If there’s one car fact or Easter Egg or detail (or whatever you want to call it) that seems to delight non-car-obsessed people more than any other one, I think it has to be this one: fuel gauges tend to have a little arrow on them that points to what side the fuel filler is on.
People absolutely love this little detail, and they’re right to do so! It’s really a design triumph, a tiny bit of extra graphics on a dashboard that makes life quantifiably better. And it was the idea of one man, a man named Jim Moylan, and I’m sad to inform you that Mr. Moylan passed away on December 11, at the age of 80.
Moylan was a senior interior designer in the Plastics, Paint, and Vinyl division at Ford, and once, when he was borrowing a car to go from one building to another for a meeting in 1986 on a miserable, rainy day, he had to put some gas in the car. So he stopped at a gas station.
As Moylan explained to the Every Little Thing podcast in 2018, an episode which, by the way, I was a guest on and helped the hosts find out who was responsible for the little fuel gauge arrow, this is what happened:
“I had to go to a meeting in another building on a rainy day. When I went to get the pool car, I started it and noticed the gas gauge was empty. I pulled up to the gas pump on the wrong side, so I had to move it.”
Moylan, wet and irritated, decided to make it his mission to prevent humanity from having to deal with such an indignity ever again. He took action:
“I got back to my office after the meeting, and without even taking my coat off, I sat down and started writing the first draft of this proposal. I typed it up and turned it in and forgot completely about it.”
Here’s what that memo looked like:
…and if you want to hear Moylan tell you the story himself, here’s the whole episode:
You may notice that in Moylan’s tidy little sketch on the memo, he doesn’t suggest an arrow; rather, he has a little overhead view of a car, with a tiny little fuel door open:
During the design process, this seems to have been decided to be too complicated, and when Ford started producing cars with Moylan’s clever idea, it had been simplified to the arrow we all know. Here’s a dash cluster from a 1989 Thunderbird:
When it comes to a ratio of simplicity to benefit, Moylan’s arrow may be one of the best automotive innovations ever. It’s a little thing, sure, but a very clever and useful little thing, and I hope Moylan was proud of his achievement. I’m sure there’s so much else he’ll be remembered for by the people who knew him, but I think this is a pretty big deal.
While I believe that Moylan came up with this idea independently and Ford was the first to widely deploy it, I also think the concept pre-dates Moylan’s wet fill-up by about a decade or so. That’s because it seems that Mercedes-Benz utilized a very similar concept, executed in a different manner, on the fuel gauges for their W123-series cars, built between 1975 and 1986.
On the W123 fuel gauges, there was a small red low-fuel warning light set into the gauge. This light was shaped like a triangle/arrowhead, an arrowhead that pointed to the right, where the car’s fuel filler was.
I think this is deliberate; Mercedes-Benz wasn’t in the habit of making warning lights triangular at random. Here’s an earlier fuel gauge with another style of integrated low-fuel warning light, one that is decidedly non-directional:
I think the design of the arrowhead low-fuel light, pointing to the side where you refuel, was intentional.
I should mention I did talk about this on that same 2018 podcast, where the hosts of the show reached out to Mercedes-Benz, only to find they had no idea about this and no formal records of its design – so, I think the credit should still go to Moylan, who has documentation and proof of intent.
So, rest in peace, Mr.Moylan. You made a small but important difference in so many people’s lives.
Top graphic image: Vermeulen-Sajewski Funeral Home
I could have sworn my 86 Grand Prix had this. Also, wasn’t 1986 the year Nelson Mandela died in prison?
Nelson Mandela did not die in prison. He was freed from prison in 1990 and later became the president of South Africa. He died in 2013.
In Europe you do not always get the arrow. But the side the hose is shown on for the pump graphic shows the way.
I’m in Europe. The hose isn’t always in the correct side. I forget which car I had that was wrong.
