The problems associated with the power deployable running boards are well documented here and elsewhere, and further validated my multiple TSBs, which I handily referenced courtesy of the FTE

Long story short. Bought my '03 'Gator used, still under warranty, last March. Running boards never worked right, and brought them in for service 4 times over the next year. There's multiple TSBs out for them, which I brought to my dealer's attention. They finally gave up this past July after repairing a "power module" in June, which fixed them for one full day. When I finally brought in back in July to get them fixed, I was told they were out of warranty and that it would cost $2K to replace them. The reason cited was corrosion; which obviously took place in the one month between service. After spending over 10+ hours on the phone with Lincoln corporate care, they agreed to step in and pay $1500 to cover the complete replacement of both sides, which the dealership told me would run around $2K. Got it done, picked and up, and will never return to that dealer for service again.

Apparently, FLM's flagship 4WD vehicle is not impervious to corrosion, at least for the basis of denying a warranty claim. I had to plead my case repeatedly as the owner of the dealership wouldn't even return my calls or speak to me directly. The cost of giving my dealership a year to fix a problem they could never get right was for them to wait literally to the day for the opportunity to completely deny coverage based on corrosion, contemperaneous with the expiration of my 4/40 warranty. Priceless.

FYI, the purchase of a Ford ESP while the vehicle is still under it's factory warranty DOES cover pre-existing conditions. So if the repair is expensive enough, and you have no choice but to keep it, that's always an alternative. I bought my premium care ESP for both my 'Gator and Excursion from Troy, a site supporter.

FWIW...

Matt