The cars in my own driveway would suggest that this might be a bit of an urban myth, but I thought it might be interesting to see just how much of a myth.
I got an email from Robin M, one of those emails that does the rounds getting passed on from person to person. When I read it, it actually sounded quite plausible….
WHO KNEW THIS???
I have been driving for over 50years. I would think I should have noticed the little secret on my dashboard that was staring me in the face the whole time…I didn’t…and I bet you didn’t either…
Have you ever rented or borrowed a car and when arriving at the petrol station wondered…mmm, which side is the petrol filler cap?
My normal solution was to stick my head out the window, strain my neck and look, try to see in the side mirrors or even get out of the car!!!! Well ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to share with you my little secret so you will no longer look like Ace Ventura on your way to the petrol station or put your neck at risk of uncomfort or injury.
If you look at your petrol gauge, you will see a small icon of a petrol pump?
The handle of the petrol pump will extend out on either the left or right side of the petrol 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). It is that simple!
So of course, I jumped up and went outside to check our cars.
The Saabs were in concert with the advice above, both the 900 and 9000 pumps on the right hand side, which is where the fuel fillers are:
But the Alfa, made by those goofy Italians who have no regard for the accuracy of chain emails, bucked the trend with the pump on the right whilst the fuel filler is on the left.
Now, you might think this is silly, but don’t try and tell me you’re not going to check this out the next time you jump in a car 
I’m pretty sure all Saabs will conform with this, but if you have something other than the 900 and 9000 then have alook and let us know.
And if you get into something other than a Saab, take note there, too. The Alfa’s proved this email to be wrong, but maybe it’s a rule of thumb we can rely on to a large degree. Handy for the regular rental car drivers out there.
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Interesting! I am happy to confirm my 2006 9-5 conforms with this. picture
I have rented many cars where it shows an actual arrow next to pump symbol which is a bit easier to understand and figure out.
You just made me go outside to check. 9-3sc – is correct on the right side, both filler and cap.
@Wulf – You must be a pretty relaxed (is that the right word?) driver to find the time to snap off a pic of your dash while blasting down the tarmac at 135mph!
) Nice to see a Saab driven like it’s stolen though….hehe.
I also had that email forwarded to me earlier this year and yes it made me check my Saab as well. I’m happy to confirm that my ’02 9-3 SE is as the symbol depicts on the gauge: right hand side.
Aha(vatar), a Michel Vaillant fan among us. VROOOOOOOOOOMMM
I had heard that it was the way the nozzle was pointing on the little pump diagram that told you where the filler was. This would seem to be true for your Alfa. I’ve never taken the time to put this theory to the test at all though.
The 9-2X has an arrow indicating which side it’s on.
In my 1999 Honda Civic, the handle of the gas pump is just like those in the Saabs pictured above, but… the filler and cap are on the driver’s side.
Here is a photo of a rented Fiat Sedici Diesel (Suzuki SX4 in the states). The gas handle is on the right but there is a little arrow pointing to the left of the car where the filler neck is.
LINK TO PHOTO OF GAUGE
I will take note of this as I tend to rent many cars. So far it has been a guessing game at the pump.
My grandfather has a theory, but I don’t know if it universally holds true: if there is a fuel filler door release latch inside the car the fuel filler door will be on the driver side of the car. This is to reduce the length of the linkage. Then again, I think that most of these are electronic so there’s no mechanical linkage anyway.
All the rental cars I’ve had the past few years (which tend to be American-made cars, but also some Japanese) have a little arrow on the fuel gauge pointing to which side the filler is on.
I believe that little fuel pump symbol on the fuel gauge is universal: the nozzle is always on the right side. It’s just coincidence that Saab has always put the fuel door on the right side of the car. In the picture in the post with the nozzle on the left of the pump, that looks like it was hand-drawn, not an actual photo. Has anyone actually seen a fuel gauge icon like the one with the nozzle on the left pointing outward? I thought they always point inward.
@ 1985 Gripen – Before I sold our Mazda Protege last year, I did note that the gas gauge symbol showed the nozzle on the left side, which coincided with the filler cap on the driver’s side (here in Canada). But I suspect this isn’t a universally accepted symbol for all manufacturers – as Swade sort of found out on the Alfa. But then … when did the Italians ever follow lock-step in the automotive design world.
Well in the 99 there is no full filler thing picture, just the word “FUEL” – picture here
In my Renault the myth holds true.
It’s almost always true, but if you remember the rule it works anyway — because in the Alfa, for example, you may forget what side it’s on, but you’ll probably remember that it DOES NOT conform to the rule, so you’ll still be able to figure it out from the picture.
Our brains have an easier time remembering something that is slightly complex (Like whether the Alfa conforms to the rule or not) than something simple (Like which side it’s on).
I’ve been embarrased by SaabCentral community on this:
http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/icon.asp
There you go, myth debunked.
The fuel filler door should always be on the passenger side of the car. Since that is the side you park next to the pump, you’d exit the car on the driver’s side and never bang the bottom of the door on a concrete island that is too tall. (I bet we’ve all experienced this.)
