Here is a FYI on the child proof locks. I have a 97 EB, and for the past week my daughter has been complianing about being locked in the back seat! I told her that she must be flipping the lever when she got in! Well, low and behold.... she wasn't! It seems that every time you open the door from the inside it would cause the child lock to engage on the second operation of the handle. I pulled the door apart and found that the child proof lock is indeed connected to the interior door handle by a linkage and some springs. When you work the interior handle you can see the lock rotate upward and engage the child lock!
Now for the fix....... Remove the cover plate from around the child lock lever. Then take some PB Blaster or WD-40 or any other kind of penetrating lubricant and spray the linkage. This linkage is visible when you have the cover off the lock. Work the interior handle back and forth a few times and spray again for good measure. It works like a dream now! Hope this helps with the problem everyone seems to have with the child locks engaging by themselves!

 

mine engages by itself as well - I don't mind it makes the women in the back look dumb

 

I have the same problem on the left rear door. Will try out your fix. Thanks for the info.

 

My '98 rear door does the same thing. I will also try this fix.

 

on my 1997 Expy rear door - thanks for the help.

 

Hah! And my wife thought I was going senile!!!

Thanks for the tip!

 

Same thing happened when the family got into town. Sometimes it would lock and sometimes not. Good find!

Brad

 

Glad I could help out! These things have so many little quirks to them that sometimes if you poke around with them long enough you can actually find a fix for them!

 

Thanks, I'm going to go fix mine right now.

 

My rear hatch on my 98' expo also remain locked, untill I loaded it up with brake grease that was left over, but the child locks on my dodge stratus also ghost locked, I swear I thought the children were going that. I gotta apologize to them.

 

my 01, same darn thing.

so good to find a fix

 

hey my 99 has doone the same thing for awhile. Thought for sure it was the kids... will try the fix.

 

Fingers crossed, this seems to work! I'd been threatening to superglue it open since my kids are both teens but this is MUCH better. Thanks!

 

My husband and I both have 97 Expy's...we did think the kids were to blame for a long, long time. Glad to have a fix as the kids are getting older and more cranky about being stuck in the back. They've even rolled down the window to open the door from the outside handle but have almost taken a spill when parked on a hill.

 

Add my 99' to the list too. Thanks for the tip!