Look at your fuel gauge and you will usually see a small fuel pump icon next to the needle. Beside that pump there is often a little triangle or arrow. That arrow is there for one simple reason. It points to the side of the car where your fuel filler flap is. Arrow pointing left means the filler is on the left side of the car. Arrow pointing right means it is on the right.
Once you know this, it changes those awkward forecourt moments. If you are in a rental, a courtesy car, or even just jumping into your partner’s car, you no longer need to guess which side to pull up on. A quick glance at the gauge before you reach the pumps tells you exactly where the filler is. No more stretching the hose around the back bumper, no more blocking two pumps while you shuffle the car to the other side.
The feature has become common on modern cars over the past few decades. Some older models do not use an arrow, but they sneak in the same information in another way. On those cars the fuel pump symbol itself can be the clue, with the hose drawn on the same side as the filler. It is a quiet little piece of design that saves time, reduces stress, and cuts down on the dance of embarrassed drivers repositioning their cars.
For something so useful, the arrow is easy to miss. It sits there in front of you every day, hidden in plain sight. But once you learn what it means, you will find yourself using it automatically and wondering how you ever put up with guessing at the pumps.
