I had a 2006 4-Runner that I drove for ten years. Loved it. With the exception of the chapter on the automatic heating-cooling system, the owners manual was straight forward and helpful. Then I foolishly traded for a 2017 Outback. Nothing wrong with the Outback but the owners manual gives me a headache. Do will really need an audio system that takes up 60 or so pages in the owners manual? Do they really think we can remember that amount of detail, while dodging traffic?
Flew into Ft. Lauderdale this morning and picked up a rental car, a 2018 Ford Escape. A word to the wise about Lauderdale. Make sure you have adjusted all your mirrors and understand how the radio, cruise control, etc work before you exit the rental car parking deck because you exit the deck into 65-70 mph traffic. That is no time to realize there is a learning curve.
The current issue is the rear door locks. We discovered at dinner tonight, that when you reach your destination, the rear seat passengers were not able to exit the back seat because the rear doors could only be unlocked from the outside. We tried everything. I tried to unlock the doors from the switch on the driver's door. I tried to unlock them with the key fob. Each time it made the unlock click sound but the doors still could not be opened by the rear passengers. I took a deep breath and attempted to read the section on door locks in the manual. Nothing I read addressed the problem. So what happens in an accident, when the rear passengers are unable to exit the vehicle. Either this particular vehicle has a serious safety flaw or the sytem is so overly complicated, that the average person can't figure out the fix from reading the owners manual. What are the chances that when I turn the car in and tell them about it, anything will be done.

Look on the side edge (below the latch mechanism) of the door when it's open. There's a possibility that the switch for "child safety" is in the safe position. It's a sliding switch if I remember correctly.

The door lock issue sounds like child locks, usually there's a lever or little twist lock on the edge of the back seat doors next to the latch (it's on the part of the door you can't see with the door closed).

Most cars have come with this feature for a while but most people aren't aware it's there.

Yep. Child safety locks. It's to prevent your little kid from inadvertently opening the car door and tumbling out.

There are a lot of newfangled accessories and doohickeys on cars these days, but these aren't one of them. They've been prevalent for several decades now. However, if you don't have kids, you've probably never noticed them before, and had no reason to ever engage them.

Nearly all cars have a switch or other mechanism on the rear doors, near the latch, to engage/disengage them.

Here's how to turn them off in a 2018 Ford Escape, from the owner's manual:

quote:

Child Safety Locks

When these locks are set, the rear doors cannot be opened from the inside.



The childproof locks are located on the rear edge of each rear door and must be set separately for each door.

Left-Hand Side
Turn counterclockwise to lock and clockwise to unlock.

Right-Hand Side
Turn clockwise to lock and counterclockwise to unlock.

Open the back doors and look around the lock mechanism on the edge of the door. There should something marked "child safety" or something like that. Slide the lever or button to the other side.

A buddy who is 79 yoa just got a new Subaru Outback. His newest car to date is a 1990 Mercedes Benz and a mess of 1970-1990's Ford pickups on the Ranch.

I have a 2017 Chevrolet and a 2010 Honda, the Wife has a 2017 Honda. I had minimal issues figuring out how to set the radio, the clock, cruise control, locks, etc. Fairly intuitive.

But the Outback is different. It IS for some reason not at all intuitive and one does need the owners manual.

I surely like most of the modern "nannies" ,but I agree that they could be made easier to understand.

Yep, as others have said, either a child lock or this:

I prefer the Pre-Lock Fords.

So if the vehicle catches fire, you are supposed run around the burning vehicle, then access a keyhole and THEN you can open the door and free the humans trapped in the backseat?

Sound perfectly reasonable.


On edit: Since I haven't seen a keyhole on a rear door in forever, did - "the rear doors could only be unlocked from the outside" - really mean "opened" from the outside?
(I still think an '03 Toyota is ahead of the game here)

You don't want kids to open the back doors in the event of a fire. That would let in more oxygen.

Child safety locks??

I thought those were to keep Otis from getting away when Barney is giving him a lift to the jail.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
Child safety locks??

I thought those were to keep Otis from getting away when Barney is giving him a lift to the jail.

Nope. They're to prevent dumbass kids from opening their doors and falling out of moving vehicles--something I saw in person a couple of times while working at a school.

Here's a news article about a 72-year-old who accidentally locked himself in his 2007 Corvette and suffocated before he could be rescued:

http://www.nydailynews.com/new...ar-article-1.2253934

These stupid things have been around for years. They're on my 2001 Suburban. Most people are unaware that their vehicle has the "feature". Incredibly, they aren't government mandated. Auto makers decided people would appreciate having them.

Somehow, when I was a wee tad, I knew it was a bad idea to open the door of a moving vehicle. I also didn't have a child safety seat or wear a helmet and pads to bed or any of that type of stuff. Survival of the fittest was the name of the game.

Our newer Chevy truck had a warning to check the backseat before leaving the vehicle, babies I guess. What is it coming to where we need a reminder to not forget the newborn?

It was funny for a while, I was able to disable it.

Yeah. If the child lock is engaged, you can only open the door from outside.

I think my ‘01 Oldsmobile had this so it’s been around. I think my ‘00 Buick had them too.

Sounds like your rental got mixed up and you got an unEscape!

Child safety locks have been in vehicles since early 00's I think and that's almost definitely what this is.

And good news - your 2006 4Runner had this too - see page 24 (only 4 pages off from where it's described for a 2018 Escape):

Overly complicated child prisoner and abduction system controls

that car is possessed

just leave it on a street corner and burn it to the ground,

be sure to dance around the flames with your underwear on your head and speaking in tongues to keep the spirits happy,,


just sayin

quote:

Originally posted by KMitch200:
So if the vehicle catches fire, you are supposed run around the burning vehicle, then access a keyhole and THEN you can open the door and free the humans trapped in the backseat?

Sound perfectly reasonable.


On edit: Since I haven't seen a keyhole on a rear door in forever, did - "the rear doors could only be unlocked from the outside" - really mean "opened" from the outside?
(I still think an '03 Toyota is ahead of the game here)

No, you set them to the "open from the inside" position and it stays that way. And honestly, how many times have you been trapped in a burning car? Never?

These things are all pretty standard for cars made in the last five years.

They are more complicated than a twenty year-old car, but not abnormal for current cars.