Rusty Side Steps

My Grenny was Lanoguarded and seems to have fared well - apart from the Ineos supplied Side Steps. The paint finish on these does not appear to have been designed for an off road (Scottish) winter. Will mention this when my other warranty bits and pieces arrive at Marshalls, but has anyone else had this problem. Had I known, I would have Helicopter Taped them up for a bit more protection. I think I will make a visit to PPS in Inverurie to have them plastic coated, unless anyone has a smarter idea.

Quite a common issue I believe, the paint seems thin.

I don’t have side steps or rock sliders but if I did I’d have them blasted and powder coated to deal with the salt our roads get plastered with for 5 months of the year. Maybe some stainless fasteners too - and plenty of grease for them

I picked up a 15 month old vehicle from INEOS Carlisle two weeks ago. The central support of the side steps on this vehicle were in very poor condition, well pitted and rusting. I only completed the sale after the dealer offered to fit a pair of new and powder coated steps to the vehicle. The central brace seems the be the most affected part of the steps, as it's in a a direct line of fire from gravel and stones thrown up from the front tyres. I think also adding some additional protection may be worthwhile.

KBKLR said:

My Grenny was Lanoguarded and seems to have fared well - apart from the Ineos supplied Side Steps. The paint finish on these does not appear to have been designed for an off road (Scottish) winter. Will mention this when my other warranty bits and pieces arrive at Marshalls, but has anyone else had this problem. Had I known, I would have Helicopter Taped them up for a bit more protection. I think I will make a visit to PPS in Inverurie to have them plastic coated, unless anyone has a smarter idea.

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Aye, my side steps and rear ladder are both starting to go, I'm just about to add it to the list of stuff to look at at the first 12k service.

Just out of interest, how is your experience with warranty-related issues when dealing with Marshalls? I'm starting to get the impression that they are growing weary of my requests for warranty work (unglued door seals, sun roof water leaks, sticky door buttons, flaky HVAC) but they're all well-known issues.

As an aside, all the Japanned screws on the outside of my vehicle don't look like they're going to survive too many salty winters as they're already showing spots of rust. has anyone considered swapping them out for stainless replacements? Do you think that would lead to galvanic corrosion some place else?

G-Man said:

As an aside, all the Japanned screws on the outside of my vehicle don't look like they're going to survive too many salty winters as they're already showing spots of rust. has anyone considered swapping them out for stainless replacements? Do you think that would lead to galvanic corrosion some place else?

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There is a thread on the forum where some have done this. You’re right to be concerned about galvanic corrosion though. I was thinking to give mine a coat of lanolin as well as the wheel hubs.

So the steps are away getting powder coated, but the plastic step part on the rails clips had to be sacrificed (I have not seen them yet as I was not present). Any idea if it is possible to get new bits, or fo I just bond them back onto the rail.

We tend to carry out a powder coat repair on the full step under warranty. We also can get the steps wrapped in clear or satin textured effect which is chargeable. Check out ineosgrenadiertech on Instagram, I have a post on there showing the wrap on the steps.

IneosGrenadierTech said:

We tend to carry out a powder coat repair on the full step under warranty. We also can get the steps wrapped in clear or satin textured effect which is chargeable. Check out ineosgrenadiertech on Instagram, I have a post on there showing the wrap on the steps.View attachment 7892047

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Thanks, how do you get the plastic bits off/re-fitted. I assume I am too late to get them done under warranty as the work is underway

KBKLR said:

Thanks, how do you get the plastic bits off/re-fitted. I assume I am too late to get them done under warranty as the work is underway

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They are utterly horrible and difficult to remove. I use about 3 plastic trims tools, using varying levels of force depending on where the least resistance is as the pin rises, mostly they come out fine, but I have on some occasions lost the very end pin. I usually reseat the far ends with 3M VHB tape. To refit them, a rubber mallet pops the pins back in nicely.

IneosGrenadierTech said:

They are utterly horrible and difficult to remove. I use about 3 plastic trims tools, using varying levels of force depending on where the least resistance is as the pin rises, mostly they come out fine, but I have on some occasions lost the very end pin. I usually reseat the far ends with 3M VHB tape. To refit them, a rubber mallet pops the pins back in nicely.

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Thanks for that. I will see what I have to work with when I pick them up next week.

IneosGrenadierTech said:

We tend to carry out a powder coat repair on the full step under warranty. We also can get the steps wrapped in clear or satin textured effect which is chargeable. Check out ineosgrenadiertech on Instagram, I have a post on there showing the wrap on the steps.

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Hi @IneosGrenadierTech welcome to the forum!

I'm going to bring up my concerns about my rusty side steps at my first service next month. Unfortunately I also have rust appearing on the rear ladder and (most concerningly) on the steel frame under the plastic trim on the front bumper, all on a vehicle that is 10 months old. What's the best way to help my local service centre (Marshalls in Huntly) to get this looked at under warranty? Do I need to communicate with Ineos directly or is it just a case of pointing it out at the time of the service?

Hi G-Man,
Thank you!

I can't say I've seen further corrosion happening anywhere else on a Grenadier, sorry to hear you have more corrosion than the usual side step issue. The only time I've ever seen other corrosion was from a well-used front skid plate as opposed to a general standing corrosion.
I would hope they have it all in hand, we do appreciate any images to send to Ineos from our end to back-up the warranty claim, so I would imagine similar from Marshalls. However, I tend to do the work and images myself and always keep a set at the paint shop ready for the next customer. Let me know if you run into any difficulties.

Tom

G-Man said:

Hi @IneosGrenadierTech welcome to the forum!

I'm going to bring up my concerns about my rusty side steps at my first service next month. Unfortunately I also have rust appearing on the rear ladder and (most concerningly) on the steel frame under the plastic trim on the front bumper, all on a vehicle that is 10 months old. What's the best way to help my local service centre (Marshalls in Huntly) to get this looked at under warranty? Do I need to communicate with Ineos directly or is it just a case of pointing it out at the time of the service?

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Honestly I would go and get it inspected asap, I’m sure Marshall’s will sort you out, Neil is great.