2013 Scion FR-S Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

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adamb1

Why can't we just agree the filler goes on the driver's (US) side and be done with it. I hate the filler on the right side on my Ford Focus.

noburgers

Man, are you guys picky. You normally don't fill up on half a tank, so it probably does not matter to anyone. And it's not a rental fleet staple, so any owner knows where the filler is.

gloss

Well, if you can see that it's not on the left side, it's safe to assume it's on the right, I'm pretty sure.

stever

Naturally the filler is on different sides of our two cars. I'm always checking to see which side of the car the filler when I'm stopping for gas. And yeah, the default location should be on the driver's side.

arcticbluetsx

I appreciate that every car that I've owned has always had it's gas cap on the drivers' side of the car. Unfortunately, more often than not this is true for everybody else too! I wish mine were on the passengers' side of the car so I could skip the lines.

greenpony

Cars I've owned with the filler on the driver's side: '93 Integra, '97 Escort, '05 F150, '13 Optima. Cars I've owned with the filler on the passenger's side: '01 Eclipse, '02 Mustang, '07 Focus, '14 Focus. So it's been split pretty evenly for me, but I'd have to agree that it's more convenient on the driver's side (despite the increased likelihood of opening your door into a concrete pole).

kirkhilles_

To me, it should be on every car intended to be in a rental fleet. Otherwise, it's really not a big deal. I do like it on the Drivers side, though.

tp660

@adamb1 This video should answer your question.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-MKtUU1XAM

noburgers

I hate to admit that I recall many cars had the filler hidden behind the rear license plate frame. Then it didn't freakin' matter until you got hit from behind and burst into flames!!!

stovt001_

This is the first time an Edmunds LT car was ever taken to a gas station before it was sucking the last drop from the furthest corner of the tank. This is rather momentous.

stovt001_

@noburgers: I had a 1970 Olds with the gas filler behind the rear license plate. The versatility was great, but nozzles never wanted to stay in place. I had to hold it in place the entire time. That got old quick. But another nice thing was that a lot of

hybris

@ My father had a 1987 Chevy Cutlass Supreme with the same deal. Only downsides were the easy to break steering column for car thieves and the fact that people loved to steal the chrome bumpers and hubcaps.

greenpony

Whenever I see "Cutlass" I think of the early-'90s crapbox one of my in-laws used to drive around in. Ugh. At least your father's '87 wasn't wrong wheel drive. (And I think you mean Oldsmobile not Chevy.)

philosophy

This is ridiculous. If the needle covers the right side, and there is no arrow on the left side, then the fuel cap is on the right. Logic.

actualsize

Yes. I never have this problem. The needle isn't sinking past 1/4 tank yet. The design would be a problem if you couldn't see it at that point.

Interestingly, you can play "guess the fuel filler door side" while following a car at 100 yards. You don't have to be able to see down the sides, either. Simply locate the exhaust pipe and nine times out of ten the filler door will be on the opposite side. Amaze your friends! Win bar bets! Sadly, this trick doesn't work with dual or central exhausts.

actualsize

Automakers can't standardize fuel filler doors on the driver's side because the definition of driver's side itself varies around the globe. They're not going to reroute the filler and exhaust for different countries. It's much harder (and far less necessary) than steering wheels. So they pick a side based on mundane and largely unseen packaging requirements and move on.

explorerx4

Rumor has it that more collisions damage the left rear than right rear.
Unless you are my wife, not too many people worry about filling up with half a tank left.

barich1

I can't understand why you all want the fuel door on the driver's side. Then you're opening your door into the gas pump or concrete island. I much prefer it on the passenger's side so I have more room to get out of my car.