Likewise, the car aerial (if it has one) should be on the driver’s side so some punk walking on the sidewalk isn’t as tempted to break the aerial (if it were on the passenger side) as he walks by. (I’ve experienced this too.) I know, I’m a bit anal.
SaabBob, in that case those of us in LHD countries should be thankful. As far as I know auto manufacturers don’t switch fuel filler door sides for different markets like they do for steering column and pedals, right ?
So the typical RHD driver with a “LHD passenger-side” fuel filler door (ie: starboard side) has to open his/her door into the pump.
http://www.saab9000.com/gallery/NihYmNvi/images/000_0005.JPG
the fuel filler is generally on the side of the car opposite to the exhaust pipe location. Dual outlet exhaust obviously is an exception.
@Richard, this was not on the tarmac but on the salt flats. I would never attempt these speeds and taking a picture at the same time on regular roads. Not even in Germany.
On the 635 it’s the same with the nozzle on the icon on the right as is the cap. My exhaust exits at the near dead centre of the rear of the car which is another exception to Aeronauts theory.
1985 Gripen,
I own a 2003 Subaru Forester with what I believe is a mechanical fuel filler door release under the driver’s seat. The tank filler is on the rear passenger side.
Sorry.
Quick check: Does it vary by brands? I have had mostly GM cars and it was (is) on the right on all of them. That does not account for the models I have not seen. I think rear nozzles are disappearing as a fire-safety issue. Good news: The tank itself these days is in the middle!
The golden rule is that there is no golden rule.
- George Bernard Shaw
SaabBob is righter than you know. Most (all?) European cars have the filler on the passenger side. American cars are a mixed lot.
I’ve always assumed that this is because gas filling stations in Europe tend to be very small roadside affairs were there is just enough room to pull up on one side of the pump. American filling stations are much larger with access on either side of the pump.
No no no! Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
If the handle extends to the right of the pump, the car should be placed to the right of the pump, and therefore the tank should be on the left side of the car!
Because if the handle is on the right side of the pump and the tank is on the right side of the car, you would have to reach around the whole car to fill the tank.
Simple logic: the icon should correspond to reality.
Just like eggsngrits I always assumed that it had something to do with the part of the road you are driving on. But I think it is connected to the country where the car is developed. Mostly that is always the country where that particular car would sell best. I will have to investigate on that but at the time Vauxhall made his own cars, the filler cap would probably be on the left hand side. I believe the reason is the fact that up till forty years ago it was normal that a pump attendant would fill up your car. Also there were more filling stations and they all were directly placed at the road side. So placing the filler cap on the side of the road that you were driving on made sense. Nowadays with fewer and bigger filling stations where you can use both pump sides and you have to do it yourselves it is no big deal. In general: most European cars have it on the right side, all Japanese cars have it on the left and the Americans don’t know to decide (they would love it to be in the back, but with fuel tanks under the seats that’s not an option, it would be to dangerous too). BTW: I will look in the ISO that deals with this as soon as I am back in my office and report back if there is something to report.
There was a debate in swedish TV with a Saab and a Volvo representative in the late 60′s in which a argument for Volvo being safer was as the cap was on the non-driver side, as it posed less risk of being hit while filling up the gas tank at the side of the road. Since losing this debate argument, all new Saab designs have been designed to have the cap on the right side (as Sweden have right hand trafic). The last Saab to have left side cap was the original 99 sedan. Volvo, on the other hand lost it.
But, both Volvo and Saab have design rules to put the exaust pipes on the left side (if possible, some Volvos didn’t make it, if you take a look here you see some last minute fix pluging the normal exhaust duct on the first generation V70 AWD: http://img.bilguiden.com/Images/30/198389/FRZ7763_big.jpg).
I usually stop, go out to fill the car, and sometimes return casually to move the car… Forgetful type of mind, I guess.
I know Peugeots have the cap on the driver’s side, not sure if it because the French are like Italians with regards to automotive rules.
My experience is that the gas cap is usually on the passenger side of the cars’ origin. So European cars seem to have it more often on the right, and Japanese cars seem to have it more often on the left. American cars seem to just have it where ever.
“Righter”, Eggs ? C’mon, stop it with all that Tennessee talk !
The majority of countries are left hand drive, right side of the road.My understanding of Saabs placement of the fuel filler on the right hand or passenger side has always been as a safety consideration.If the car runs out of fuel you would then be re-fueling on the berm of the road,away from traffic.
Ken: actually, that was a catchphrase from sometime/somewhere in the past — I think a game show? They would reveal some secret twist saying “(s)he’s righter than you know”. It was purely tongue-in-cheek.
Swade, I reckon you Aussies must have changed the Alfa. My Italians, Uno (93), Punto (1999) and Bravo (2001) all show correctly. Posted this on my blog (link on this comment) and copied to the intranet at work some time ago and so far it’s been Japanese cars that don’t comply. Toyota in particular, but what do they know about making cars
Jack Dee is funny about this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVKRew-xly8&NR=1
Toyota Sienna Van….little picture on dash is opposite to fuel fill door. I have a Jeep to – will have to check. I assume my Saab 95 wagon is correct.