At work we have fleet Ford Explorers. They are not assigned and the vehicles span several years and different model designs. I can be in a different car everyday.

Yesterdays car the backup camera was in the rear view mirror and todays car its back in the center dash. The side mirror adjustment on yesterdays car is now the window lockout on todays car. The rear hatch release is also in two different locations. My favorite though is the fuel door. One car its on the drivers side and today its on the passenger side. You look like a real doofus at the gas pumps when you use the fuel card and enter all the required info to find out you parked on the wrong side.

I've never been a huge Ford fan. Even so, I've never heard of a manufacturer switching sides for the gas fill. Maybe I've just never realized that happens.

I’ve seen fuel filler doors on different sides of different models of the same model year. It just makes no sense.

There is an Arrow on the gas gauge pointing to which side the filler is on. But yes, when they move buttons and all the other crap around, it gets to be very annoying.

Engineers doing engineer things.

Work in a dealership either as a tech or a parts person. You’ll see this garbage up close and personal on a daily basis.

Things like having to remove a front bumper cover to replace a headlight assembly, Cadillac CTS for one. Water pump inside the engine so if the pump starts to leak coolant it mixes with the engine oil and the operator will not see an external coolant leak, a couple Ford engines including F-150’s and Explorers.

Plastic oil filter and engine oil cooler housings on the 3.6 Chrysler Pentastar engine. Tear the top half of the engine off (not the heads but about anything else that bolts down) to replace it.


They are all guilty.

Yep Caddy STS, remove the front of the car, and inner wheel wells to change a light bulb, nucking futts stuff.

Number 8 plug on an L98 V8 Corvette, buried next to the AC housing with no room for anyone but a 3 year old to get a hand in there....

Been that way since I can remember.....

Loved my 54 Olds 98, 324 V8 and you could stand between the radiator and the grill under the hood to work on the engine....

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

Loved my 54 Olds 98, 324 V8

They don't make 'em like that anymore.

I feel your pain. When I work a patrol shift, I get whichever spare marked unit is available at the time, which varies from Tahoes to Durangos with a couple Explorers tossed in for good measure. (Used to be a Charger on occasion as well, but it has now gone to live on a farm...)

Nothing like having to relearn a different car each time.

And heaven forbid it starts raining, and I look like a goober for a minute trying to figure out if the wiper controls are on the left or right, and do you twist it or pull it or bop it or whatever.

But the weewoo and radio controls are all the same, at least.

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
You look like a real doofus at the gas pumps when you use the fuel card and enter all the required info to find out you parked on the wrong side.

I’m figuring you know this already, but the arrow next to the gas-pump-looking icon points to the side the filler is on.

Yep....Ford likes to keep you guessing. They're not alone. Most manufacturers do it.

My 17 Mustang had the radio controls on the right side of the steering wheel. Traded for a 21 and poof, they're on the left. Bought a 24 F150 and they split them. Volume on the left and select on the right.

It's like a built in sobriety test

And why didn’t sport shift work in the same direction on all cars? Japanese car, shifter toward you to downshift; German car shifter towards dash to downshift.

That arrow by the gas gauge was invented by James Moylan, a Ford engineer. First time it was used was on 1989 model Fords, now used internationally.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
There is an Arrow on the gas gauge pointing to which side the filler is on...

Yea I know about the arrow. Its when you get gas on the driver side 4 days strait ( ) then the 5th day its on the passenger side.

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:

You look like a real doofus at the gas pumps when you use the fuel card and enter all the required info to find out you parked on the wrong side.

Is that a thing? Here, I don’t even care if it’s left or right pump. The hose extends to the other side of the vehicle, even when I’m in my truck. Kind of a non-starter.

lol. we have the same issue at work with our police explorers. at least they're all keyed the same.

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:

I’m figuring you know this already, but the arrow next to the gas-pump-looking icon points to the side the filler is on.

i get this messed up on my alfa alot when i am using different cars. in the fuel section it points to the left where the fill side is, but in the bottom of the screen is a pictogram of a gas tank with an arrow pointing to the right to how many miles are left before empty. lol

quote:

Originally posted by Chowser:
i get this messed up on my alfa alot when i am using different cars. in the fuel section it points to the left where the fill side is, but in the bottom of the screen is a pictogram of a gas tank with an arrow pointing to the right to how many miles are left before empty. lol

Oh, now that’s just Alfa playing dirty!

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:

You look like a real doofus at the gas pumps when you use the fuel card and enter all the required info to find out you parked on the wrong side.

Is that a thing? Here, I don’t even care if it’s left or right pump. The hose extends to the other side of the vehicle, even when I’m in my truck. Kind of a non-starter.

Not in any state I visit. Cheap operators won't spend the money on an extra swivel or any hose longer than about 5 feet. End result is you have know exactly where you need to stop to have the hose reach and miss that by 3 feet and it's a no go if you have too much gap between the vehicle and pump. It's also a pain if you have a center fill like my 1985 Monte Carlo SS because you have to nearly skim the tires on the pump curb and get the car aligned within 6 inches of perfect for the hose mount.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:

It's also a pain if you have a center fill like my 1985 Monte Carlo SS because you have to nearly skim the tires on the pump curb and get the car aligned within 6 inches of perfect for the hose mount.[/QUOTE]

My ‘67 Pontiac 2+2 is even worse, center and low in the back bumper accessed by flipping the license plate down. More that once I’ve had to operate the nozzle upside down because the hose is too damn short.

Try putting gas in a Chevrolet/GMC "square body" (1973-87) pickup truck with dual tanks on opposite sides.

Not sure of the years (late 60s?) but the mustangs with the 351 Cleveland motor the factory recommended procedure to change the spark plugs was to remove the engine/trans as a unit.