I have MINI connected with nav, so my fuel gauge is a series of lights underneath the video screen. On the left of the lights is a little picture of a fuel tank. It's usually orange, but when the fuel level gets to reserve (below two "marks") it turns red and starts alerting in the tach, etc.

but I just noticed that next to that little gas tank icon, there's a tiny little arrow pointing to the left. I assume it's to remind you that the fuel tank door is on the driver's side. A helpful little tip that was also there in my '03 MCS.

But, I've noticed it doesn't light up and it's hard to see. I thought maybe it would only light up when the fuel level got to reserve, but it doesn't even light up then.

why have the little arrow there, if you can't see it?

has anyone else noticed this? Does yours light up?

 

One hopes that you would be able to remember the location of the fuel tank door from one week to the next. As a helpful hint, if you have a non-turbo MINI with a single tail pipe, the fuel tank door is on the side opposite the tail pipe.

 

Well yes, hopefully one can remember which side to fill up on. But why even put the marker there then? just seems odd to have this little thing that looks like it should light up, not light up.

And I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic, but are mini fuel doors not all on the driver's side? that's certainly simpler than going opposite the tailpipe.

 

Don't know about British RHD MINIs, which have the driver on the right side. I do know that the extra door on the RHD Clubman is still on the right side just like the US LHD Clubman.

I have observed that the Fiat 500 MINI-clone is built in mirror image. That is, the tailpipe is on the left and the fuel filler is on the right. But of course for the US the driver is on the left.

Click and Clack, the car guys on NPR, had a discussion on this subject some time ago. With very few exceptions, cars with a single tailpipe sold in the US have the fuel door on one side and the tailpipe on the other.

More than you really wanted to know.

 

Ha, that's actually interesting trivia. Thanks! (I just thought you were trying to say "if you want to know where your fuel filler door is, look for the tailpipe and then go to the opposite side" as a bit of tongue-in-cheek snark)

 

I think that little pictogram is pretty much standard on all cars, no?

 

Probably. I just don't understand why the gas tank portion of the icon lights up, but the arrow doesn't. That's all I was getting at.