Sunday, October 07, 2007

World's best kept auto secret

I only found out about this a couple years ago.  I wonder how many of you didn’t know this:



If you look at your gas gauge, you will see a small icon of a gas pump.  The handle of the gas pump will extend out on either the left or right side of the pump.  If your tank is on the left, the handle will be on the left.  If your tank is on the right, the handle will be on the right (see photo below).  It is that simple!


Gas tank


From  via

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jonco,
Thank you I actually learned something today from your site.Of course I had to out and check my gas gage,buy you are right!

Anonymous said...

Nope. Not true on MY car! (and I just looked!).

emy said...

blondie, are you just a blonde? the OTHER right!

Dan said...

Also, if your car has an arrow pointing to the correct side, there is a good chance it was originally built as a fleet vehicle.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I, personaly, am very wary of buying a used fleet vehicle from a private party. I'd buy one from Hertz, but not from some private company, and not from you.

Anonymous said...

Dan, my gauge shows the fuel pump with the arrow pointing to the side my gas tank is on. I bought it from the dealer with 35 miles on it. Still a fleet car, or one of the exceptions?

The Man said...

Well, I hate to burst your bubble that maybe true on some models but on my Ford Explorer my gas fill is on the left side while my gauge is on the right.

Anonymous said...

to 'the man'..what do you want it's a Ford...

Unknown said...

This doesn't apply to my '96 Toyota Corolla either. The pump icon handle is on the right, while the tank itself is on the left. Perhaps it's newer cars?

Anonymous said...

Not on my cars

Anonymous said...

RABBLE! RABBLE! RABBLE!

Anonymous said...

what about my chevy truck with tanks on both sides lmao

Anonymous said...

Let me clear up the confusion. The post was inaccurate. If the picture shows a pump with the nozzle on the left side, you pull up to a pump with the nozzle on the left side (because your tank is on the right side), and vise versa!

Anonymous said...

Not true on my 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Anonymous said...

Mine just has a little gas tank and an arrow.

Anonymous said...

I ride a bike! Get off my road, car-drivers!!

Anonymous said...

I bought a Ford, because they have a little arrow that points to the correct side. Still get confused though because we also have a car where its on the opposite side.

Anonymous said...

Hey, even a broken watch is right at least twice a day!

This IS true 50% of the time. Not on my 2007 Chrysler Sebring. The filler port is on the driver side while the nozzle on the graphic is on the passenger side.

Would be a great idea though, especially for drivers who frequently rent cars. I think a better idea would be to have a universal law about having the filler on a set side of the vehicle. The drivers side seems the safest choice, as you would not be opening a door or exiting in a traffic lane. Sorta the same as having the headlights always facing foward.

But when we all swith to electric in 2525, this will be a moot point!

Anonymous said...

Great tip!
Except cars with mufflers on both side, I've noticed that the gas filler is located on an opposite side with the muffler.

Anonymous said...

Learn the facts before posting them. You are wrong

Anonymous said...

Wrong! I have a Pontiac Grand Prix and the gas cap is on the left while the pump nozzle is on the right.

Anonymous said...

You are totally wrong..not true on my car & my fren's car..sory..i hop u make a research before u post any entry like this..sory..

Anonymous said...

I drive an '89 jeep Cherokee and the tank is on the drivers side but the pump handle on the little icon is on the passenger side. sorry.

Anonymous said...

I'm another bubble burster, this is not true of my Prius either - fuel pump icon shows hose on right but the gas tank opening is on left. Maybe Toyota wanted to make it deliberately hard for Prius owners to find the fuel filler opening to encourage economic driving - naaah!!! Now we also have this corny advice circulating as an email on the Internet. Let's hope Snopes gets hold of it and puts it to rest but I am afraid that even so it will go on circulating, forever, like most Internet nonsense!

jestdi said...

Not true on my 1995 Mazda 626 either. Fuel tank is on the driver's side (left) and the icon on the fuel gauge shows the pump on the right. Or...maybe, it's supposed to the the right as you're facing the car. Hmmmmmm.

Anonymous said...

Nope, not true on the 92 Mazda Miata. I think this is an urban legend that you picked up on. Sorry.

Anonymous said...

I just checked my Corvette. The gas tank filler is in the middle! But anyway, if this isn't true, it should be!

Anonymous said...

Sorry ... no dice. http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/icon.asp

Anonymous said...

Just found this site....(I know the topic is 3 months old but what can I say?) The info about which side your gas tank is located doesn't apply to my 2005 Chevy Tahoe. Also, it depends which way you pull up to the pump!!! LOL

Unknown said...

The correct interpretation of the "Gas Gauge Icon" is that as the icon appears on your gas gauge is how gas pumps should appear to you to correctly locate the gas filler hole on the vehicle that you're driving. If the icon's hose is on the left side of the "gas pump icon" then the filler hole for the vehicle that you are driving will be on the PASSENGER'S SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. If the icon's hose is on the right side of the icon then the filler hole FOR THE VEHICLE THAT YOU ARE DRIVING WILL BE ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE OF THE VEHICLE THAT YOU ARE DRIVING.