Retractable Side Steps...worth It Or Just Waiting To Break?

[bwinter1]

My wife and I have the features all narrowed down on the Denali we want except for this one. She is short enough that she needs side steps.

 

One of them has the stationary running boards and the other one has the retractable side steps. Now the retractable is a pretty cool feature, but has anyone had any trouble with them yet. To me they seem like a trip back to the dealership after the warranty is up once they break. The cost of $1,095 doesn't really factor in, but the reliability of them does.

 

 

Any pros or cons, or any experience with them period??????

 

 

Thanks-

[Guest 007FL]

If she's short enough to really need the steps I wouldn't risk them breaking. They do have bling value but the stationary ones also provide some mud flap functionality as well where the retractable ones will not.

[TheColter]

I know a couple guys with aftermarket retractable steps on thier lifted trucks and they are nice. It give a better look in my opinion. One has had his for 3 years now and hasn't had a single problem. Only thing he does in spray some lube on the pivot points a few months. They are definately durable if they hold up to a 260 pound guy using them to climb into a 2500HD with 9" of lift and 40" tires.

[timmyjimmy5150]

I have an 07 denali w/ the retractable steps....I really love them..... I looked at both, the fixed boards and retractable B4 I bought..... I knew I wanted running boards on my denali. After looking, I really liked the look of the "tucked up" retractable steps.... Kind of made the vehicle look sleeker w/o having those large boards hanging off the side 100% of the time. When retracted, they have a nice chrome strip running the length of the board and it really compliments the appearance. So far mine work perfectly..... No problems.... There is also a button in the cab that will turn the retraction mode on or off.... So, if you don't want the steps to extend when you open the door --- for whatever reason --- you can hit the button and they will stay in the retracted position upon exiting the vehicle.

Let me know if you have any other questions

tj

 

 

 

I know a couple guys with aftermarket retractable steps on thier lifted trucks and they are nice. It give a better look in my opinion. One has had his for 3 years now and hasn't had a single problem. Only thing he does in spray some lube on the pivot points a few months. They are definately durable if they hold up to a 260 pound guy using them to climb into a 2500HD with 9" of lift and 40" tires.

[bwinter1]

It is good to hear some positives about the retractables.

 

I spoke with the service manager at one dealership that we visited last night. By the way, out of the 15 or so Denali's they had, none of them had retractables. He said that they had seen a few problems with them and that is why they didn't order any with retractable steps.

 

He claimed that if you open and close the door 3-4 times while the key is in, such as loading and unloading that they sometimes stay down. They had a few cases where the steps had stayed in the down position indefinitely until they were fixed.

 

Now, I like the way that the retractables look, but when we test drove one that had them, the sales guy had to actually reset them for us because they weren't going up and down, it didn't have anything to do with the on/off button either.

 

I agree that the fixed adds a bit of mudflap incentive. I was going to put color-matched guards on front and back regardless.

 

I still go back and forth.

[Tucson_02Silverado]

The retractables keeps a clean look, but since they are in the must need category, if you do have a failure and have to place them in the lock-down position till they get fixed, they seem to hang a lot lower than standard running boards or nerf bars.

 

One of them is powerstep by AMP Research, which seems to make very reliable products.

[99silverado1500]

For 1000, you can go through a lot of normal running boards. I dont really like the idea of power ones, just something to break, and in PA where I live, the salt gets into everything and makes everything crap out. My opinion, get some clean looking fixed running boards, but it is your money.

[dysert]

I had them on my 2007 Denali and offer the following observations:

1) My wife as always complaining about their location when deployed, they were not in the right place, too recessed

2) I was always getting dirt on my pants because I didn't use them myself, again their location when deployed

3) Accumulation of dirt between them and the body and they were a pain to clean, at the carwash they were retracted so I always had to ask to have them washed

 

I ended up trading my 07 Denali for an 07 Escalade ESV with the fixed boards and like them a lot better.

Pete

[bwinter1]

All of the info was great guys, thanks. We took into consideration all of the pros and cons and bought the new 2007 Denali with the fixed running boards. We love it. We pick it up this Saturday. I am gonna hate writing the check, but love driving it away.