I don't do any off roading, so I view these as a cash cow for Ford, prone to breakdown. There should be an option to drive with the boards down in a fixed position. For those who drive thru all kinds of rough terrain, I can understand the threat of damage. My previous SUV, a Yukon, had the deployable boards, but, when they started to act up, I just drove with them down from then on. GM provided this as an option. Problem solved. Since I need these for my elderly wife to be down in my Expy, I hit all the hinges with rust penetrator followed by WD40 followed by fluid film. I do this religiously every 2 to 3 months and run it thru the car wash with undercarriage rinsing if exposed to a lot of salt, mud, and other road debris. So far, so good, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.