I set mine to out when I’m washing the truck and I don’t ever remember them retracting back in on their own.

 

Or you can pull the fuse when they are out. I did that for a while last winter. The boards are much lower and the perfect step IMO. But one risks hitting something like a high curb or ice ridge and damaging them eventually.

 

A lot of salt used to treat the roads in winter. My last automatic running boards didn't like it.