1995 Cirrus with stuck back doors and child locks
 

Hey guys, got a question I'm hoping can be resolved here, or I'm relegated to just accepting this as a "buyer beware" problem.

I just bought a 1995 Cirrus last night, knowing it had some problems. It's had quite a bit of engine work done, along with tires, brakes, all that good stuff, to the tune of $2000. However, this one hasn't gotten me any good Google results, so I'm hoping someone here can help with this one.

The car has the standard 4 doors to it, power windows and locks, with the child safety lock feature to the back doors. I don't care about the safety features, as this is only going to be a "go to work, come back from work" type of car, and an emergency car for when the wife's car is in the shop. I understand that child safety locks means the doors simply cannot be opened from the inside when engaged, only from the outside; here's the problem with that. The outside door handles don't seem to work. I managed to get the trim and speaker panel removed from the driver's side, but so far I haven't been able to find a way to bypass or flip the safety lock.

I had my wife pulling on the handle from the outside so I could see what was going on, and it looks like I'd need a new door handle. However, money is very much a limiting factor. I don't really care if the outside handles don't work, I consider it a bit of theft deterrent.

I need to figure out a way to do one of two things. Either number one, figure out how to deactivate the switch from inside the door, with limited tools or number two, remove the door so that I can get everything put back to normal. Feel free to ask any clarifying questions, and I'll try to answer as quickly as I can. Thanks for any help you can offer in advance.

Maybe you're looking at this too hard. Just move the little "knob" up to disengage the child safety lock.

Perhaps I'm not understanding correctly, given that i for whatever reason can't view the picture you linked. Are you referring to the lever found on the edge of the door that you Polk out push up or down to activate it in the first pace? If that's so, then unfortunately i am unable to access this at all at this point, add the door will not open from either inside or outside. Is it possible to re upload the picture so that i can see what you're taking about? Thanks for the reply

I meant to say"pull or push"

Okay, update on the door situation:

I managed to get the driver's side door removed entirely, after getting frustrated and ripping the weather seal right off part of the frame (the part of the frame closest to the back of the car). It was there that I noticed the location of the child lock, which turned out to be not on the EDGE of the door, but on the interior, blocked from access by said weather stripping.

Interesting thing: the lock wasn't engaged, not on either side. So, this brings me to a different angle of attack on this issue. I've removed the exterior handles so as to study the mechanism behind how they actually open the door (discovered that the bracket responsible for pushing the release bar down snapped in half) and have found that if I roll the window down, reach in and push hard on the lever while absolutely yanking on the door, I can get it to open. The actual lock mechanism, however, tends to stick even after adding a generous amount of lubricant to the inner workings.

This is destined to be only a work car, but I do need my back doors on both sides to open because the place where I work does random vehicle inspections upon entering and exiting the property, to check for drugs, alcohol or weapons, in addition to make sure nobody is stealing expensive stuff. They're rather understanding, but I'd like to make their job easier for them; not to mention making the occasional grocery run and running out of trunk room!

I can find replacement handles locally no problem, but why would the lock mechanism itself continue to get stuck? Is the door perhaps misaligned? Might a "cable" or bar be twisted the wrong way? Or would I be better off buying a new door? If that's the case I would have to buy two, as I'm using one as a "guinea pig" to figure out how to fix this issue.

And btw @cirrus98 I am unable to view pictures probably because I'm a new member and probably don't have 1) enough posts or 2) haven't been a member long enough; if you like, you can send me pictures of your solutions to dawg2255792 @ gmail dot com. Thanks for any help.