I had a 2001 Jetta TDI and when the fuel or windshield washer fluid got low an extremely loud annunciator would go off and startle me and anyone with me. My ’17 Accord has alerting lights, but no claxon. Which I appreciate. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever let the Accord’s washer fluid get low. I’ll have to RTFM to see if it would alert me to that. In any case, it’s been quiet and quite polite.
And you’d be surprised at how many people I’ve ridden with didn’t know the little triangle thing. Maybe you wouldn’t. The gas station I usually fuel up at has hoses that will reach all the way over the trunk regardless of which side you pull up to. I would rather not drag a hose across the trunk, but my car is eight years old and what’s another scratch? It already has dents. It’s not like it’s a showcase example of an exceedingly rare car. I wish people, including me, would stop doing that. But, it’s just a car.
I have a similar VW/Honda split and tend to agree — but the Honda is very, very quiet about the need to refuel. For decades I got used to an audible alarm and a light. The Honda just has the tiny light by the gauge like they did in the ’80s and it’s just way too subtle. I think we as a society have been weaned off of gauges for so long, audible alarms are almost necessary.
But not VW’s washer fluid, that does NOT deserve equal billing. Sometimes I run the washers for another 10 seconds just to be sure the alert doesn’t keep going on/off as it sloshes around 🙂
I used to fly a Cessna 150, so fuel management was a big part of pre-flight planning. In the Honda, the light illuminates at around 60 miles of range remaining, although given how much it takes to fill up compared to its stated fuel tank capacity, I think it’s a little pessimistic, but better to error on the side of caution. I ran a diesel Fiat Ducato out of fuel while the gauge showed about an eigth of a tank remaining on the way to an airport. That wasn’t fun.
May I suggest the Autopian’s designer cohort could pay tribute by designing a similar device for cars with the tank opening hidden behind a tail light, like these?
https://www.theautopian.com/todays-taillights-the-forgotten-trend-of-hiding-gas-fillers-behind-taillights/
Is there a picture of Moylan’s original graphic as applied to a car with the filler on the other side? I imagine the car would be placed on the other side of the pump graphic.
Not all cars have it though. I remember BMWs that didn’t have the arrow.
Guess I should have expected that though given their aversion to any form of directional indication.
If Moylan had pitched this at BMW, he would have been laughed out the building (Germanically).
I honestly hope his headstone has a little pointer on it. I’d like to think that the direction they would point it in would be up.
We’ve got Duntov cams and MacPherson struts.
I think as a fitting memorial this needs to be termed a Moylan indicator.
I’ll do my best. If we can memorialize Mike Monroney with the Monroney sticker, a Moylan indicator should be a thing too! I am sure my fellow Autopians can pledge to call it the Moylan!
I showed a friend that his F150 had a little backup/dead-fob slot hidden under the cup holder. He reacted as though I’d opened a door to Narnia in his bedroom closet.
I moved to Australia at 19, so 3-4 years after launching my driving career in the states. I wish they had a sign on the outside of the car telling you which side the steering wheel was on, because I regularly got in the passenger side and looked like a dope. Was even a caught a few times and laughed at by Aussies. No better way to declare ‘foreigner’ than that move.
I traveled to Australia from the US for about a month and rented a car for a while. Not only did I try to get in the vehicle on the wrong side fairly frequently, I consistently went for the turn signal stalk and instead activated the wipers.
I finally adjusted, but suffered the same fate for a couple of days once I returned to the US and drove my own vehicle!
The worst part is the turn signal/wiper stalks aren’t consistent across RHD vehicles there. It’s been a while since I’ve visited but IIRC the Aussie brands had it swapped from LHD cars while the imports had the same wheel and stalk layout as LHD models (presumably to have more standardized parts across their various markets).
Standardized parts across markets makes sense. However, I rented a RHD 2025 Toyota Corolla Cross in South Africa. The turn signal stalk was on the right of the steering wheel. This surprised me. I believe the US version has the turn signal stalk on the left of the steering wheel.
