'Where Are You? 1995?": Gen Z Honda Civic Driver Tries to Get Gas from Reagan-Era Pump. Then a Worker Has to Intervene

"Is this a joke?"

Gen Z Driver Tries to Get Gas

Photo by: TikTok

Madeleine Wagner

By: Madeleine Wagner

Nov 20, 2025 at 10:00am ET

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We’ve all been there—the moment when technology from a different era seems impenetrably confusing. Whether it’s figuring out how to manage a manual transmission, checking oil levels, or even navigating ancient gas stations, there always seems to be a learning curve when it comes to new tasks.

Recently, Retiredhotcheetogirly Lopez (@retiredhotcheetogirly), a Gen Z soldier, proved that point with a TikTok about her encounter with a vintage gas pump in Tampa, Florida. Captioned, "I was thoroughly confused," the video drew views from 831,100 people who were curious about what could possibly be so perplexing about the process of getting gas.

Over on-screen text that says, "Gen Z vs. old gas pump," Lopez explains her predicament: "I’m trying to pump gas." The view then swings from her to the pump to show what she means: "But the gas—like, this is not a button."

The camera zooms in on the pump, revealing that the big yellow square with the octane rating is just that. It’s not like a modern touchscreen interface, as she illustrates by repeatedly tapping it with no results.

"Is this pump on?" she asks, exasperated. She waves her hand in front of it, like it might have a motion sensor, and says, "I’m so confused right now."

Next, she tries again to pump gas, turning toward her Honda Civic that already has the nozzle in the fuel filler port and giving the handle an ineffectual little squeeze.

Standing there bewildered, she asks, "Is this a joke?"

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Gas Gaffe: Recruit Help!

Finally, she asks, "Can somebody help me?"

Lopez heads inside and returns to her car with an employee in tow. He’s not allowed to pump the gas for her, he explains, but he can walk her through the steps.

He makes sure she’s approved to get gas. Then, as he’s showing her what she needs to do, he gives a little commentary. "These things were built like when Reagan was in office," he says, and gets a little laugh from her. Then he points out the real issue: she needs to flip up the cradle that the nozzle rests in when it’s not in use.

He’s diplomatic about it, though: "I see people out here all the time, pushing this," he says, referring to the yellow square, as tapping is heard off-camera.

She weakly laughs. "Wow. OK, so I’m just an idiot."

Lift the Lever, Lopez

Reading through the user comments, it’s as if everyone is suddenly a laughingly frustrated parent.

"Who else was hollering LIFT IT UP," type-shouts KCC (@kcc_5).

Another user reflects on feeling a little wiser: "As a millennial, I’ve never felt as old as I do at this moment," says Lindsey Price (@lprice1989).

While dblblanco916 (@dblblanco916) couldn't care less about the user interface (or lack thereof), asking, "$2.69 a gallon, where are you 1995?"

And one person does recognize the ancientness of the tech, "To be fair, I haven’t seen one like that in a decade," chimes in Fairygothmother (@fairygothmotherlily).

When Tech Gets Old

In a world that’s largely touch-screen, clunky levers, triggers, and moving mechanical parts can seem pretty counterintuitive, even if they were considered state-of-the-art when they were designed.

This kind of begs the question: How long are gas pumps viable? The answer is surprising. It’s only 15–20 years, according to the tank specialists CommTank. However, that is just an average. Much depends on a variety of conditions, including the pump model, the amount of regular use it gets, and the conditions it is placed in.

Reddit seems to think that the change from the lever-style pumps to the press-button pumps was made in order to remove "human error." A little more research suggested that newer pumps have more safety features in place, since gasoline is a highly flammable liquid.

To stay safe at the pump, turn off your engine, don’t smoke, put down your cell phone, and touch a metal part of the vehicle before handling the nozzle to discharge any built-up static electricity. You don’t want to cause a flash fire at the gas pump.

What do you think?

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Comments

That’d be even more embarrassing than being stumped by a Reagan-era gas pump.

Motor1 reached out to Lopez via email. We’ll update this if she gets back to us.

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