No More Gas Cap?

[Sprucegagt]

Looks like Ford is making plans to get rid of its fuel caps. Discuss.

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articleArchive/aug2006/fordgascaps.php

[gaowners32]

more of a reason for women to leave a pump with the pump still attached to the car.

[lone_wolf025]

Its an interesting concept. I'm all for it but there is something about it that concerns me that I can't quite place my finger on....

[Ajaxus]

interesting, id have to use it tho to make a judgment on how i really feel about the new idea. personally i always check my side mirror while pulling away to make sure that i did put the cap on and close the fuel door completely just as an extra precaution. it's not even that hard to get into the habit of doing this small check.

[coupe]

Seems like a waiste of energy and time to do something like this.

[jackal2000]

Seems like a waiste of energy and time to do something like this.
exactly. if u cant remember to put ur gas cap back on then you shouldnt be driving. my .02

[lone_wolf025]

I think it has more to do with a emissions and technical problems than it does with remembering to put the cap back.

[Sprucegagt]

Seems like a waiste of energy and time to do something like this.

That's like saying an automatic door opener is a waste of time and energy.

[coupe]

That is also a waiste of time and energy.

[jackal2000]

I think it has more to do with a emissions and technical problems than it does with remembering to put the cap back.
if it was that big of a problem i think it woulda been fixed years ago.

[Sprucegagt]

That is also a waiste of time and energy.

So your new house won't have a garage door opener? Also, your spelling is a WASTE of time and energy.

[cavingman]

It kind of is a big problem. I'd say a little over half of the cars that come in to any of the shops I've worked in for SES lights have been loose and/or defective gas caps. Thats about 15 minutes wasted per car. Hurts when your flat-rate because you dont get paid for that :\

[Warthog]

about time.

[coupe]

So your new house won't have a garage door opener? Also, your spelling is a WASTE of time and energy.


Actually it dosent have garage door openers and im not installing any since im gonna be tearing it down and rebuilding a bigger one anyway, so yes it would be a waiste of time and energy. It actually makes sense to have those though when compared to no gas caps or automatic doors when entering a grocery store, i can understand haveing them when leaving however.

Who cares about my spelling, you know what i said and meant.

[coupe]

It kind of is a big problem. I'd say a little over half of the cars that come in to any of the shops I've worked in for SES lights have been loose and/or defective gas caps. Thats about 15 minutes wasted per car. Hurts when your flat-rate because you dont get paid for that :\

I dont understand, you dont get paid to put in a new gas cap or just tighten one? Every shop i know of charges for every little thing they can.

[Phuxed]

lockout/anti-siphon feature? I would hope so, but you never know. Locking gas caps FTW!

[archillasvante]

:hammer:


more of a reason for women to leave a pump with the pump still attached to the car.

[Sprucegagt]

Actually it dosent have garage door openers and im not installing any since im gonna be tearing it down and rebuilding a bigger one anyway, so yes it would be a waiste of time and energy. It actually makes sense to have those though when compared to no gas caps or automatic doors when entering a grocery store, i can understand haveing them when leaving however.

Who cares about my spelling, you know what i said and meant.

So you can understand being lazy and not wanting to get out of your car to close the garage door, but can't understand why automatic door openers or this new gas filler are not a waste of energy?

Coupe, it's called convenience. If it makes things easier to get a job done then why not have it.

[normal]

To me it seem like a good way to ensure expensive repairs..you lose a gas cap on it gets a leak you get one for like $5...what happens when the flap breaks or the new type...sounds like it will be more expensive, plus to ensure there are no air leaks...to me it sounds like recalls and stupid expensive repair bills waiting to happen..but maybe ill be wrong and it will be the best thing since sliced bread....

[digitalballz]

I dont understand, you dont get paid to put in a new gas cap or just tighten one? Every shop i know of charges for every little thing they can.


When getting paid flat rate you get paid by the job. If the job pays 4.6 hours you get 4.6 hours if it takes you 2 hours or 10 hours. You dont get paid to replace a gas cap. The shop does just not you! I know all about the flat rate deal.

