Gas cap on passenger side?

[C B]

I've noticed the 07 ST's now have the gas cap's on the passenger side instead of the driver's side. Anyone know why this was done?

 

[Tom Schindler]

Because that is the same side the gas tank is on.





Tom

 

[Dallas Starr]

why didnt they put the tank on the drivers side? crazy wackos

 

[William Washington]

It makes you wonder doesn't it? Not a customer friendly solution. Bad ergonomics.

 

[Travis Munday]

This question was asked in Louisville, if I remember correctly, that answer given was that the Explorer has it on the passenger side, and because the NextGen ST is a cut-up Explorer, the ST gets it on the passenger side. The reason why it's on the passenger side was that the engineers found out that the distance from the fuel filler to the fuel tank is less when the fuel tank is on the passenger side. Yeah.

 

[A K]

And the tank placement as to do with the balancing of weights.



Ford did not move it for the hell of it. There was a method to their madness.

 

[Deleted deleted]

How is it bad ergonomics? Just as easy to pump gas into one side of the car as the other. What I can't figure out is why Ford can't make a inside fuel door release like almost every car on the planet outside of the US has.

 

[TomT]

That's it. I'm definitely not trading up to an 07. No way I'm walking all the way around the truck to pump gas.

 

[Travis Munday]

You could always do waht I did, put a gas tank in the bed, then you can pull on either side of the pump.

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

My wifes Mountaineer is on the pass. side. It is constantly "kicking" the hose off when it fills. A friend of mine has a '06 Mariner, also on the pass. side, and it does the same thing. Maybe the shorter tube isn't such a great idea. No problems filling my ST with it on the drivers side.

 

[Deleted deleted]

I've never had a hose 'kick out' on me, but then I usually keep a hand on mine while filling the tank.

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Darin, it still does it when I have it in hand. The fuel is actaully splashing out at time and I just started to fill it. I don't leave mine unattended either. Not good karma there in my opinion.

 

[Darrel Chaney01]

I got an idea, put the gas fill behind the license plate like it was a few years back. Ok several years back. :lol: That way it is in the center of the vehicle, so you don't have to remember what side the gas fill is on.

 

[Tom Martin]

If I recall correctly .... at one time it was determined the 'safe' thing to do by putting the gas cap on the passenger side. If gas spilled whilst fueling up with petrol and by an unfortunate series of occurances a fire started during this process, it was thought it would be safer to get in the vehicle from the driver's side and drive the vehicle in the clear of the pumps and then exit the vehicle before the fire spread...... fwiw ....

 

[walter clark]

cause they wanted to....

 

[Joe Rampino]

A long while back some study showed that a larger percentage of side impacts occured on the driver's side. Some automakers have referenced the data in their "safety" ads. Can't be much of a factor because if you notice at the full service pumps, the longest lines are always for the drivers side pumps. Which means, for the 07 owners, there's usually less of a wait.
How's that for twisted logic?

 

[Rose Medlin]

I had a lengthy discussion with Mr Burke from Ford about this at the meet. My concern was the safety issue (mainly females). Many people don't think about locking there door or taking their keys while pumping gas and (I) usually have their (my) back turned from the vehicle looking at the pump. It could be so easy for someone to jump into the vehicle and drive off or open the door and take your purse before you could get around the vehicle to get back to the driver's side. This could happen with any type of vehicle that has the gas tank cap on the passenger side. The reason I bring this up is because I have read and seen in the news where this type of thing has happened.

Right now that is my main and only negative concern about wanting to buy an '07.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Rose,



Good point, never thought about that before.



Here is a safety issue the would say the right side of the vehicle is better for a fuel filler.



It is more common for a woman to climb back into a vehicle during re-fueling during "bad" weather. With the filler on the passenger side, you would be less apt to climb in the vehicle since it is a long walk. If you do get back into your vehicle, you are more apt to touch the vehicle while walking to the other side therefore grounding yourself out reducing the risk of fires caused by static electricity.



Women are more likely to have that happen then guys because guy clothing is primarily natural fibres (wool, cotton, leather, etc) and womens clothing are more synthetic fibres (nylon panty hose, rayon blouse and skirt, patent leather shoes, etc.)



So one could look at it as a safety issue for the good then for the bad.





Tom