In my 2013 Prius Plugin, if the car is locked you can simply open the doors from the either front seat by pulling the handle. It unlocks that door and opens it. In the back seat, you need to manually unlock the door and then open it - pulling the handle won't unlock the door. I've played with the child locks, but they only make the problem worse by not allowing you to unlock the door at all from the inside. Is there any way to make the back seat doors work the same as the front seat doors? On my 2006 Prius it works normally.
child-safety locks? Manuals at 2013 Toyota Prius PHV Owners Manual and Warranty - Toyota Owners Page 135
Tried that. With the child safety locks engaged you can't open the back seat doors from the inside at all. With the child safety locks disengaged, you need to manually unlock the door instead of just pulling the handle like on the front seat doors. At least on my 2013 - on my 2006 the back seat doors work just like the front seat doors if the child safety locks are disengaged.
If you mean smart key unlock, this chart from the manual indicates you can change it from a menu item.
mine works the same as yours. that's not to say it can't be changed though, i just don't know if it can, and if so, how. i wonder if it's an extra safety feature on gen 3?
Nope, it's a mechanical function of the door latch system in the rear. They must be unlocked before attempting to open. It -is- a safety function. It's to stop someone from opening a rear door when you're about to take off. If you want lock them from the drivers seat or program the car to lock all doors when it's "shifted" out of "P". I guess they assume the front passenger is smart. Actually, the driver can watch the front passenger, but not so much the rear ones. The "child lock" part is for additional safety. The rear passengers can't "escape" until someone from the outside opens a door if that is engaged.