I regularly drive LHD cars in the UK. Pro-tip: leave a bunch of keys of something in the passenger door pocket, so when you get in the wrong side you can get back out again with the keys in your hand and say “found them” as you walk round to the driver’s side.
I’ve done something far more embarrassing. After about 15 years of only driving 2 or 3 door cars, all either 2-seaters or 2+2s, I bought a 4-door BMW for track shenanigans. After loading tools and stuff in the trunk I walked up the driver’s side of the car, opened the door and got in the back.
I wasn’t used to having to walk past a door to get into the front…
It points the wrong way on my wife’s ’25 Impreza – I’ve been waiting for what I hope will be a really entertaining recall notice since we drove it off the lot.
How is that possible? Aren’t all Subarus on the right side? Digital dash?
what year is that?
My wrx has the arrow pointing to passenger side, but the gas pump looks like the filler would be on the left
I took a closer look (I don’t drive her car very often) – there is a big digital gas pump with an arrow that points the wrong direction (the one I noticed) and a little one adjacent to the speedometer that points in the right direction (that I didn’t notice).
I looked it up and on the digital center display there’s a “miles to empty” display with a big arrow pointing to a gas pump. It’s not a triangular thing like a Moylan indicator; it’s a traditional arrow with a stem aimed at a gas pump. If you change the info mode to Journey time/distance the arrow remains but a car icon goes on top of it to indicate how far you’ve driven on the current drive.
The actual gas gauge is positioned below the speedometer, and it has a traditional Moylan indicator pointing to the right.
I would’ve designed that miles-to-empty display differently (or swapped the position of the big arrow to avoid confusion).
First off, my condolences to the friends and family of this fine man. But also, how like an engineer to not only document, but keep receipts on it, lol.
Great idea there sir! I drive mostly Ford products, and one Toyota, and find it interesting that the trucks and Suv’s have the filler on the left side, while the cars have their fillers on the right side. At least they are consistent in that regard, which makes it easy to remember.
I think its right-hand vs left-hand drive motivated. Whichever market that model is more likely to be sold. So yanks buy trucks and SUVs, and its on the drivers side. Global cars are much more likely to get the right-hand side treatment. Source: I just made it up
I have heard this explanation before – and I think I heard it from Torch.
The old prevailing theory came from the era when fuel gauges were less accurate — in LHD countries, the idea was to put the person refilling the tank away from the passing traffic, and safely in the shoulder while they’re refilling the tank from a jerry can.
Made perfect sense to me when I first heard it, and it still does.
Similar idea to how side-hinged tailgates should swing left to provide the occupant a small degree of protection while getting spare tires or tools out, and to keep them from having to walk around a tailgate that would otherwise be in their way.
To this day, I still subtly have more respect for cars with fillers on the right, even though it means more walking and hassles during normal fillups.
That’s where it belongs. It also gives one an opportunity to look at both sides of the car during fueling. I had one car with it on the wrong side (Camry) and I tended to find pumps facing that direction to be occupied more.
The fuel filler is always on the opposite side from the exhaust pipe.
Except for cars with dual or center exhausts.
Or cars that ‘hide the fuel filler behind the license plate. I remember GM was fond of this arrangement on several large Pontiac and Oldsmobiles in at least the late 70s and early 80s.
Or old Beatles that had the filler inside the trunk.
I’m sure there are other exceptions, above are the twonthst came to mind
Like the Wagon Queen Family Truckster from National Lampoon’s vacation!
Exactly!
And above about the beattle should say ‘inside the fronk’ aka the front trunk
I know there were at least a handful of different old european cars that had the fill up located inside their trunks too. Which of course seems weird to us today, bc we just don’t see that any more
My then partner and I rented cars for years while we were together in NYC. Invariably we pulled over to see where the gas cap was. You have no idea how excited I was at the revelation that there was arrow on the gas gauge pointing to the side of the car where the cap was (I stumbled into the info on a non-automotive forum)! And I was well into my 40s!
