# L vs R side for gas cap on cars in US **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 1, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421 "2009-01-01T00:21:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/41 "2009-01-01T19:49:21Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > Their explanation was that car companies intentionally made some on different sides because that way, when cars drive into a gas station, they aren’t all trying to line up in the same line at the gas pump, i.e. assuming there is one entrance to the gas station, there is more choice for the drivers as to which pump to use. Why would car makers care about that? It’s not their problem. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/42 "2009-01-01T21:05:44Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Why would car makers care about that? It’s not their problem. As I said, it’s just what my parents told me and I don’t know where they heard it. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/43 "2009-01-01T21:22:55Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > And the VW bugs I used to work on had the gas tank situated directly in front of the passenger compartment—sort of the ultimate in safety since a front end collision could easily park the gas tank in the front seat. A '60s Ford pickup would be more convenient since the tank is already in the passenger compartment - behind the seat. Interesting to drive one of those and listen to the gas slosh around. And yes, they did occasionally rupture and ignite in a crash. Obligatory on topic comment. [Left side right behind driver’s door](http://www.swatek.com/mike/58truck/truck_left-13mar98.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/44 "2009-01-01T21:34:17Z")
I just don’t understand what kind of design differences would dictate the placement of the caps on different sides. Wouldn’t it make sense for each car company to just pick one side and stick with it? What type of design problems could that possibly cause? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/45 "2009-01-01T21:47:29Z")
Well, you don’t want to route the exhaust system too close to the tank, or it’ll burst into flames, and certain vehicle characteristics (dual exhausts, for example) could dictate the placement. Also, if a car maker (like Ford, for example) decided to put all the openings on the right side, they may want to keep it on the left for certain models (like the Mustang) where they want to ape racing characteristics. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/46 "2009-01-01T23:11:47Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > After the Pinto Car-B-Que disaster, I doubt you will ever see a rear mounted filler neck from any car maker that sells in this country. Regardless of how the tank and filler neck are constructed, this arrangement would have lawyers drooling in anticipation. Umm, **Rick** , didn’t the pinto have the gas cap on the left rear corner panel? IMHO “license plate” fill tubes sucked and were dirtier than “side fill”…had one in my dads 70’something Continental.:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/47 "2009-01-02T00:59:29Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > A '60s Ford pickup would be more convenient since the tank is already in the passenger compartment - behind the seat. Interesting to drive one of those and listen to the gas slosh around. The Honda Fit’s gas tank is under the front seat. I’ll have to ask my friend if she can hear the fuel sloshing around. On the dual fuel tank, dual gas cap front, remember the XJs? Odd arrangement for a luxury car. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/48 "2009-01-02T01:53:49Z")
> [@ThisSpaceForRent](#): > > Umm, **Rick** , didn’t the pinto have the gas cap on the left rear corner panel? Yes indeed. I owned one and that’s what I remembered, and I found a [diagram.](http://www.fordpinto.com/blowup.htm) Not a bad car really - no one tailgated me. We had a Pontiac Grand Am with the cap on the right - a former rental car, so maybe they did it to the rental car fleet to mess with renters’ minds. At work we had these Ford Tempos as rent a cars for trips - not only did they have the tank on the right, the button to open to gas cap door was located in the glove box. We were supposed to fill it up before returning it if it got reasonably empty, so it was funny letting new people drive and watch them try to get the cap open. There was a little label saying where the button was, but it was easy to miss. Our Pontiac didn’t have a locking gas cap door. How do other cars with the cap on the right do it? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/49 "2009-01-02T02:49:30Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > What percentage of autos sold in the US have the gas cap on the driver’s (left side)? > > Left is the default side in my mind; every car I’ve owned has had it on that side. But every once in a while, when driving a rental care, I discover only after pulling up to the pump that the cap is on the _right_ side! :smack: > > Any rhyme or reason for such placement? None whatsoever. I used to like the cars that had the cap under the rear license plate. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/50 "2009-01-02T11:09:23Z")
> [@ThisSpaceForRent](#): > > Umm, **Rick** , didn’t the pinto have the gas cap on the left rear corner panel? > > IMHO “license plate” fill tubes sucked and were dirtier than “side fill”…had one in my dads 70’something Continental.:dubious: He’s probably thinking of the Maverick which had the same tail lights as the Pinto but with a rear gas filler. After awhile, the rust makes it hard to tell the 2 cars apart. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/51 "2009-01-02T11:14:41Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > There’s no logic, really. There’s not even consistency amongst models produced by a single manufacturer. There _may_ be some underlying engineering reason for a model to have it on one side or the other, but I’ve never heard of one. > > The arguments I’ve heard for putting it on the passenger side include those that **Hunter** has mentioned, as well as safety for when you have to refill your tank on the side of the road (the bulk of the car will be between you and the road). > > Putting it on the driver’s side is endorsed by Click & Clack who’ve started [Fuel Opening On the Left Side.](http://www.cartalk.com/content/columns/Archive/1994/October/12.html)😃 > > Personally, I like what they did on a number of models in the 60s & 70s, where the gas cap was behind the rear license plate. That way there was no futzing around with making sure you’d pulled up to the pump on the right side. I HATED that as a pump jockey (in the mid nineties) was rare enough that always wondered for a second where it was, had to bend down, the plate always wanted to flip up and I was always scared I was gonna break it… ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/52 "2009-01-02T11:18:21Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Well, you don’t want to route the exhaust system too close to the tank, or it’ll burst into flames, and certain vehicle characteristics (dual exhausts, for example) could dictate the placement. Also, if a car maker (like Ford, for example) decided to put all the openings on the right side, they may want to keep it on the left for certain models (like the Mustang) where they want to ape racing characteristics. Gas tank location and axle control rod (rear rear axle models) are about the only 2 items I can think of that would dictate a non-symmetrical arrangement. Most gas tanks I’ve worked on (a verrrry limited number) were symmetrical in nature so it’s a matter of shifting them left or right to accommodate the exhaust. Dual exhaust can be handled with a dual muffler so that shouldn’t be much of a factor. There is a logical reason to place the filler on the left because it is easier to see if the filler door is open in the side mirror. It’s also more convenient for self serve to fill it from the driver’s side. