<FONT face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=black size=3>For those individuals concerned about child saftety, it may be of interest to you that Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in the USA do NOT have childproof rear door locks. </FONT></P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>


<FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>My inquiry of dealers in the area indicated that virtually all of the competing manufacturers do have childproof rear door locks.f</FONT></P>


I wish I had known this before I purchased my 2003 E320.</FONT></P>


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Is it because Mercedes has an automatic locking system? All doors lock when reaching 9mph or by pressing the lock button and the rear doors can only be unlocked when driver side door is opened or by pressing the unlock button.

 

Even after the doors are locked on a Mercedes, a child can pull up the button, pull the latch handle and open the door while the car is moving. Childproof rear door locks would prevent a child from being able to do this.

 

How could the button be pulled up once the doors are locked? </P>

 

All the child has to do is pull up on the button and then pull on the door latch handle. </P>


Please see the following letter from Mercedes Benz in which they admit that this is the case:</P>


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The whole button (lock stem) goes "inside" the door once doors are locked. So my question is, how could anyone pull it up? </P>


Although some models like the W202 C-class, thestem doesn't go all the way down when doors are locked, but thestems for the rear doors can't be pulled up, only the front ones, and only drive sidestem unlock all doors</P>


All the rear doors can only be unlocked by opening the driver's door or using the central locking button on the dash</P>

 

On current models the top of the stem sticks out even when the door is locked. It is easy to pull it up.</P>


My 9 year old son was able to pull it up and open the door while the car was moving.</P>

 

ohok.. sorry about that....guess its another "cost-saving" stuff Mercedes did "quietly".