Mk3 Berlingo L2 Crew 2013 - Door Handle Missing!

[EvoOffice]

I have recently purchased from Citroen a Berlingo L2 Crew van and have noticed there is no inside rear door handle.

This is a bit of a pain because if you have the crew seats up and you are in the back of the van and the rear door closes you are stuck! No way out!

You can't open the back doors, you can't climb over the back seats because of the cage and it's impossible to fold the rear seats allowing access to the side doors from the rear of the van.

Has anyone else had an issue with the Mark 3 Berlingo not having a door handle on the rear doors? And more importantly have you been trapped inside until some passer by lets you out!

To my opinion this could be potentially dangerous and is a design fault.

I have queried it with Citroen and given the fact I have told them in detail that you cannot exit the vehicle if the rear door shuts and the rear seats are up in there own words they have told me:-

"I've been in contact with the product team who've confirmed your vehicle has been manufactured to the correct specification and doesn't include a rear door handle. Therefore, we don't consider any faults or design issues with your vehicle."

I'm just wondering if I am the only owner with this problem or is it something other owners have had issue with.

[steelviper]

That dose sound like a stupid design to me how ever I don't think there's a great risk of being trapped inside if the side door is opened fully as it's locking mechanism seems fairly secure. Never had my side doors close them selves even when parked on almost vertical slopes.

There may be an easy way to fit an inside handle am sure some of the more technical minded member could confirm it

[stuartinlancashire]

Do the front seats fold forward? If not then I thought it was a requirement that at least one of the rear doors could be opened from the inside?

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[Vlad]

Is EvoOffice not talking about the rear BACK doors on his longer L2 van, not the rear SIDE doors?

[stuartinlancashire]

Oh yes I misread that. It does seem a bit crazy theres no internal handle but it's probably not a requirement. I don't think Escort vans had an internal handle on the back door until the mk3 came along but in those days they didn't have internal bulkheads/cages to seperate the load area.

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