Hello all,

I've got a December 2016 (MY17) RRS A/B and the driver side deployable side step has been acting up over the past few days. It would deploy as normal but then upon locking the car (two presses on the remote) the step would very briefly appear to be retracting but then stay deployed. It did this for a couple of days but now it just stays deployed all the time.

I don't believe the bracket is jammed but instead fear the motor may require replacing.

I've searched on here and the general interweb but have only found very few links to replacing the motor (and not the whole side step).

My questions are as follows:

1/ Is there a difference in the 2017 vs 2016 side steps & motors? The only difference I can see is that my car does not have the side step button under the trunk release button, instead mine is on the touch screen
2/ Has anyone used a non-JLR motor? I've found a couple on Amazon and fleabay which say they are compatible (I think they are either from a company called premiumparts_eu or a brand called Frankberg)
3/ Does anyone know of a good used motor I can purchase? (There are very few breakers in Warwickshire which have RRS's for parts)

Many thanks for your feedback. I hope to get this resolved asap as driving around with one step in and the other out looks a bit silly!

Cheers.

Dan MY17 RRS Autobiography - Corris Grey

Had the same fault but I just gave the step pivots a good pressure wash and plenty of wd40 then oil and alls well

Had exactly the same issue and as previous post a really thorough clean of the moving parts and lubrication and all now good.

They do get muck on them sprayed up by the wheels in wet conditions and it eventually creates resistance which makes the sensors on them think the have hit a rock or trapped something in them so they will go back in or out depending on what they were doing when they encounter the resistance.
Hope this helps

Hey guys,

Many thanks for your feedback. That makes perfect sense and when we get a break in the weather I'll try to give it all a good squirt with WD40/grease and see what happens.

Interestingly, having driven through a lot of rain these past two days has resulted in the offending side step working properly again! Admittedly, it's intermittent but at least I can eliminate a faulty motor.

Will report back in a few days.

Cheers!

Dan MY17 RRS Autobiography - Corris Grey

Here’s where mine seized then broke from the pin below 2015 RRS DIESEL HYBRID

how do your remove the steps to service? can you lock them in the out position to get to the bolts?

My passenger one is intermittent so want to remove and clean / lube

its a 2015 if that makes a difference

Leave the door open and it stays out
H 2015 RRS DIESEL HYBRID

Lee350 wrote:

how do your remove the steps to service? can you lock them in the out position to get to the bolts?

My passenger one is intermittent so want to remove and clean / lube

its a 2015 if that makes a difference

Another stuck sidestep sufferer here.
its stuck half way out and I have a motor fault code so not sure if just cleaning and lubing on the car will fix it.

is it easy to drop the side step ?
will i be able to get to the bolts / connector with it half way out ?

Any suggestions gratefully received

Cheers,
John. 2010 L322 Range Rover Autobiography - Black Edition
2015 L494 Range Rover Sport Autobiography

just posting this incase it helps others.

On our nearside side step, the problem was the motor, but it was caused by the shaft seizing in the casting.

The shaft passes through a top-hat nylon bush in each end, and it was stuck solid in both ends.
I had to apply heat to press the shaft out.

All other pivot points are perfectly ok.

The outer case of the motor was heavily corroded so I bought a new motor off ebay for 130 quid. It fits ok, but did need to drill out 2 of the bolt holes.

For anyone else wanting to do this:
side step unbolts off the hinges with 2 allen bolts either end.
Tie wrap up the front mount, unless you need to remove it, so you can still drive the car.
Rear mount is held on with 3 bolts. The cill plastic cover is bolted to the step casting. I had to drill out these bolt heads then apply heat to get the remainder of the bolt out once on the bench. There are also 2 bolts that attach the cill cover to what I think is the fuel tank cover. These snapped too. Oh and a 10mm nut close to the rear corner. The rubber mud flap in the wheel arch needs to come off too (2 plastic clips in the arch, 3 screws underneath)
It took me a morning to get it off and stripped with all the dicking about, and an hour to put it all back.

No special tools needed, just decent socket set, allen bits, and a blow torch to apply a bit of heat.

Hope that helps someone. 2010 L322 Range Rover Autobiography - Black Edition
2015 L494 Range Rover Sport Autobiography

Exactly the same issues to the letter. Did you ever get it resolved ?.

Hi Rigman,

Yes, I purchased a motor off Amazon (nb. these are "handed" so make sure you buy for the correct side of the car) and had my mechanic install it. Took him about 30 minutes and the job's a good 'un.

Cheers.

Dan MY17 RRS Autobiography - Corris Grey

Cheers Dan, will probably get a new motor and see if that dos the job.

John w wrote:

The shaft passes through a top-hat nylon bush in each end, and it was stuck solid in both ends.
I had to apply heat to press the shaft out.

After a great deal of wailing and gnashing of teeth, bit the bullet and bought a new motor from range rover world with the intention of doing the job myself ( glad I didn't ). After getting under there and noting the condition of some of the bolts etc I took it to my local mechanic. Two things he mentioned - 1st he commented on the decent quality of the new motor ( none OEM ) 2nd he said it was an absolute b$**#~# to remove the old motor.
At a cost of over £500 parts and labour - all is well, seems expensive But ; it had been nagging away at me for months, once the money is gone - forget about it , the job is done ( tempting fate here ) and has been perfect since.