Why All Car Fuel Doors Aren’t On The Same Side
It's one of those questions that will eat at you until you know the answer. I couldn't stand it so I clicked on the article, and this is what I found out about the fuel doors on our vehicles, and why we don't have them all on the same darn side!
The short answer is, car manufacturers are going to put the fuel door in the place that it makes the most sense and where it fits the best. Really, that's it? If that was your wild guess, you are correct.
It gets crowded underneath the vehicles with all of the components, and the gas filler tube is always routed around that stuff and to the side of the vehicle that has the best space for it. Allstate says there are no regulations that specify where a fuel door should be placed, so it boils down to the easiest packaging.
So where do you want it to be?
It turns out that most of us prefer left-mounted fuel doors, according to a Ford study. If the fuel door is on the driver’s side it's easy for us to pull right up to the pump, step out, and start filling up. If it's on the right side we tend to forget and pull up to the pump on the wrong side. A hundred times. The location of the fuel door doesn't usually influence our decision to buy, but it's a nice bonus when it's in an easy spot.
As soon as we get our own cars figured out, we drive a friend's car or a rental car and have to go through that learning curve and awkwardness at the gas station when we pull up on the wrong side again. Other pumpers think we're idiots, but you know they've done it too. Maybe someday the car makers will put all of the gas holes (as my Aunt Jane called them) on the left side and make getting gas a no-brainer.
And gas prices are inching up by the way, as we get closer to summer. Don't waste it trying to get situated at the pump. Now we know.