# What side is your vehicle's gas cap on? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 8, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619 "2011-09-08T15:17:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/41 "2011-09-08T23:56:57Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > **Rigamarole,** in case you hadn’t noticed, we’re talking about cars. not planes. In case you hadn’t noticed, it was **Malthus** who initially brought up the plane analogy, and I was merely responding to that comment. In any case I won’t derail it any further, but I maintain my position that the OP made a poor choice of phrasing the poll options. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/42 "2011-09-09T00:00:45Z")
If I had two cars with the gas cap on different sides, it would totally fuck me up. I have a hard time as it is remembering that the one I have is on the left. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/43 "2011-09-09T00:01:42Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > But where IS the gas cap on an airliner, anyway? > > . On each wing. And elsewhere if they a central fuel tank. We have two cars, which have their caps on different sides. The Merc is on the right and the Nissan is on the left. I always have to think hard which is which when I’m approaching the pump, so I don’t go to the wrong side. (Seriously, people are confused by the terms “left” and “right”? Amazing.) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/44 "2011-09-09T00:31:13Z")
It’s unambiguous to me. It’s on the right damn side of the car. How can there be any confusion about which side of the car is the right side and the left? You sit facing in the direction you’re traveling, so there isn’t any other way of looking at it. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/45 "2011-09-09T01:17:19Z")
If I’m standing in my front room, and my car is parked in the driveway, facing the street, then the gas cap is on the side that’s nearest me, about one third of the way to the left of center. When I’m at work, sitting at my desk, with my car parked in it’s usual spot, it’s on the far side, but much nearer to the right. Or, to actually answer the OP’s poll, it’s on the right (the passenger side, as I’m in the US). ---
**Author:** ![Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marconi_N.Cheese)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/46 "2011-09-09T01:28:04Z")
Mine’s on the side where that little door is. I find it interesting that some new cars don’t have gas caps. ---
**Author:** ![Critical\_Mass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Critical\_Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical_Mass)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/47 "2011-09-09T01:36:42Z")
One of the first things a person new to the aviation industry learns is that there is a very clearly defined left and right side of an airplane. There’s also a very clearly defined order in which the engines are numbered. All references to left or right side of an aircraft are from the captain’s seated perspective. Multi-engine aircraft engines are numbered starting on the wing closest to the captain and working across from left to right. If you were to refer to the number one engine on a 747, it is very clear (absolutely no ambiguity) you’re talking about the outboard engine on the left wing. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/48 "2011-09-09T02:05:03Z")
The outside. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/49 "2011-09-09T02:18:58Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Your doubt is quite misplaced. Try it sometime - tell someone who is currently boarding a plane that their seat is on the left side. 90% chance they will immediately look to **their** left (i.e. the plane’s starboard side), rather than what _you_ think is the left side of the plane (the port side). Is this a great country, or what? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/50 "2011-09-09T02:38:54Z")
Prius- Left Side Subaru Outback- Right Side ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/51 "2011-09-09T03:36:58Z")
Shoot. I chose wrong. I picked left, but it should be right (passenger side). Saturn Ion. Used to have a Ford Windstar that had it on the left (driver side) where it belongs. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/52 "2011-09-09T03:41:26Z")
> [@FoundWaldo](#): > > Why can’t they just put one on each side, with a pipe that merges in the middle? I should patent that idea. I’ll make a killing. Seconded. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/53 "2011-09-09T04:46:30Z")
Passenger’s side, which I think is pretty standard for European cars. If you run out of gas, you are not standing in the middle of the road to pour more gas in the car. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/54 "2011-09-09T05:26:01Z")
Since when was it illegal to buy a soda while your gas pumps? This morning was one of the few rare times I was driving a car (driver’s side, ftr) and when I went inside to buy a drink while it was pumping, the cashier asked who was watching my car. I said “nobody” and she said she had to turn off the pump and I was in violation of the law…and then when I returned to my car I had to stand there for a couple minutes while I waited for it to reactivate (and I couldn’t just leave because I needed the receipt for a business reimbursement and disabling the pump also disabled the interface). ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/55 "2011-09-09T10:57:57Z")
> [@FoundWaldo](#): > > Why can’t they just put one on each side, with a pipe that merges in the middle? I should patent that idea. I’ll make a killing. I’ll have to leave this to the car experts, but I think one pickup truck maker [GM?] did that in the 70’s. I noticed that passenger cars can have the gas cap on either side, but I’ve never seen\* a pickup truck that fills from the right (notwithstanding the above). Even my trucks with multi-tanks have both filler tubes on the left. I wonder why? \*spent a few years in my youth working as a pump-jockey in a service station. I’ve filled a lot of cars. I also spent a few years working as a yard-monkey in a large UPS hub, gassing up all the brown trucks at night. FWIW, they all fill from the left too. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/56 "2011-09-09T11:42:07Z")
I’m pretty sure the big Chevy pick-up I had in the mid 1980s had a double tank with gas caps on both sides. > [@](#): > > Since when was it illegal to buy a soda while your gas pumps? **fusoya** - I don’t know about illegal (that might depend on the state) but AFAIK, most gas stations require that someone stay with the vehicle while pumping gas. That’s often posted somewhere on the pump. I have a friend who used to manage several gas stations; I’ll ask her today. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/57 "2011-09-09T12:17:24Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > I’ll have to leave this to the car experts, but I think one pickup truck maker [GM?] did that in the 70’s. those trucks had side-saddle tanks, one on either side. > [@](#): > > I noticed that passenger cars can have the gas cap on either side, but I’ve never seen\* a pickup truck that fills from the right (notwithstanding the above). Even my trucks with multi-tanks have both filler tubes on the left. I wonder why? Unlike cars, pickups usually have the fuel tank running along one side of the frame, inside the frame rail. I guess most manufacturers put it on the left side of the truck. When multiple tanks are involved, the second one is typically a flat tank in the rear, above where the spare tire hangs. Putting the filler on the same side of the primary tank is just so your customers don’t begin to curse you every few days. > [@chiroptera](#): > > fusoya - I don’t know about illegal (that might depend on the state) but AFAIK, most gas stations require that someone stay with the vehicle while pumping gas. That’s often posted somewhere on the pump. yes, this is the case in most states (used to be a pump jockey.) Someone has to stay at the pump, mostly in case the automatic nozzle shut off doesn’t work. > [@Rick](#): > > Passenger’s side, which I think is pretty standard for European cars. If you run out of gas, you are not standing in the middle of the road to pour more gas in the car. Unless you’re in RHD countries 😉 ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/58 "2011-09-09T12:46:12Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > yes, this is the case in most states (used to be a pump jockey.) Someone has to stay at the pump, mostly in case the automatic nozzle shut off doesn’t work. > > \ My friend (used to be district manager for Speedway here in MI) says yes illegal, and they were instructed to shut off the pump if there wasn’t anyone staying with the vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/59 "2011-09-09T13:15:48Z")
[QUOTE=cjepson] My vehicle’s gas cap is on the side of righteousness. [/QUOTE] Mine are on the outside. It would be awful to have to drag that slightly greasy and smelly hose into the car, and have it dribble a bit of gas onto the seats. In reality, both vehicles have the filler on the left side. Thinking back on all the cars I’ve had, I don’t think I’ve ever had one with the filler on the right side. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619/60 "2011-09-09T13:42:26Z")
what’ll really bake your noodle is that old (like '40s-'60s) pickup trucks used to have the gas tank _inside the cab._ Behind the seat, and the filler neck was right behind the driver’s door. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-side-is-your-vehicles-gas-cap-on/595619.md?page=4)