[bigbenSC]

I think it's a great idea, eventually it will be cheaper to maintain because there will most likely be fewer parts in the filler assembly.

[Sleepwalkr]

"It eliminates the inconvenience of forgetting to put your gas cap back on after refueling."

Inconvenience?? C'mon..... Are we really getting that stupid & lazy? Wait, don't answer that.

Its a cool idea.... but not for that reason.

[caraudiodave]

as asked earlier, wouldnt syphoning or vandalism be more prevalent? i have a locking gas cap now because of gas prices, and i know some ghetto people would be stealing my gas if they could. and that whole sugar in the gas tank thing...this would only make sense if there were still a gas door that needed to be popped from the inside.

[RedGrandTour]

Is that all Ford can think of at the moment? :wtf :nono: :banghead

[Sprucegagt]

as asked earlier, wouldnt syphoning or vandalism be more prevalent? i have a locking gas cap now because of gas prices, and i know some ghetto people would be stealing my gas if they could. and that whole sugar in the gas tank thing...this would only make sense if there were still a gas door that needed to be popped from the inside.

Considering non of us here have used it in person, how would we know? Wait for it to come out and see for your self.

[coupe]

"It eliminates the inconvenience of forgetting to put your gas cap back on after refueling."

Inconvenience?? C'mon..... Are we really getting that stupid & lazy? Wait, don't answer that.

Its a cool idea.... but not for that reason.


Thats what im sayin, pure lazy.

It takes ALOT more energy and time to open and close a garage door manually when compared to screwing your gas cap back in when your done fueling. I mean i gotta lift them big ass heavy doors, get in the car, back it out, get back outta the car, shut the big ass heavy doors, walk out the side door, lock the side door and FINALLY get back in the car to leave. Your comparing THAT to twisting a gas cap a few times?
Same thing as auto doors at grocery stores. I can understand haveing them on the exit doors becuase when your leaving you probably have alot of stuff your carrying and it would be very convenient for the doors to automaticaly open and i wouldnt consider that lazy. Having them for the enterance i would consider lazy becuase your most likely not carrying anything. I dont know about you guys but i can push a door open while walking at a fast pace and not slow down one bit.

[Ajaxus]

anybody else notice how alot of the "conveniences" on cars tend to become "inconvenient" again over time? like the key fob..makes unlocking all the doors at once no longer a hassel. but then either the batteries die or it just stops working completely and you end up having to buy a new one.

gas caps as they are are quite simple and convenient, but then they develop issues and don't seal correctly. and few cars sell the caps without a strap holding them to the car, so saying you can leave it behind is pure and utter bs.

these new gas tank covers may work at first, but i want to see how they're doing a few years down the road after alot of fill-ups. will they wear out, will gas fumes leak, will the cover eventually deteriorate. what issues does ford foresee for this new modification. it sounds convenient at first but ill put money down that in the long run it will develop it's own set of issues.

[Sprucegagt]

If you want to confuse convenience with lazy be my guest. But if your looking for a purpose to justify the invention, then here is one. Check Engine Lights. If you accidentally forget to tighten or replace the cap, you get one. Now what would be better, having to deal with a Check Engine Light because you forgot your gas cap or just pump your gas and not have worry about it since there is no cap?

Now for some people it may not be big deal to get a Check Engine Light fixed, but for most people they see it as an expensive fix and it usually is given most places charge an hour labor just to hook up the scanner.

[Ajaxus]

andy, read my post and let me know what you think of those ideas. been kicking them around a bit lately, my argument i had ready last night as even better tho :(

[normal]

yeah but the thing with check engine lights is if you drive down to auto zone or advanced or any other car parts store, and ask them to read it, they will for free, and then they will even look up what possible causes for the code are, you should know as soon as they say its an evap code to check the gas cap, if you start taking it to the dealer for every check engine code, your gonna get screwed, but the other places will do it for free, and when it comes to an evap code, i am willing to pay a couple bucks for a new gas cap and see if it works, if not no big loss.

