It has happened, and it will happen again. Children are curious and they wonder what that handle on the inside of the door is, and some children may even pull it, resulting in the door opening. There’s not much you can do from the driver’s seat to avoid it, if your child isn’t listening, or they may be acting in complete ninja mode. That is unless you have the child locks set to LOCK in order to avoid this.

Setting the child locks will only lock the rear doors. They will not open from the inside (ie. by a curious child) but will still open as per normal from the outside.

child locks

Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat, Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Volkswagen

There are several different ways to set the child locks, depending on the manufacturer. For Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat, Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Volkswagen’s, you must use your key (the same one you put in the ignition) to put the locks on. Open a rear door and along the edge, you’ll see a symbol that looks likes either a child or a padlock. Next to that, there will be a slot for you to insert the key. Turn the key towards the inside of the car. It’s always a good idea to test it and make sure!

Toyota, Ford, Lincoln

For Toyota’s, Ford’s, Lincoln’s,  and some other manufacturers, again on the rear door, there will be a little switch that you slide down or slide across to set the locks. There is usually a sticker on the door to tell you which direction is lock or unlock.

Some newer models of vehicles may have an electronic switch on the inside of the cabin. This may be next to the rest of the door lock controls or somewhere on the center console. Consult your owners manual or contact us for more information on these.

Check out the video below for a demonstration on a Volkswagen.

 

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