I have a 2001 Honda Civic and there are “safety windows” in the back seat on both sides. I’m assuming they do this for kid safety so they don’t jump out the window, but I’m not planning on having kids and my passengers in the back are annoyed their windows don’t roll down. Is there anyway I can bypass the window electronic system to make the windows roll down all the way instead of their current way which leaves a 1/3 of the window still up?
In a lot of small cars there isn’t room in the door panel to store the entire window, due to the cutout for the rear wheel well. So you may be physically unable to roll them down all the way.
Most likely not. Generally those things are built (i.e. the window track only goes down so far) so that they can’t go down any farther. It 'tis incredibly annoying, I will agree.
I doubt there is any electronic block to prevent the windows from rolling down further, it’s most likely a physical limitation of the window track. Notice that most rear doors are much narrower (especially at the bottom) due to the way the car is designed.
As others have said, there’s no room for the glass to go.
Oh so all this time I thought some car manufacturer was trying to keep me safe by screwing with my windows. So I see that the door frame is too small. Thanks. So other larger cars still let the back windows roll all the way down?
Maybe in a stretch limo. I think most cars are built this way.
As people have rightly mentioned, this is a perfect example of taking something away being disguised as a feature. Really, quite a clever ploy by the automotive industry. The majority of the public believes that their back window does not roll all the way down because they are “safety” windows, but in reality, the auto industry wanted to decrease the size of the door, thus decreasing the volume of the door cavity. All this in a effort to make more compact/economical/cheaper cars. They then advertised it as a feature so that people wouldn’t get upset because it really is quite an annoyance if you ever travel in the back seat of a modern car.
Not sure what all cars come with fully-functional rear windows. I would hope that the large american cars still do (Cadillac, Buick, etc), but am not sure. It would certianly be a feature I would look for when purchasing a car as my dog does not appreciate these half-functioning windows!
My friend’s Integra (92) had back windows that only went down half way. What’s strange is that the door was quite normal (not shaped around the rear wheel well). I believe this was truely a safety feature (at the time).
My Pontiac Bonneville (1988) I think also had this feature but I don’t remember.
My current Toyota Matrix does not have this feature. About 90% of the rear windows go down (only a small slip of window is visible along the edge of the door). It’s strange because my Matrix doors are shaped around the rear wheel well so I’d imagine there would be a physical problem of taking the entire window into the door.
Two things:
One, on my father’s oldest car-- I don’t even remember the make-- the windows did go down all the way. Unfortunately, one summer I managed to get the window misaligned and stuck in its slot. :smack:
Secondly, if that extra space prevents childrens’/dogs’/Hi Opal’s limbs from being out the door, I think it’s worth the minor inconvenience.
Thanks! 
Yep. The rear doors on my wife’s Honda Pilot has a part “cut out” for the rear wheels, but the door’s tall enough for the windows to roll all the way down.
My '97 Jetta isn’t any bigger than a Civic, but my back windows roll down all the way.
That’s because VW split the rear windows. The fixed rear third of the window doesn’t do anything, and the front part that rolls down can go all the way.
Yeah, but I (and I’m sure others as well) don’t have children/dogs/or Opal’s limbs to worry about, and would like to be able to roll the freakin’ back window all the way down once in a while. Why not make it like the “Child Safety Locks” on cars?
I have a '97 Buick LeSabre, the back windows roll down about halfway.
My previous car was an 82 Olds Delta 88, the windows rolled down about 2/3 of the way IIRC.
My first car was a '76 Buick Electra, the rear windows rolled down the entire way.
I can’t check right now, but I seem to recall that my '02 PT Cruiser has a switch on both rear doors, that allows you to select if you want the windows to go all the way down, or partway for safety (at least, I am 95% sure that is what they are for. The only other option would be that they keep the window from going up/down at all, and we have a switch on the dash that keeps the rear controls from working, so I don’t see the sense to that.).
Like some others have mentioned, there is a cutout in the door around the rear wheel, but the section of the window that goes up and down does not extent to that cutout, so there is certainly room for it to move fully.
Anybody have any actual numbers for injuries caused by children crawling out of rear windows?
I don’t think you’ll find any, since a child who gets injured by crawling out of a rear window will be categorized as “Child not properly restrained in a car seat or safety harness.”
This isn’t a child-safety thing, it’s a the-door-won’t-let-the-window-go-any-further thing.
If I am not mistaken (as I have never been in the back seat), my 2001 Hyundai Accent 4-door operates like the Jetta…and it is smaller than the Civic!
I HATE back windows that don’t go down all the way.