2012 Expedition Running Boards Issue

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LouG

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My wife drives a 2012 Expedition. A few months ago, the passenger side running board would not close.
Took it to a mechanic to find what the problem was. He checked it and told me it would cost around $1,500 to fix it. Did not get it fixed.

A few days later, the running board started working again. Now it closes whenever it feels like it.

Two days ago, the driver's side running board started doing the same thing. Closes once in a while.
Today, the driver's side would not close so I opened and closed the door three times and the running board finally closed.

Any one knows what is going on? I live in the New Jersey. Could it be this winter's warm and cold days affecting the motors?

Lou
 

Adieu

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Maybe deploy it when it works then disconnect wiring? Bit of a gimmick feature that I doubt is worth $3k to keep no????
 
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LouG

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Yes. Not worth that much money to fix. It never stays shut when either side doors opens.
Got it because we are in our 70s and my wife has short legs.
 

Will Exped 13

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Ours does that sometimes on our '13. When it starts acting up, spray WD40 in the hinges and anything that moves in the 2 hinge areas. Let it go up and down a few times to work it in. Works great and when it starts acting up again just spray it again and it's fine. Being under the vehicle they get dirt and corrosion in the moving parts and just need a good cleaning with WD40.
 

gixer2000

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Lube the pivot points frequently and the can work flawless. Once neglected they take some work to get working correctly again
 

Bearroeske

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gixer2000 is right I have an '08 Navi up here in Maine the running board hinges get right full of grit and dirt.
Try to keep them clean and lubed up well. You would be surprised how little it takes to stop them from closing.
 

EL Expedition

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It's one of your door latches that is not making contact to send the signal for the running board to close. I have had that happen on my 09. The best way to find which latch it is is to open one of the doors on the affected side, and use something round like a phillips screwdriver and close the latch mechanism on the door. Push it in as far as you can and the step should go up. If not, then pull the release handle that opens the door, and use the screwdriver the pull the latch back out. Move on to the other door and check that one. Spray the door latch with some contact cleaner, then lube it with some white lithium grease. My rear passenger door has done it a couple of times. Most of the time you can just exercise the latch a few times and it will start working.
 

mbed

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It's one of your door latches that is not making contact to send the signal for the running board to close. I have had that happen on my 09. The best way to find which latch it is is to open one of the doors on the affected side, and use something round like a phillips screwdriver and close the latch mechanism on the door. Push it in as far as you can and the step should go up. If not, then pull the release handle that opens the door, and use the screwdriver the pull the latch back out. Move on to the other door and check that one. Spray the door latch with some contact cleaner, then lube it with some white lithium grease. My rear passenger door has done it a couple of times. Most of the time you can just exercise the latch a few times and it will start working.

It can also be a bunch of grit, etc that supplies at least enough resistance to the motor to make it think something is caught in it (as a part of some safety feature, apparently?). My 08 EL has had the boards stuck out for several years. However, every time we start up from low speeds, you can hear the motors trying to raise them. after one or two attempts, it stops until we come to a halt and it recurs. Should get around to fixing it but have too many projects, not enough hands or helpers!
 

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