Hi All,

I noticed yesterday when returning to my car that the passenger side deployable step was down. Someone just happened to be jet washing the car park around and under it at the time - unsure if that is related. Bit annoyed as it made the car filthy and I had come out to move it before they started. I hadn't noticed when I parked the car.

Since then, when I unlock the car, the passenger step does not retract on its own - usually they both retract again after a delay if no door is opened.

The drivers side one still operates normally and the passenger side will retract if I open and close a door so its not blocked.

Thinking about it, the passenger side has always taken longer to retract than the drivers side, but it has always worked.

Does this sound like an ecu issue? It does seem like the step simply isn't getting the retract signal. I can't really see how the jet washing could have affected anything but I'm certainly open to ideas. 2010 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE

I would try a good ol' reset. Might be best to have them both in the same state when doing so however.

Battery reset, you mean? Worth a try, I guess.

Quite surprised there is only one ecu on ebay at the moment. It's very expensive and the ad has an odd year for it. 2010 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE

+1 for a battery reset and go and slap whoever was jet washing around your pride & joy

Does it move at all when you lock unlock? Mine started struggling and the. Stayed down.

Turns out the bolts had moved slightly putting stress on the motor loosed and retightend and a good spray
Of copper grease got me back in business Current stable:
2006 BMW M6
2007 4.2 V8 S/C FF
Gone:
2002 4.4 V8 FF

Well I've had it on charge all weekend following the battery reset as the battery looked a bit low according to my ctek dongle. It did retract on its own this morning, but it took a lot longer than the driver side before it activated.

To clarify, mechanically it operates perfectly. There seems to be a problem with the retract signal for that side following a vehicle unlock. Opening and closing a door triggers the correct operation immediately, it's literally just the timeout following an unlock.

I'll see how I get on over the next few days 2010 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE

As Danwilderspin said give them a good greasing. Mine was sent in to the garage by the previous owner because the steps were not deploying and retracting properly. The garage just gave it a good greasing and that resolved the issue.

HTH

Ivan 2013 Vogue SE SDV8
2013 Freelander 2 SD4 HSE Luxury

I don't think greasing them will have any effect on this issue - they operate fine - its the trigger that seems to be the issue.

I do try to keep them well lubricated with a ptfe based lubricant in any case. 2010 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE

I wouldn't discount lubrication too quickly, mine was showing intermittent misbehaviour that sounds like yours with no real pattern. I recently managed to break one of the brackets and had to pull one side apart to swap the bits over. I was suprised just how stiff the mechanisms were compared to a new one in spite of regular lubrication. A squirt of lube goes nowhere, it took a lot of time and effort to "free" them off and lube them up and they still are a lot stiffer than the new one.
They are currently working perfectly so my pet theory is that they all get stiff and depending on simple things like moisture or temperature they sometimes get to a point where the resistance is just enough for the brain to think that the step has come into contact with something and stop working but them miraculously start to work again when the conditions change.
I will be stripping and lubing mine every year now.
This talk of stripping, lubrication, moisture and stiffness has caused my mind to wander !

What is people's preferred method of lubricating these? I've just been spraying everything that looks like it moves or pivots with ptfe lubricant on a regular basis - I've not wanted to use anything more sticky to try to avoid collecting dirt and grit, but I'm beginning to wonder if it's enough.

I'm still not convinced that it's a lubrication problem, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to look at doing more.

The passenger side step has been retracting again now, but it takes almost a minute longer before it retracts than the drivers side. I don't trust that it's doing it every time. I still think its an ecu issue. 2010 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE

I reckon the only way to do it properly is to drop them off the car then work some lubrication into the pivots by hand.
If anyone hasn't done this before it's a lot easier than you probably imagine to remove them - 4 x 5mm allen bolts to remove step from bracket, slacken (but don't remove) 4 x 10mm bolts on inner sill, remove 2 x 13mm bolts. Disconnect electrical connector and then unhook the workings from the 10mm bolts they are hanging on. About 10 mins each side easily done in access mode, the hard part is getting some lubrication into the joints.

the mechanism is a poor design and impossible to lubricate whilst on the car and very difficult even when removed.

a few years ago someone here coined the phrase "deplorable side steps"