Truly something that deserves recognition brilliant, simple, helpful, and functional. I only wish that my cars had them as I do drive multiple cars that have the cap on different sides.
I was told long ago that what side of the pump image the hose was on indicated what side of the car the filler door was on. Probably not.
I heard similar, or I would hear that the pump icon itself being left of center of right of center of the fuel gauge would indicate which side. but then I owned cars were none of those things were true so I gave up on that idea. The arrow is the only one I trust.
“On the W123 fuel gauges, there was a small red low-fuel warning light set into the gauge. This light was shaped like a triangle/arrowhead, an arrowhead that pointed to the right, where the car’s fuel filler was.”
Yes, but the triangle was on the left so it’s unclear what the light means, it’s even confusing.
And Torch has already complained about cars where a light on the left has an arrow pointing to the right : https://www.jalopnik.com/congratulations-mini-you-made-the-stupidest-turn-sign-1847727385/
I can’t believe that Tesla hasn’t embedded the arrow deep in the fuel control section on the center screen.
I’ll repeat your comment, but replace Tesla with Volkswagen.
I have 6 cars, so I get the filler side mixed up pretty regularly. Sadly, only a few of my cars even have this feature!
Thank you Mr Moylan. Having cars with doors on different sides, you’ve saved my bacon at many gas station. Rest in peace.
I remember when and where I was when I learned of this feature. I was in my early 40s, driving to work one morning, and one of the hosts of the local morning show on the the radio mentioned it. I don’t remember how it came up on the morning show, but I was floored. I immediately looked ath the dash and realized they were right, at least for that car. When I got home, I checked my other car and it was true there too.
Such a little thing, but finally knowing has changed my life for the better. Rest in peace, Mr. Moylan.
We were of the same relative age when we were blessed with this information! And I’m 70 now.
I’ve only been benefitting from the information for 10 or 12 years. Here’s to another 20 for both of us!
Good idea, from a man who grew up with fuel fillers in the rear, sometimes behind the license plate.
Now, we need a deep-dive Torch piece on fuel door arrows and how they’ve been implemented over the years. So deep we get lost.
If my 1979 Cutlass Supreme had a fuel arrow, it may have been like this:
< (no)
> (no)
^ (no)
v (yes! Really, it’s back there)
Thank you, Mr. Moylan. May your funeral have a convenient arrow pointing people the correct direction in which to walk up and pay their respects.
Also, reminder that if anyone shares that meme about how the graphic of a fuel pump on your gauge has the hose on the side where your fuel door is… show them the gauge cluster in an NA Miata, where there is no arrow and that hose is on the wrong side. Because that meme is stupid.
Anyway, on a more legit, serious note, we shouldn’t just be thanking him for this – we should be learning an important lesson. See something you can improve? SPEAK UP. RIP to a hero.
On the NA Miata, the fuel filler is on top (of the left side), so it doesn’t really matter which side of the pump you park on. Just choose the one with the shortest line.
I also have a 1968 Olds. It’s in the middle of the bumper. That’s the one comfort on my frequent stops for premium gas.
Good design is rarely recognized. Thank you, Mr. Moylan.
I showed that arrow to my mother and it was like I was Prometheus giving mortals fire. She, a woman not easily impressed, was impressed.
I’ve had similar reactions to telling people to hit the directional stick in the direction you’re going to turn the wheel to make the turn. I had always assumed that was common sense.
Hopefully you weren’t instructing Americans driving German lux brands. Those cars sold in the US do not have blinkers – to the best of my knowledge.
They do, but it a surcharge of $100 is assessed every time it is engaged.
I felt the same way when I found out.
Having currently 5 vehicles in the fleet, having that little arrow by the fuel gauge is a wonderful thing. Now I only have to remember where in each vehicle the windshield wiper controls are!