Fuel door arrow
The small arrow beside the fuel pump symbol on a fuel gauge. It points to the side of the vehicle the fuel filler door is on.
Dashboard symbols vary by manufacturer. The vehicle's owner's manual or a qualified mechanic can say what a light means for a particular vehicle.
How to read it
In Ford's words, from its F-150 manual: the arrow adjacent to the fuel pump symbol indicates on which side of your vehicle the fuel filler door is located.
Also searched as: fuel filler arrow, gas cap side indicator, gas tank side arrow, which side is my gas tank.
An earlier arrow?
Torchinsky argues that an earlier version exists. The 1976 Mercedes-Benz W123 had a small red low fuel warning light next to the fuel gauge, shaped like a triangular arrow pointing right, where its fuel filler is. He still credits Moylan's printed arrow as the one that spread.
More dashboard warning lights
Sources
- 2020 F-150 Owner's Manual, Ford Motor Company, Instrument Cluster: Warning Lamps and Indicators
- The Inventor Of The Little Arrow That Tells You What Side The Fuel Filler Is On Has Finally Been Found, Jason Torchinsky, 8 October 2018, Jalopnik
Last reviewed September 25, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research