Subaru Outback Forums banner

Passenger Window lock

16K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  Danver 
#1 ·
One of the things that really irritates me and my wife is that when you engage the child window lock, it also locks the passenger front window. This is the only car I've ever had that does this. Is this normal?

Tony
 
#2 ·
One of the things that really irritates me and my wife is that when you engage the child window lock, it also locks the passenger front window. This is the only car I've ever had that does this. Is this normal?
Apparently. I don't have my Outback yet, but this is what the manual has to say about it:

"When the lock switch is in the lock position, the rear passenger’s window switches at the driver side door and the passengers’ window switches cannot be operated."
 
#3 ·
Every car I owned with electric windows has behaved in this way. The window lock operates on all windows apart from the driver's one.
To name a few models:
Early '90's Vauxhall Carlton (in England)
Mid 90's Ford Mondeo (again England)
1999 Dodge Durango
Subaru Outback ('17) and Forester ('04)
Ford Escape ('07), Fusion ('12) and Taurus (2000).
So I do believe that this is common behavior.
 
#4 ·
I wish the lock switch only disabled the other switches and not the drivers switch. I would love to be able to control the windows without giving the kids in the back seat access to the controls for that short period of time.
 
#6 ·
As I said, this is the only car that has ever done this. On both my 04 Lincoln LS and 09 GMC Acadia, when the child window lock is engaged, only rear window buttons are disabled. The passenger side front remains fully functional, and all window the buttons on the driver side front remain fully functional. I don't understand why you would ever want to disable the central control buttons on the drivers door. The driver should always have control of the windows whether the child locks are engaged or not. And locking out the front passenger widows seems dumb. I know it irritates my wife.
 
#7 ·
Every car I've ever owned the lockout button locks out all but the controls on the drivers door.
 
#8 ·
I just about posted the same thing yesterday but then out of curiosity I checked the manual for my 2010 GMC Sierra and the window lockout does just disable the rear windows. I looked up an online manual for my previously owned 2010 Ford escape and that one locked out all passenger window controls, front and back. I'm pretty sure the older cars I have owned also disabled all of the windows with the lockout function but I can't say for sure. Seems like there may be quite a few where just the rear windows are disabled.


This gives me flashbacks to the '78 Pontiac Lemans 4-door that my parents bought new. Looked something like this one:





Back then it was common for the rear door windows to only go down about halfway as some sort of stupid safety regulation. Not on this car. The rear door windows were completely stationary and didn't roll down at all. None. No window crank handles or power window switches at all. The only thing that opened in the back were the two side wing windows behind the rear doors in the quarter panel sail area.



I suffered through two long hot summer vacation trips in the back seat of that non-air-conditioned car.


Found a picture of the inside of the rear door. No opening window. I never really thought about it before but just looking at the size and shape of the window there is no way it would fit down inside of the rear door.
 

Attachments

#9 ·
This gives me flashbacks to the '78 Pontiac Lemans 4-door that my parents bought new. Looked something like this one:



Back then it was common for the rear door windows to only go down about halfway as some sort of stupid safety regulation.
That wasn't a safety regulation, although it may have been marketed as a "safety feature". The shape of the doors would not allow the windows to fully roll down (as you noticed), and allowing only partial (or no) retraction was cheaper for at least a couple reasons. Make a virtue of necessity.

American cars in the '70s were basically awful. In retrospect, it's no wonder that Japanese and other imports basically captured the US car market in that and the following decade. They didn't steal it; it was handed to them on a silver platter.

Not on this car. The rear door windows were completely stationary and didn't roll down at all. None. No window crank handles or power window switches at all. The only thing that opened in the back were the two side wing windows behind the rear doors in the quarter panel sail area.

I suffered through two long hot summer vacation trips in the back seat of that non-air-conditioned car.

Found a picture of the inside of the rear door. No opening window. I never really thought about it before but just looking at the size and shape of the window there is no way it would fit down inside of the rear door.
I feel for you. I traveled some with my in-laws in their un-airconditioned '70s van with non-opening back windows. Ugh!
 
#11 ·
That wasn't a safety regulation, although it may have been marketed as a "safety feature". The shape of the doors would not allow the windows to fully roll down (as you noticed), and allowing only partial (or no) retraction was cheaper for at least a couple reasons. Make a virtue of necessity.

American cars in the '70s were basically awful. In retrospect, it's no wonder that Japanese and other imports basically captured the US car market in that and the following decade. They didn't steal it; it was handed to them on a silver platter.



I feel for you. I traveled some with my in-laws in their un-airconditioned '70s van with non-opening back windows. Ugh!
One reason I heard (read) was that it had to do with saving weight. They could have put a non-functioning vent type window in the rear door and had only part of it go down (like my 18 Outback) had they wanted to.
Interesting. I always thought it was something they were required to do. Knowing that that nonsense was something they chose to do and engineered that way is even more disturbing in some ways. There were a few bright spots in the later '70s/early '80s in US vehicles but yeah, they were mostly a huge disappointment. Unfortunately for me I hit driving age during that era so I get nostalgic about some of the lesser desirable cars in history. :|



Then again, I didn't have to get into a bidding war when I bought my '78 Caprice :wink2:

That would be an example of a non-functioning vent type window in the rear door to allow for the big window to roll down into the door. But you know, I can't honestly say I know for sure if the rear door windows roll all the way down or not, even though I have owned a handful of these sedans over the years.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top