[Sprucegagt]

yeah but the thing with check engine lights is if you drive down to auto zone or advanced or any other car parts store, and ask them to read it, they will for free, and then they will even look up what possible causes for the code are, you should know as soon as they say its an evap code to check the gas cap, if you start taking it to the dealer for every check engine code, your gonna get screwed, but the other places will do it for free, and when it comes to an evap code, i am willing to pay a couple bucks for a new gas cap and see if it works, if not no big loss.

You obviously didn't read this. Most people don't know you can go to Autozone or Advance and get the light cleared. That is if one is near you. Now, most people here might know that but people in general don't. Thus \/

Now for some people it may not be big deal to get a Check Engine Light fixed, but for most people they see it as an expensive fix and it usually is given most places charge an hour labor just to hook up the scanner.

[Sprucegagt]

anybody else notice how alot of the "conveniences" on cars tend to become "inconvenient" again over time? like the key fob..makes unlocking all the doors at once no longer a hassel. but then either the batteries die or it just stops working completely and you end up having to buy a new one.

gas caps as they are are quite simple and convenient, but then they develop issues and don't seal correctly. and few cars sell the caps without a strap holding them to the car, so saying you can leave it behind is pure and utter bs.

these new gas tank covers may work at first, but i want to see how they're doing a few years down the road after alot of fill-ups. will they wear out, will gas fumes leak, will the cover eventually deteriorate. what issues does ford foresee for this new modification. it sounds convenient at first but ill put money down that in the long run it will develop it's own set of issues.

Unfortunately your arguement doesn't hold water AJ. All parts fail over time. They aren't made to literally last forever. Like you said "gas caps as they are are quite simple and convenient, but then they develop issues and don't seal correctly." Then you add "these new gas tank covers may work at first, but i want to see how they're doing a few years down the road after alot of fill-ups. will they wear out, will gas fumes leak, will the cover eventually deteriorate." Considering that gas caps can fail over time why argue that these covers won't do a better job. Especially since no one has messed with it yet.

[Ajaxus]

well then it would make for an interesting comparison at how fast these wear out vs. the old gas caps. i just want to see some durability ratings on these first because if they're going to create the same error lights and other problems the caps have but only sooner, i don't really think it's any more of a convenience.

[Sprucegagt]

well then it would make for an interesting comparison at how fast these wear out vs. the old gas caps. i just want to see some durability ratings on these first because if they're going to create the same error lights and other problems the caps have but only sooner, i don't really think it's any more of a convenience.

Agreed.

[cavingman]

I dont understand, you dont get paid to put in a new gas cap or just tighten one? Every shop i know of charges for every little thing they can.

yea like digitalballs said, the shop may be getting paid, but unless you find something wrong that will make them a profit, it's up to them if you get any of that money :\

[cmtapanes]

Ten years ago I had a 1983 Ford Ranger and I had a gas cap just like the one they will be fitting on the new models for FORD. When I got the truck came with the cap but I believe that was replace by the previous owner. I didn't had any problems with the cap. Actualy I thought it was kind of cool and easy to use.

[Grand_Damn]

but here in Oregon, you are not allowed to pump your own gas....and a bunch of people dont know how to....i had to pump a couple of my friends gas for them when we went up to Washington.

and



This has been a standard feature on Renault Megane since 2003, and with other Renault models too, I guess. And what a great feature it is - makes filling up faster and cleaner.

For the person who wondered about the watertight seal: There is a gas tank door that is watertight enough, just like in current cars. The flap is where the gas cap used to be.

The gas tank door is connected to the car's central locks so it's locked whenever other doors are. No need to worry about gas theft.

[Ajaxus]

did not know you can't pump your own gas in oregon, interesting.

[coupe]

^^ Me either, i would be weirded out by having someone pump my gas.

[2002GT]

is it really a hard concept to pump your own gas? you left the state and your friends didnt know how to pump gas, HAHAHHAH


good idea.

according to everyone else tho we mine as well get rid of everything that is a convience to us. hell throw away calculators and break out the old pencil and paper. take away computers, use a typewriter, etc.................. :rolleyes: