Seriously? The Gas Cap Has A Real Unmodifiable Reason To Be On The Wrong Side?

[JEBar]

I know that for the most part GM puts their gas fill port on the driver's side .... that is what I'm used to so that is what I prefer .... I seem to remember seeing vehicles manufactured by Ford with the fill port on passenger's side .... if there was a real world safety issue with having it on the passenger's side, that wouldn't be the case .... its all a matter of preference, I'm finding it hard to believe that folks can't handle filling a vehicle no matter which side the fuel port is on

Jim

 

[Jim H]

This thread is pure insanity, there is no WRONG side. It makes no difference. There is currently no standard and new cars of various makes have the gas caps on either side of the vehicle. My ford Taurus is on the passenger side, my Hyundai on the drivers side. Pull into any gas station and you will see nearly an equal amount of gas caps on either side. Are we so lazy that we can't walk 5 feet around the car to put gas in it? It is no less safe on either side. Further more with the wheels and fenders outside the body there is a safety buffer we do not currently experience with our current vehicles. If this is a real problem for you I recommend you move to Oregon where an attendant is required to fill your car and you won't have to deal with it..

 

[JEBar]

p.s. - I'm slightly stunned that there is better than 250 comments about a gas cap. You just never know which topic will take off!

ain't it the truth

Jim

 

[NSTG8R]

Here is the main point for the gas cap to be on the same side as the door....there are thousands of poorly designed gas station filling areas, and millions of poorly designed drivers using them. If the gas cap is on the other side from the door then the driver will either have to open his car door and walk around the car while fools drive by him looking for a pump that is open and not at him in the least till he gets to the other side....and if the driver puts his door side next to the pump then he has to go out in the traffic zone with the pump handle and spend even more time out there watching his backside.
There is no downside from putting the gas cap on the door side. There is a downside when putting it on the WRONG SIDE.
I would appreciate getting out of my Elio and not worrying about some fool running me over because he is checking out the Elio and not watching out for me. By having the car between me and all the idiots at the gas pumps I would have a much safer area to pump gas.

I have to disagree lafrisbee, the passenger side IS the correct side for the gas cap to be on. That way when I pull up to the pump, my wife doesn't have as far to walk to fill it. I can say this because my wife doesn't have email, and has no idea what a forum is. She thinks 'log on' has something to do with firewood. Therefore, I'm sticking to my above statement as true, and factual.

Actually, don't care which side it's on. If Elio's numbers are correct, won't be hitting the gas station much anyway.

 

[eddie66]

Here is the main point for the gas cap to be on the same side as the door....there are thousands of poorly designed gas station filling areas, and millions of poorly designed drivers using them. If the gas cap is on the other side from the door then the driver will either have to open his car door and walk around the car while fools drive by him looking for a pump that is open and not at him in the least till he gets to the other side....and if the driver puts his door side next to the pump then he has to go out in the traffic zone with the pump handle and spend even more time out there watching his backside.
There is no downside from putting the gas cap on the door side. There is a downside when putting it on the WRONG SIDE.
I would appreciate getting out of my Elio and not worrying about some fool running me over because he is checking out the Elio and not watching out for me. By having the car between me and all the idiots at the gas pumps I would have a much safer area to pump gas.

Or you could just find a better designed gas station, and approch the pump from the other direction.

 

[wheaters]

I find this discussion bizarre, surely this is worry over nothing.

At this house we have four cars and a motorcycle. My long distance diesel commuter has its filler on the driver's side. Our (gasoline) Suzuki Swift has it on the passenger side. So does my wife's car, a Renault. My fun car, the Liege, has it on the rear end of the car, in a similar offset from the centreline of the car to where the Elio's will be. The bike has it on top of the tank, obviously.

It makes no difference whatsoever where the filler is. If I have to pull up on the "wrong" side of a pump (we often don't get a choice), the hose will reach across the car, as long as the vehicle is parked sensibly.
But trying to put some logic into the situation (!), when getting out to refuel, you still have to open the door and "risk" walking round the back of the car, whichever side the filler is located. If it's on the driver's side you remain in the firing line, if not, not so much. But an Elio is a relatively narrow vehicle, so when standing at the rear of one, you are inside the track of the front wheels and less exposed than with a conventional car.

 

[Joshua Caldwell]

This thread is pure insanity, there is no WRONG side. It makes no difference. There is currently no standard and new cars of various makes have the gas caps on either side of the vehicle. My ford Taurus is on the passenger side, my Hyundai on the drivers side. Pull into any gas station and you will see nearly an equal amount of gas caps on either side. Are we so lazy that we can't walk 5 feet around the car to put gas in it? It is no less safe on either side. Further more with the wheels and fenders outside the body there is a safety buffer we do not currently experience with our current vehicles. If this is a real problem for you I recommend you move to Oregon where an attendant is required to fill your car and you won't have to deal with it..

There have been times where I've just pulled up and run the hose over the top of the car to the far side... something far easier to do with the Elio.

 

[Ty]

Here is the main point for the gas cap to be on the same side as the door....there are thousands of poorly designed gas station filling areas, and millions of poorly designed drivers using them. If the gas cap is on the other side from the door then the driver will either have to open his car door and walk around the car while fools drive by him looking for a pump that is open and not at him in the least till he gets to the other side....and if the driver puts his door side next to the pump then he has to go out in the traffic zone with the pump handle and spend even more time out there watching his backside.
There is no downside from putting the gas cap on the door side. There is a downside when putting it on the WRONG SIDE.
I would appreciate getting out of my Elio and not worrying about some fool running me over because he is checking out the Elio and not watching out for me. By having the car between me and all the idiots at the gas pumps I would have a much safer area to pump gas.

No downside? Of course there are... for either side. I don't want the fumes, the pump, or my door close to the pump. Let me walk around my incredibly narrow car to pump gas away from the only exit my car has.

 

[Ty]

Stretching a gas hose over a car is something I've never done in 28 years of driving... I can't imagine ever having to do that either. I find it quite odd. Maybe I'm just not impatient enough.

 

[Rickb]

I find this discussion bizarre, surely this is worry over nothing.

At this house we have four cars and a motorcycle. My long distance diesel commuter has its filler on the driver's side. Our (gasoline) Suzuki Swift has it on the passenger side. So does my wife's car, a Renault. My fun car, the Liege, has it on the rear end of the car, in a similar offset from the centreline of the car to where the Elio's will be. The bike has it on top of the tank, obviously.

It makes no difference whatsoever where the filler is. If I have to pull up on the "wrong" side of a pump (we often don't get a choice), the hose will reach across the car, as long as the vehicle is parked sensibly.
But trying to put some logic into the situation (!), when getting out to refuel, you still have to open the door and "risk" walking round the back of the car, whichever side the filler is located. If it's on the driver's side you remain in the firing line, if not, not so much. But an Elio is a relatively narrow vehicle, so when standing at the rear of one, you are inside the track of the front wheels and less exposed than with a conventional car.

The hose will reach ACROSS the Finish of my Elio!!!!!!!!!!! I think not. The filler cap needs to be on the side and or location that makes engineering sense for the vehicle's design or as in Paul's case chose the location to save a few dollars in materials cost per vehicle to stay on target price.