Thanks for posting this and what solved your issue.
The power retractable running boards are definitely a love hate thing. IMO they look so much better than the standard fixed running boards when they're retracted and not in use. Additionally, I find them to be significantly more functional when they are extended and you need them because they're positioned slightly farther away from the vehicle (when extended) than the fixed running boards. Because of this I find it easier to actually have more solid footing when standing on them getting kids and gear in/out of the vehicle.
Just like any other moving part they do need to be cleaned and maintained if you want them to stay functioning. You've done the best two things you can do; Keep the hinges clean and free of debris and build up the best you can and lubricate the hinges. I'd recommend keeping them lubricated as routine maintenance, and more often in the winter months.
It’s funny that your first comment about the power running boards is that it’s a love/hate feature….. I’d agree in that theres no middle ground.
As a detailer I absolutely hate them and I will never have them on a vehicle I personally own. I absolutely hate that on the GMT900s that have them, the disable feature keeps them retracted up against the bottoms of the doors. What knucklehead designer thought that was the way to go with the disable feature?!?! I always need them dropped to properly get them cleaned up, especially during the winter months when the actual step part is covered in mud and all the crap leftover from the snow, but then that means leaving doors cracked open slightly during my power wash step to keep them extended and of course that means extra moisture in the door jambs which annoys the heck out of me. Plus….. every time I open or close a door they go up and down and I’ve had WAY too many clients cars jsut randomly go dead battery and I can’t imagine that the running boards going up and down every time is good for the electrical system when the vehicle isn’t running while I’m working on it.
I also don’t like that they are flush with the bottoms of the doors. So many vehicles I detail all the time with no running boards or with power boards, the paint at the bottoms of the doors is always thrashed from road debris and crap constantly being flung all over them. The bottom sections of the doors always have this really ugly whitish, very rough to the touch stretch of paint and it sucks cuz it makes the car look so much older and more used and abused than it is. And of course my eyes go right to that spot cuz I can’t not see that detail…. lol I mean not that the bottoms of my doors don’t see road crap cuz they do but they don’t get that thrashing to the finish because my fixed running boards keep enough of that off of them.
Then there’s the newer rigs. I like that they have a setting that keeps them deployed for when I’m detailing them. Great feature…. And perfect so I don’t have to worry about killing the battery every time they move. But why in heavens name on the T1 platform rigs does the vehicle have to be RUNNING in order to access this feature?! I hate getting setup and then having to start the clients vehicle and sit there and scroll several settings menus on the infotainment screen just to get to it and keep them deployed? Again what knucklehead designer thought that was the way to go with this feature?! Why did they do away with the button on the dash panel that will deploy the boards with the truck in accessory power like the K2 platform?!
And then there’s the issue lately I’ve been seeing all the time with latest gen rigs that even in deploy mode they will just randomly go up and down cuz they have a mind of their own….. and the weird part is that it’s not just GM that’s got the issue. My long time client with a 2020 navigator L black label package has been having the same problem with her running boards for almost a year now. Two different ram trucks I detail for regular clients with power boards are doing it. My landlord(a husband and wife couple I’ve known forever) are big on GM and her 2021 Denali has started up with the same issue in the last few months. I was detailing it for her this past week and while I was standing on the passenger side board at the front door, drying off the roof after the wash, with them in deploy mode, the board retracted and the fact that my weight was fully on it did not stop the board from retracting. It smashed my feet into the bottom of the rocker panel so hard it bruised the tops of both my feet….. yeah that really irritated me lol. And then an hour later I’m working on the drivers side steam cleaning the dash and steering column, sitting on the drivers seat with my feet hanging out over the board and just lightly resting on the board and the drivers side went up on me…. I had to push my foot down onto the board really hard so that it would stop and not crush my foot again. Like what is going on with these things and why are they ALL not functioning properly and so badly not working right…..
End rant….. lol needless to say I despise the things and I’ll be in the market for a 900 soon, either a Denali XL or an esky ESV, and if whatever I buy has power folding boards swapping them out for static boards will absolutely be priority one mod the minute I get my hands on said truck…. Hahahah
