Universal global latch system

A door latch system for vehicle rear doors comprising:

• a controller configured to determine if the door latch system is in an unlocked state;
• a latch assembly configured to maintain a vehicle rear door in a closed position when the latch assembly is latched, and permit opening of a vehicle rear door when the latch assembly is unlatched, the latch assembly including a catch and a pawl, the catch having a closed position wherein the catch is configured to grasp a post to maintain a vehicle rear door in a closed position, and an open position wherein the catch is configured to release the post to allow the vehicle rear door to move to an open position, the pawl being configured to maintain the catch in the closed position when the pawl is in a latched position, and to permit movement of the catch from the closed position to the opened position when the pawl is in an unlatched position;
• an actuatable inside rear handle movable from a rest position to an actuated position;
• an inside rear release switch that is actuated when the inside rear handle is actuated, wherein the rear inside release switch is configured to send a signal to the controller when the rear inside release switch is actuated;
• an actuatable outside rear handle;
• an outside rear switch that is configured to send a signal to the controller when the outside rear switch is actuated by the outside rear handle;
• an emergency inside release member;
• a linkage assembly mechanically interconnecting the emergency inside release member to the latch assembly such that actuation of the emergency inside release member moves the pawl from the latched position to the unlatched position to permit manual mechanical unlatching of the latch assembly without actuation of a powered actuator if the vehicle does not have electrical power;
• an electrically powered actuator operably connected to the pawl and selectively shifting the pawl from the latched position to the unlatched position when the electrically powered actuator is actuated;
• and wherein the controller is configured to actuate the electrically powered actuator to unlatch the latch assembly when the controller receives a signal from the inside rear release switch only when the door latch system is in an unlocked state and wherein the controller is configured to actuate the electrically powered actuator to unlatch the latch assembly when the controller receives a signal from the outside rear switch only when the door latch system is in an unlocked state.