The legend behind the arrow on fuel gauges has sadly passed away
Published on Dec 30, 2025 at 2:03 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Dec 30, 2025 at 2:03 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Claire Reid
Ford engineer James Moylan, best known for creating the small arrow on fuel gauges that indicates which side of the car the fuel door is on, has sadly passed away at the age of 80.
Moylan passed away on December 11 at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, according to a family obituary.
The former Ford employee, who was known as Jim, began working for the carmaker as a draftsman in the 1960s.
By the mid-1980s, he was working in the Plastics, Paint, and Vinyl division at Ford, when he had a great idea that would make filling up the tank a little easier for drivers.
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The engineer came up with the idea for the arrow on fuel gauges after getting caught in the rain
Like many great ideas, Moylan came up with the idea after finding himself in an annoying spot.
Prior to Moylan’s invention, drivers had to take a guess at which side of the car the fuel fill door was on.
And this is what happened to the man himself back in April 1986, when he found himself caught in a downpour while trying to fill up.
“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, so that was a bad start,” he told the Every Little Thing podcast in 2018.
“I pulled up to the gas pump on the wrong side, so I had to move it.”
Moylan explained that he got absolutely soaked by the rain, and was left so annoyed by the experience that when he headed back to the office, he didn’t even stop to take his coat off.
Instead, he sat down and began writing his draft proposal for the idea.
After submitting his idea, Moylan admitted that he ‘forgot completely about it’, but his suggestion didn’t go unnoticed.
About seven months later, interior design director RF Zokas got back to Moylan and said that an arrow would be added to the dashboard of Ford vehicles for the model year 1989.
And… well, the rest is history.
But if you’ve ever been in an unfamiliar car and figured out how to fuel it up thanks to the tiny arrow on the fuel gauge, you’ve got Jim Moylan to thank.
The feature has even cropped up on EVs
As you’d expect, Moylan’s family takes ‘great pride in his invention’, with his obituary revealing that they refer to the arrow on fuel gauges as the ‘Moylan Arrow’.
And while Moylan invented the feature with gas tanks in mind, it’s interesting to note that it’s still being used on EVs.
Many electric and hybrid vehicles have a similar indicator to let drivers know where the charging port is, meaning that no one needs to get caught in the rain while trying to fuel up ever again.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
