How do car manufacturer's decide which side of the car to put the petrol cap? Only ask as whenever I fill up with petrol, there are far more people with petrol caps on the right than the left.
Tim
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The fuel cap is usually on the kerb side of the coutry in which the car is designed and built.
More countries drive on the right than the left, therefore more fuel caps are on the right.
QED.
Brian
Still learning (I hope)
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It always amazes me the amount of people who queue up at the pumps until one is available on the side where their filler cap is. I just drive right on past them and then pull the hose out to its maximum length right around the back of the car and then fill up as normal. It's then when you see others do the same after realising the hose is longer than 6ft.
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Sure, DD - but a little more likely to mark the paintwork?
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Sure, DD - but a little more likely to mark the paintwork?
It depends whether you hold the hose away from the paintwork or not; which is what I do.
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Hear hear! Always makes me chuckle when I see queues (usually, dare I say it, consisting aminly of those of the fairer sex) waiting for the "right side" pumps to be free.
In my experience, there is not usually any problem with marking the paintwork, although obviously some small extra care has to be taken. A lot of pipes drop straight down rather than across these days, but I agree that where you have to pull them across, they need to be held out of the way.
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Hear hear! Always makes me chuckle when I see queues (usually, dare I say it, consisting aminly of those of the fairer sex) waiting for the "right side" pumps to be free.
Erm - no comment ;)
HF
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Hear hear! Always makes me chuckle when I see queues (usually, dare I say it, consisting aminly of those of the fairer sex) waiting for the "right side" pumps to be free.
The hoses are not always long enough to reach across the back of the car and I have witnessed many a chap realising that the hose is too short and then having to sheepishly return pump nozzle back and go find a pump on the correct side of the car. Only some hoses in some filling stations are long enough. They seem to be getting shorter these days as in some places if you pull up too far away from the pump you find the hose only just reaches even if it is going to the nearest side of the car. Best to save the embarrassment I reckon!
teabelly
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It always amazes me the amount of people who queue up at the pumps until one is available on the side where their filler cap is. I just drive right on past them and then pull the hose out to its maximum length right around the back of the car and then fill up as normal. It's then when you see others do the same after realising the hose is longer than 6ft.
Infortunately this doesn't work with vans, Dave.
Ian Cook
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>> I just drive right on past them and then pull the hose out >> to its maximum length right around the back of the car >> Infortunately this doesn't work with vans, Dave.
True, but then I only drive a van at work, and rarely fill it up.
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Same idea with which side the exhaust tailpipe exits from, I believe.
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Our cars:
Grand Cherokee (made in USA) - petrol cap on left (so breaks rule)
Clio (F) - on right (follows rule)
Range Rover (UK) - on right (breaks rule)
G-wagon (D) - on right (follows rule)
Spitfire (UK) - in middle (1967, doesn't count)
What I have noticed with our two main cars (first two) is that the fuel cap is on the same side as that the fuel gauge is located within the instrument panel. In other words when looking at the instruments on the Clio the fuel gauge is also on the right of the instrument cluster.
CMark
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Hmm, fiat croma - flap on right and fuel gauge on right and car designed in Italy so 3 out of 3.
Lancia Delta - flap on left, fuel guage on right and car designed in italy so 0/3.
Triumph Vitesse - flap on left, guage on left, designed in uk so 2/3.
I certainly think it is better to have a fuel filler on the opposite side to the driver that way you're not banging doors with the pump islands.
teabelly
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I drive a BMW 320d and keep forgetting (700 miles between fills).
Oz (as was)
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Is the fuel gauge theory then that you peer in through the window and check the rising level using the gauge?
Must be better gauges than I have ever had !
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Trouble with doing this is that you need to leave the ignition switch on. Could be a slight risk there?
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My Xantia is on the RHS (Follows Rule)
My Renault Trafic Van is on the LHS (Breaks Rule). However, this is the same side as the sliding door. It fits between the nearside passenger door and the sliding door.
Hugo
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Probe - built Michigan, cap left side so breaks rule. Triumph TR7 on the rear deck (facing upward) - a nice "hello Mr.Rain" feature but it is on the RHS of the boot, so being built on Merseyside breaks the rule..... but does make filling from either side very easy (aslong as one is mindful of the LHS aerial).
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What's a petrol cap?
No Dosh. Even Alfa build diesels.