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/53 "2009-01-02T16:12:01Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > As a gas jockey back in college - late 60s - it was a challenge to find some of the filler caps. The swing out tail light was on a number of models if my fading memory serves me. It used to piss off the drivers when I found it right away. Another good one was the old VW bugs that had the filler in the trunk (under the hood). Even worse is the oil dipstick. I worked at a station about 20 years ago that still had full service, and some of those women drivers especially thought we were idiots because it took several minutes sometimes to find the dipstick. Of course, they’d never even looked for it ever, so they had no idea that it was black (like everything else) and hidden under two hoses on the back side of the engine block (or whatever). I hated that. ---
**Author:** ![SeanArenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeanArenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeanArenas)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/54 "2009-01-02T17:54:49Z")
> [@goransmom](#): > > My VW salesman (when he learned I was interested in safety features) said that all VWs have the gas tank on the passenger side so that if you’re filling up on the side of the road, you’re away from the traffic. > > I think it’s safer not to actually run out of gas… I only ran out of gas twice, when I was 16 and 17. Both times, I was able to push my car to the gas station. That’s because I was driving a 1971 VW Bug, and they’re light and airy, and easy to push. And neither time required more than a half mile of pushing, nor was it uphill. One additional time I actually ran out while exiting from the fwy, and was able to coast down the hill from the fwy offramp into the gas station parking lot, about 1/2 mile. No pushing required (except for about 10 feet inside the gas station parking lot). I made a conscious decision to not run out of gas anymore, and haven’t since. That does, in fact, seem the wiser course of action. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/55 "2009-01-02T19:17:12Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Why would car makers care about that? It’s not their problem. Well, it _is_ their problem if they care about their customers. People don’t pay for something they don’t like, or is inconvenient for them. Gas caps behind the license plate disappeared at the same time that they became very inconvenient for the drivers–i.e. 1973. That’s when the price of gas skyrocketed, and a wild,radically new idea appeared on the market: self-serve pumps (with cheaper prices). So they stopped putting the gas cap in an inconvient location where you have to bend down on one knee to open it. Before then, it was rare (for men), or totally unheard of (for women) to pump your own gas. You pulled into the gas station, ran over a little wire that activated the bell,\* and a uniformed attendant _ran_ up to you car to offer you service–pump the gas, wipe your windshield, and check your oil, while you never moved from the driver’s seat. \*I remember one chain of gas stations where the bell also activated a clock, which rotated a huge second hand, like a stop watch. They promised that the attendant would be at your car within 30 seconds. Another station ran an advertizing campaign that they didnt use a trip-wire system to ring a bell : the slogan was “We don’t give a ding!”—our attendants are so efficient that they are always ready to serve you instantly. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/56 "2009-01-02T19:25:22Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > One pretty good general rule is that if the car has a single tailpipe the filler cap will be on the opposite side of the car. That would be really useful to know, except that it’s even harder to see the tailpipe from the driver’s seat than it is to see the gas-cap flap… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![pjdaoust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@pjdaoust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjdaoust)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/57 "2014-11-18T14:50:25Z")
The reason, that Click and Clack offered in a puzzler years ago was that the gas cap was always on the opposite side from the tail pipe, unless you had dual exhaust, then it was where ever the single exhaust model had the gas cap. 🙂 > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > What percentage of autos sold in the US have the gas cap on the driver’s (left side)? > > Left is the default side in my mind; every car I’ve owned has had it on that side. But every once in a while, when driving a rental care, I discover only after pulling up to the pump that the cap is on the _right_ side! :smack: > > Any rhyme or reason for such placement? ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/58 "2014-11-18T15:29:44Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Personally, I like what they did on a number of models in the 60s & 70s, where the gas cap was behind the rear license plate. I remember when I was a kid, my dad brought home a new car and challenged us kids to find the gas cap. We never did find it, so he showed us: behind the rear license plate. That was so cool! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/59 "2014-11-18T16:44:57Z")
> [@pjdaoust](#): > > The reason, that Click and Clack offered in a puzzler years ago was that the gas cap was always on the opposite side from the tail pipe, unless you had dual exhaust, then it was where ever the single exhaust model had the gas cap. 🙂 Okay, so WHY is the tailpipe on the left on some models, and on the right on others? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421/60 "2014-11-18T17:25:50Z")
> [@Noel\_Prosequi](#): > > There must be a convention about this, otherwise the power of standards would have mandated that one side would be universal. I suspect that the fact that caps can be found on both sides is a consequence of petral station layouts. You have to have bowsers in the middle of concourses. If all the caps were on the one side, the potential efficiency of having pumps on both sides of the bowsers would, inconveniently, be lost. Somewhat surprisingly, no there isn’t any convention on this. I believe Germany mandates gas caps on the passenger side, but for everyone else the placement of the gas cap tends to be an afterthought. It seems to me that gas caps on the driver’s side are the majority, but not an overwhelming one. I prefer the gas cap on the driver’s side. It helps those of us who are not good parallel parkers 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-vs-r-side-for-gas-cap-on-cars-in-us/479421.md?page=4)