2015 side step -- really a side impact safety feature?

[GOHABS]

I'm in the market for an outgoing '15 LR4, but like most of you I cannot stand those fixed side steps.

After reading this thread (and others) about how the fixed side steps on the 2015 LR4 are considered to be a "safety feature" and should not be removed, I was wondering if this is specifically for the US market (as indicated on the Service Bulletin above), or if this is the case for the Canadian market as well?

Are there any Canadian 2015 LR4 owners here that have removed or inquired about removing the steps on their '15 LR4?

Thanks,

 

[Surfrider77]

Again, on the "Safety".. it's all relative. It might add some degree of safety, but all of the previous years LR3 and LR4 has the same chassis structure and you don't see safety recalls on side impact fatalities and whatnot without those steps. I wouldn't hesitate to remove them whatsoever.

 

[Derman]

For what it's worth....

I just did my LR Experience (2 hrs. offroading) and the instructor said the side steps were tied into the side impact bags. Something about the structural nature of steps and impact from angles on the side where the crash to the side step triggers the bags.

It sounded legit.

PS - He was not a fan of the looks and as an instructor, he wanted to remove them because they stuck out on the sides - he didn't like that for 4x4ing. That was his story, anyways.

 

[jwest]

For what it's worth....

I just did my LR Experience (2 hrs. offroading) and the instructor said the side steps were tied into the side impact bags. Something about the structural nature of steps and impact from angles on the side where the crash to the side step triggers the bags.

It sounded legit.
.

No, I don't think it sounds "legit" at all. Sounds more like someone who makes up crap sounding like it might be viable.

Every lr4 in the world with side bags had side steps? Doubt it.

 

[Surfrider77]

For what it's worth....

I just did my LR Experience (2 hrs. offroading) and the instructor said the side steps were tied into the side impact bags. Something about the structural nature of steps and impact from angles on the side where the crash to the side step triggers the bags.

It sounded legit.

PS - He was not a fan of the looks and as an instructor, he wanted to remove them because they stuck out on the sides - he didn't like that for 4x4ing. That was his story, anyways.

Dubious about the explanation, but he hit the nail on the head for functionality. You are losing ground clearance and the aluminum step itself will bend like a tin can if you actually catch it on a rock. (Plus they look terrible)

 

[catman]

I dont' see any sidesteps on this UK LR4, and it appears to just be an option on the UK site, so is this just a North American specs now?

 

[umbertob]

The optional, accessory side steps available in countries abroad only look like those installed by the factory on all 2015+ NAS LR4s, as shown on the first post of this thread. We are receiving the far beefier "steps" as additional side impact protection mandated by new Federal Government regulations that were apparently not effective in earlier model years. As such, the NAS steps have been designed with a chunky steel frame, they are an integral part of the chassis (instead of just hanging from the door sills through relatively flimsy brackets like the accessory running boards of years past), and include aluminum crumple zones to absorb side impacts. Think of them as side bumpers disguised as side steps. If you've ever driven bumper cars at the local county fair, you know side bumpers are good for you. That's the party line, anyway.

 

[Derman]

Just getting back to this...

I'd be curious to see if pre-MY 2015's have the aluminum blocks on the side of the vehicle. The instructor said those were part of the side airbag system. Can anyone confirm?

That's the part that sounded legit to me - the side steps were integral to the deployment of the side airbags, not necessarily increased safety by themselves. Although they are beefy, I'm not sure about the added safety of just the side steps.

On another note, he talked about installing a winch and the interaction with the front airbags and that only one winch (Warn) has been tested by LR.

 

[umbertob]

I have been under my car (2013) quite a few times before and have never seen any such aluminum blocks there.

FWIW, the side impact sensors on the LR4 up to MY2014 (there are a total of 6, three on each side of the car) are installed inside each front door, to the base of each B pillar and to the rear quarters, above each rear wheel arch. Each sensor contains an accelerometer and feeds impact severity info to the Restraint Control Module, which decides which airbags to fire (LH or RH front and rear curtain or side airbags) based on this information. Don't know if the sensors were repositioned elsewhere starting with MY2015s, based on the new side steps providing an additional cushion. I doubt it, but I don't have access to MY15 diagrams to confirm.

 

[Count Laszlo]

I'm not 100% sure, but it's my understanding the LR4 design for crash certification starts with the original classification date, and is grand-fathered in... e.g., once certified, it doesn't require re-certification when new laws change or go into effect until the vehicle is redesigned within a cycle limitation. The side-steps are absolutely horrendous regardless how much one can spin/or justify otherwise. We are taking safety to a new level of stupidity. Are we really facing a new era where vehicles need to be set at a low-safe ride height now? Why isn't JEEP affected by this? Or the Toyota Land Cruiser, if in fact this is true?