Reading about all these door problems and adding an inside rear opener

[SiennaDriver]

Seeing the surge of comments on broken back doors, is there any reason not to rig something up to the latch and make small hole in the rear door inner panel to run a cable with a handle or something at the end that'll unlatch the door?

Is there a reason it was designed not to open from the inside? Seems safer if there was an inside latch from the getgo.

[pbarnrob]

Having dealt with parts of this one before (I made a metal handle after buying a new plastic handle online) - I'm sure this is a safety concern.

If you have small children in the van, you _don't_ want them crawling back there and opening the hatch on the freeway! So production isn't going to make that possible, and if you ever sell it to a parent, you shouldn't!

Same reason they put the little childproof toggle on the side doors (though if, say, an enthusiastic teenager has destroyed the outside handle, and that gets brushed against and latched, it's gonna be tricky to get that door open, even with tools!) Been there, too.

All that said, it might be worth putting a little cable loop behind a little (childproof?) door or sub-panel on the rear panel. Look at some newer sedan trunks, and how they've made it possible to get out of the trunk... (Kidnap novels come to mind!)

[The Wheel]

I just replaced my rear hatch handle after the plastic handle broke for the second time. Amazon sells one made of metal for around $25 made by Dorman. Perfect fit and should last forever..