is with the right hand drive ISs this is correct! - but not sure whether it still stands for left hand drive ISs?

TomC27 · May 30, 2008

Recently there was a discussion in the letters page of Auto Express mag and someone said that the position of the pump on the gauge indicates the driver or passenger side of the fuel tank cap.
As it is with the right hand drive ISs this is correct! - but not sure whether it still stands for left hand drive ISs?

I have an IS200 2001 reg. which shows the fuel nozzle on gauge on the right hand side (drivers side) but the fuel filler cap is on the passenger side - so not sure if this theory is correct unless my gauges were changed !!!!

sparkystav · May 30, 2008

I think mine the same (handle right, flap left)

Stav

Bazza · May 30, 2008

its all just coincedental

on some cars it is correct but on others its not

some have the flap on the left some on the right some even have it in the middle !

and much the same with the picture

Bazza · May 30, 2008

like all urban legends and myths, there are widely propagated thanks to mindless click-happy Internet users. However, the choice of location for the fuel filler cap is a one of those unsolvable mysteries of our world. You would think that an automotive engineer will be able to answer as to why some cars have their fuel filler cap on the right while others have theirs on the left. But you will be surprised that no automotive engineer in this world will be able to provide any satisfactory answer as to how and at which point of the vehicle's development did they decide on the location of the fuel filler lid. Did they just flip a coin? Maybe they do. But I have yet to come across any auto engineer who admitted it though.
Well logically you would that surely there is a point when it was determined that the fuel filler cap is on either the left or the right side, right? But there is no standard hard and fast rule for every car. The reasons could range from parts commonization with other models to historical reasons, probably even by a flip of a coin.

Some engineers will answer that it probably has to do with the location of the hot exhaust pipe. So logically, the fuel filler cap location should be on the opposite side. But there is a problem though, many high performance cars whose engines run a lot hotter than a typical family sedan have their exhaust pipes routed to both sides of the vehicle.

Others say it has to do with the location of driver in the origin / dominant market. Meaning Left-hand drive countries will design vehicles with their fuel filler caps on the right side. This is logical because should the driver ran out of gas by the roadside, he can safely fill up the tank with a jerry-can by standing on the kerbside (right side). Well most Volkswagen group cars, BMWs, Mercedes and Porsches have their fuel filler caps on the right side. Right-hand drive Japan’s Honda and Toyota’s have their fuel filler caps on the kerbside (left side). Until, you realise that the BMW designed Mini has its filler cap on the left side as well. Many Nissan models including the supposedly JDM market only Skyline GT-R have its filler cap on the right side. Even the left-hand side driving French have most of their Peugeot and Renaults built with the filler cap on the left side. The supposedly champions of standardisation Toyota builds its Lexus LS with the fuel filler cap on the right side (driver-side).

I guess this is one of those things that we can never answer. There is no one single reason as to why fuel filler caps and exhaust pipes are routed in either one of the two directions.

Gareth Rose · May 30, 2008

Alot of newer cars have got little arrows pointing in the direction of the flap/ My gfs fiesta and mw works Navara has got them. Quite handy when I always ddriving diffferent vehicles. Athough to be honest, of the things I drive regularly (My IS, gfs Fiesta, Transit, Navara, and Landrover Defender), only the defender is on the right side. So I shouldnt need reminding (god knows I use the flap on my IS often enough).lol