The Worlds Best Kept Auto Secret

[Charliewool]

Did you know this??

I have been driving for over 30 years. One would think I would have noticed the little secret on my dash that was staring me right in the face the whole time. I didn't and I bet you probably haven't either.






Quick question, what side of car your driving is your petrol tank? (if it's not your own, Ie:borrowed or rental car) If you are anything like me, you probably can't remember right away. My solution is to uncomfortably stick my head out the window, strain my neck and look.

Well guys, 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 strain or injury.

If you look at your petrol guage, 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 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 above). It is that simple!

I don't know how you feel right now but when I found out this morning I felt cheated!

Why don't the dealers share such important information with car buyers? I don't understand why this isn't in the Drivers Manual? I don't get why any mechanic I have ever been to, or know, has even thought of mentioning this to me? The only possible explantion can be that all these people probably don't even know!

Go out and share the worlds best kept auto secret with your friends as this is information is way too important to be kept secret.

[Allen]

What about XF's and their flip down numberplate filler? :P

lol, a little piece of info that i'll proberly never use, but good to know anyway!

[Polyal]

LOL...had a little chuckle myself, nice one.

[fairBA]

Originally Posted by charliewool

Quick question, what side of car your driving is your petrol tank? .

Iv'e noticed that 99.9% of the time it's the opposite side to the Exhaust- for real
(i have a lot of spare time a petrol stations)

[Neoxr6]

on my better halfs car it says fuel and has an arrow pointing to the side the filler is on.

[farah9]

Originally Posted by fairBA

Iv'e noticed that 99.9% of the time it's the opposite side to the Exhaust- for real
(i have a lot of spare time a petrol stations)

Only trouble is that if it's a borrowed car then you probably don't know what side the exhaust pipes on either.

[ratter]

Originally Posted by farah9

Only trouble is that if it's a borrowed car then you probably don't know what side the exhaust pipes on either.

Maybe he needs an exhaust icon ?

[Neeek]

Originally Posted by fairBA

Iv'e noticed that 99.9% of the time it's the opposite side to the Exhaust- for real
(i have a lot of spare time a petrol stations)

My old Saab had the exhaust on the driver's side, and so too was the fuel filler. I can't remember what the dash guage showed...

[fairBA]

Originally Posted by Neeek

My old Saab had the exhaust on the driver's side, and so too was the fuel filler. I can't remember what the dash guage showed...

that was the .01%!
They all seem to be Euro models - not sure why.
Manufactures also mix around with models - eg, Falcon has fuel on left with Exhaust on right but our Euro friends with the Focus (from memory here) have the fuel on Right with exhaust on Left!
go figure!

Dual exhasut - add this to the .01% - If the XF had 2 exhasut it would work as fuel was in the middle

[klawsterfobik]

I just pop the flap as i drive in the driveway and look in my mirrors

[Ringo]

I have twin exhaust pipes from the factory.....hmmm

[Mutley]

Originally Posted by Ringo

I have twin exhaust pipes from the factory.....hmmm

Do you own an XF with one of those flip down numberplates then?

[Blonk]

Thanks for that, I will check all cars now to make sure they conform to the standard

[desGT]

With 4 different car makes, I thought "FANTASTIC".

But blown already?

My BFGT has both button and dash icons with hose on the RIGHT, but the filler is on the left???

[Poetic Justice]

On the EL's there is something on the dash that tells you what side it's on.

On all new Toyota's its on the passenger side (for RHD vehicles) for safety reasons, being if you run out of fuel you won't be standing against traffic whilst you put fuel in it on the side of the road.

[Allen]

My cruise to work this morning disproved this theory... the icon of the petrol bowser indicated that the filler was on the drivers side, but its actually on the passenger side! :P

Oh well!

[xr8svo]

I heard that it was the side of your dash that the actual gauge was on that is the first I heard about the hose on the little pump on the gauge.
A guy i used to work with i told about and he checked it on his nissan navara that night and said that is was wrong but on many of the trucks i have driven i have found it to be right.
I dont think this is a gospel either but the information came from a guy who worked at a rental car place and drove alot of different cars regularly.

[ratter]

Checked a few cars at work

Magna is not as described

[EA2BA]

I think maybe just euro cars may comply mostly to this.

I do recall this email did the rounds a few years ago and was proved to be mostly wrong.

[TZENU]

Im confused my fiesta shows the hose on the little pump is on the right, but then there is an arrow pointing to the left!

[DBourne]

this is true for SOME manufacturer's. holden don't abide by this, toyota dont, ford usually dont.

i heard this long ago and have been dissapointed time n time again

[gtxb67]

it is simple for some cars ford always seem to have the filler on the left, holden the right, mazda the left

[scooby]

[QUOTE=gtxb67]it is simple for some cars ford always seem to have the filler on the left, holden the right, mazda the left[/QUO

On my Fiesta, it's on the left, on my Focus,the right
There are no rules..............

[Squalo]

When I bought my Territory the seller pointed out the little arrow next to the fuel pump icon (pointing left) and said "there's how you know what side the fuel filler is on".

I'm glad he did - both my VT and my Outback have it on the right and I'm pretty used to that...

The Territory and VT also have a slot to hold the filler cap, but the Outback does not - such a simple thing, why don't they all have it? And why do the Holden and Ford have power windows that work for a minute or two after the ignition is off, but the Subaru doesn't? Why does the Subaru 'lock' the drivers window switch on 'up' so you don't have to hold it down, but the Ford and Holden do not? Why does the Territory's power mirror joystick have an 'up' orientation, but the Subaru's one has a 'down' orientation? (pain in the *** after dark, there should be a mandated standard for such things). Why is the Subaru's interior mirror fixed right where it blocks a good 1/4 of my forward view (I'm only 6') whereas the Holden has two-way adjustment to allow me to get it up out of my way? (not an issue on the high-roofed Territory).

Don't the designers sit in and drive the competition before they commit their designs?

/rant

[Mark351]

What load of tripe. :

[vandrsxr6]

The icon on my BA points to the left hand side.

[MAGPIE]

Nice theory but no it doesn't stack up and neither does the exhaust opposite theory (if you have twin exhaust).

[TUF_302]

My falcon is like that!, but my xf aint, nor my pathfinder or merc!

[uranium_death]

A nice little fact that I probably would live without because during a walk around a car, I would find the petrol lid anyway.

[AWD Chaser]

The AU falcon dash has an arrow...