The sliding door on my 2011 cargo has no lock to keep it from closing when on an incline. I was wondering if the passenger models have some sort of lock that keeps it open for safety.

I have a somewhat steep driveway that drops away from the house. I always back in and the catch on the slider has just enough to hold it open unless I bump it or even move around in the van. Then the door slams shut with enough force to be dangerous. If you haven't seen one of these sliders let go on a steep incline it's a lot of force. Easily enough to break the hand of an adult male.

For now I keep a small wedge of wood to jam under the wheel when I open the door on an incline but it's a bit cumbersome and I don't fully trust it. Especially if I'm working with someone else who's not used to it. My first idea is to drill a hole in the step and drop a pin in to stop the door. Simple, fail proof and I can trust a helper to do it and not get hurt. Maybe even mount a sprung plunger there as a cleaner solution.

My Dodge Caravan sliders won't close unless you pull the handle and that works great. If the other model vans have a more elegant solution than a pin I might look into adding that to my van.

 

yes my px van has a detent to keep the door open, but it's not strong enough to keep it from shutting on a steep incline.
a solution might be to hook a small chain around the top arm?

 

I thought about some sort of chain or strap but it wold have to be so long that it could get closed in the door seal.

I'm looking at a pin like this that would drop down and block the mechanism from the bottom.