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Well said No Dosh. There's filler caps and fuel stations anything else would not be pc would it !
I assume that the exhaust pipe is generally on the opposite side to the filler cap for safety reasons or is it to stop fumes being directed to pedestrians on the pavement side ( in the country where the car as designed )
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CMark
How nice to meet another Grand Cherokee driver. We're obviously a growing breed! Small point though, I think you'll find the UK Grand Cherokee is built in Austria. Mine was. With an italian engine. American design and most other parts from USA. Funny old world.
Still breaks the rule though!
Terry
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Hi Terry,
Actually my 1995 4-litre petrol Grand Cherokee is Gulf spec, built in USA.
I know UK/ European ones are built in Austria, in the same factory as my G-Wagon was, in Graz. Also Chrysler Grand Voyagers, IIRC.
The Italian engine to which you refer is the VM 2.5, IIRC. VM are also well known for their marine engines. This same engine as fitted to the Range Rover (and SD1), first as a 2.4 and then 2.5 (prior to the fitment of Land Rover's own 2.5 Tdi in 1993, then after that the BMW unit.) It was (is) an efficient unit, powerful and economical. But we had tremendous reliability problems (which are most likely now sorted).
The main reason it is fitted to the (Euro spec) Grand Cherokees is that Chrysler did not have a suitable unit to use and it was cheaper to go to VM, Land Rover Ltd having done so many years development work for them.
Unfortunately, my particular Grand Cherokee has seen every one of the many "typical" common faults. And people say Land Rover products are unreliable! ("Service intensive" was my euphemism!)
How has yours been?
CMark
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CMark
At the risk of turning this into a private conversation (sorry Mark RLBS), okay so far. 24k service due next month, does some quite heavy duty towing and field work. On its second windscreen already! It's the 3.1 litre VM engine they fitted for about 18 months which has now been replaced by a Mercedes unit I think. Hopefully as you say all LR faults ironed out now!
Does the Gulf/US spec mean you've got gold trim instead of chrome?
Feel free to email me (address in my profile) if you like.
Terry
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Bring back the original Cooper S! Twin tanks, one on either side, the business! Some Jags had them too I think?
Baz
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My Morris Oxford had the filler cap on the LHS, but just behind the rear screen and above the boot lid so it too could be reached from both sides with ease.
The old merc was even better, behind rear plate.
H
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Now this should amuse....
I heard a story once, a young lady pulls up outside a self service pump and decides to fill up. She had not been driving for long.
Well the fuel gauge read low but she couldn't get much in. So she phoned her husband and explained.
"And where did you find the filler cap?" he asked.
"Well I opened the bonnet and there it was on top of the ..erm.. engine thingy..." came the reply.
"DON'T DRIVE THAT CAR. I'll be around in a minute!"
Well at least it could be reached from both sides I suppose!
H
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Does anyone remember some of the 60s cars that had the filler cap on the back of the car? Some even had the cap cunningly concealed under a flip down number plate (some of the Fords, as I remember.)I wonder if this was designed for tidiness or a naive attempt at security?
I think some early Land Rovers had the filler cap under the driver's seat - you just pulled off the pad and voila!
Then there was the Hillman Imp - under the bonnet and not unlike a radiator cap!
As a boy I used to help serve petrol at my dad's filling station, so I got to know where all the caps were (eventually!)
We always used to chuckle at a neighbour who politely explained that he couldn't buy (Shell) petrol from us because his car (Skoda!) ran much better on BP - so he always drove 3 miles to the next village to top up. Yet when the tanker came to fill our tanks the driver told us that BP and Shell came out of the same tank at the refinery (in those days)and more often than not he drove on to the BP garage along the road and filled them up with the very same petrol!
Then there was the Redex! Customers would ask for 5 gallons and 5 'shots'
Ah happy happy days!
Anybody fancy a 'nostalgia' thread?
Graeme
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As a boy I used to help serve petrol at my dad's filling station,
God, I'm feeling old now. I can remember the days of actually being served Petrol. Us mere customers weren't to be trusted with the pump. I only ever made the mistake once of remaining sat on the motorbike while the attendant filled up the tank, which resulted in a soaking wet highly flammable crotch when the nozzle didn't shut off quickly enough when the tank was full. If that wasn't bad enough, the petrol rash that appeared afterwards...... :o(
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