Has this ever happened to you? You’re in a rental car and need to buy gasoline. You get to the gas station and…wait, what side is the gas cap on? It’s on the driver’s side of your car at home and was on the passenger’s side of the car you had before that one, but what about this car?
Of course, unless you have a Plymouth Pacer (Joe’s family had one when he was growing up), an AMC Gremlin (my family had one when I was growing up) or a few other cars where the gas cap was on the BACK of the car, your chances are 50/50 for left or right. If you get it wrong, it’s not really a huge deal – many gas pumps have extra long nozzles, so they’ll reach the other side. Or, at worst, you’ll have to pull out and pull back in so the “other side” is facing the pump.
But wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to just “know” what side the gas cap was on, when you’re driving a car you’re not familiar with?
Turns out, there is.
Of course, you CAN just take a look at the car at some point before you put gas in it – maybe when you’re checking out the things you should be looking at before you drive the car away from the rental lot, but probably don’t. Then again, if your memory is as bad as mine, it’s probably a moot point.
Fortunately, carmakers must know there are a bunch of drivers out there with poor memories because they have a way for you to know what side the gas cap is on, from inside the car. Idiots like me just never knew it.
Look for the picture of the gas icon on your dashboard, and then look for the little arrow next to it.
If the arrow points to the left, the gas cap is on the driver’s left side. If the arrow points to the right, the gas cap is on the driver’s right side.
{{{THUD}}}
Occasionally, you’ll come across a car that says FUEL DOOR with an arrow, but it’s still pretty much the same as the gas icon – the arrow points left or right to tell you where your gas cap is.
Oh, and if there’s no arrow next to the gas icon, just look to see what side of the dashboard it is on; that should be the side where the gas cap is.
Friends, I’ve spent a SUBSTANTIAL amount of time on this earth, and for about 2/3 of those years, I’ve had my driver’s license. And heaven knows I have rented my share of cars, too. HOW DID I NEVER KNOW THIS?
And the thing is, once you know it, you will never “unknow” it. You’ll know it forever. So for those of you out there who, like me, had no clue…now you know 😉
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2 comments
Not always true as Japanese and some European cars have right side drive versions – they do not bother to change the gas icon even if they have to move te gas tank to the other side of the car … so, it’s still about 50-50 unless you’re driving an American car.
There was an AMC Pacer, but not a Plymouth Pacer. The fuel door indicator has been around a long time. Also present in EVs I’ve rented.