Just bought a t18, not even 4 weeks old, forward and reverse is tough to toogle and the gear selector is really tough to move too, the trigger sometimes sticks in the on position and the case comes apart around the trigger area when I squeeze the grip/trigger, ive must have used it a couple hours in total, quite disappointed.
This shouldn't happen, the case should be held together by enough screws so it shouldn't be able to split.
Select switch gone again. This time loose, no positive stop on forward or reverse. Can easily be nudged to forward or reverse.
Same for me, stuck at first and now gravity controls the switch! Very frustrating. Makita drill for 8+ years nil drama.
Interesting. When reassembling my T18 (bought
very cheap as it was broken clean through between the head and the handle, looks like someone stepped on it) after giving it a brand new case (~28€) to turn it back into a working tool I had some trouble to correctly insert the small metal feather board that makes the direction selector stick at both extremes - sounds like that one is giving you guys trouble.
Possibly it hasn't been inserted correctly, so it first stuck and then you bent it further by actuating the lever till it fell out of the holder notches.
In case you're out of warranty you could replace that one yourself (it's available as a spare for a few cents), only suggestion I have is to use another power driver for the screws (as they're next to impossible to screw in/out with a normal screwdriver) and limit the torque on assembly to not rip the screw heads off at the end (as happened to me with one).