Thread: Makita Rotary Hammer HR4011C Problem

sounds like the motor winding is cooked. this is generally caused by the motor and not rotating fast enough to cool it. This could be either caused by faulty bearing, faulty pneumatic action or the user simply pushing way too hard and stalled it. You could usually tell if before the motor was cooked, and at the beginning of the job, it is rotating smoothly then it probably was caused by the user. Sometimes when the bit is blunt, people tend to force the drill as it is not cutting faster enough, resulting in stalling the drill. It is a pity that overload cut out has been left out of makita's design unlike this bosch one http://www.boschtools.com/Products/T...x?pid=11265EVS.

I hope you'll get something back from Makita. It probably would still be cheaper to fix it than to buy a new one though.

Originally Posted by Kidbee

I don't want to pay for its repair and will head to see the manager at GTD. Being a Makita product, will Makita back their product? Is there an address where I can contact Makita Australia direct?
What do you think are my chances of getting it replaced or repaired without cost?

After 4 years I'd say your chances are slim to none. Makita definitely won't help you, GTD might offer you something in the interest of keeping people loyal, but legally you're on your own.

You don't say, but I assume that it has stopped working... or did you simply stop using it at the first sight of smoke & sparks?

If the latter, it may be worth your while to try blowing any accumulated dust out of the motor/windings. I've had one or two rarely used power tools start smoking at first use after fairly prolonged storage (in a dusty environment, admittedly); it took me a while to realise just what was happening.

Most probably this isn't the case with yours, but what have you got to lose by checking?

Thanks for your helpful replies and elanjacobs being honest with me. I like a good fight and know my Consumer Rights so in need I will take the matter up with Consumer Affairs if all else fails.
If I would have been a tradesman using it, it would have packed it in on the first serious job. You hear those stories about people flogging drills or other equipment and cannot kill them; they go on forever. Not this one and what hurts more is that it cost me a bit over $800.

Originally Posted by Kidbee

Thanks for your helpful replies and elanjacobs being honest with me. I like a good fight and know my Consumer Rights so in need I will take the matter up with Consumer Affairs if all else fails.
If I would have been a tradesman using it, it would have packed it in on the first serious job. You hear those stories about people flogging drills or other equipment and cannot kill them; they go on forever. Not this one and what hurts more is that it cost me a bit over $800.

Keep us posted, I'm curious to know how long the statutory warranty can be on high end tools.
Best of luck.

800 bucks, double Ouch! I agree you should expect better. Overload protection being one of them or the equivalent of not being able to fail under below "typical" use. This is especially true if your bit is reasonably sharp. This is not normal wear and tear after drilling 20 holes.

Originally Posted by Kidbee

Four years ago I bought a Makita Rotary Hammer HR4011C from my local United Tools store which is now Get Tools Direct. It has had limited use, probably less than 20 hours. When I purchased it the saleman said it would drill 20mm holes all day and I chose it over Ozito and other cheaper brands and paid the extra price tag for it. On Friday I drilled about 7 holes in sandstone and heard a noise and saw sparks and smoke.
Very disappointed to say the least and of course although it is out of warranty it has not met my expectations for the price I paid and the little use it has had, and as a Consumer I have laws that protect me.
I don't want to pay for its repair and will head to see the manager at GTD. Being a Makita product, will Makita back their product? Is there an address where I can contact Makita Australia direct?
What do you think are my chances of getting it replaced or repaired without cost?

Firstly, to your initial request:

Makita's contact details are as follows.....

Mr. Yasushi Fukaya
Managing Director
Makita Australia Pty. Ltd.
2 Litton Close
Pemulwuy NSW 2145


Telephone 1300 361 690


Best of luck in your efforts to resolve your problem. Federal Consumer legislation and State Sale of Goods Acts are fairly clear on one's rights as a consumer, which overrides any Manufacturer's or Retailers real or implied Warranties. In summary these are as follows:

Goods must be of merchantable quality, i.e. not faulty.
Must be suitable for purpose intended, i.e. will perform as intended.
Must meet "sale by description" guidelines, if you asked for, or were recommended by a retailer, a hammer that will "drill 20mm holes all day long" then the goods must be capable of this.

Remedies for breaches are usually limited to repair, replacement or refund only. However there's also an overriding theme of "reasonableness" applied in all circumstances. This implies the caveat of "reasonable" performance, service life, quality & suitability for intended function.

This is where Manufacturers' warranties apply. The warranted period (12 months for Makita) is the Company's indication of expected "reasonable" performance under "reasonably" expected operating conditions. This was for many years the industry norm, and it is only in recent years that some manufacturers have offered extended (but often limited) warranties. Significantly, many of these manufacturers charge a price premium for this increased risk of failure and warranty repair. Some actually charge truly staggering prices for the privilege. Makita doesn't.

Looking at the Specs of your SDS hammer, it appears to be a "reasonable" quality mid-range tool that's well capable of "drilling 20mm holes all day long". However, a life span of 4 years is arguably beyond a "reasonable" life-span for a professional tool, irrespective of the total work it's actually done. As such, a manufacturer has a very sound legal argument to repudiate or refuse any warranty claim. From a legal perspective, I suspect you will have 2 chances of success: Buckley's & none.

Having said that I believe that you might have a better chance if - as you suggested - you correspond in a polite & courteous manner with the company. Asian cultures in general, and the Japanese in particular, tend to respond more favourably to well-mannered entreaties than to what might be perceived as anger, bullying tactics or threats.

A polite epistle addressed personally to Mr. (where the) Fukaya outlining your problem might just succeed where other methods won't. You could maybe start by saying how reliable and useful their products are. "Imagine my surprise then when out of the blue my SDS Max Hammer failed........"

Once again best of luck. Please let us know how you get on.

UPDATE ---Took my drill into Get Tools Direct with a long accompanying letter. on 12 May. It just so happened the Makita Representative was in the store at the time and he said he would take it back to Brisbane. He was confident that Makita would repair it without cost to myself, considering all the facts.

I collected the drill this afternoon. Makita fixed it for free and I am a very happy chappy.

Glad (and more than a little surprised) to hear that they fixed it for free. Looks like some brands do still care about reputation.

Good to see your problem resolved: hopefully the fix is permanent.

Originally Posted by Ratbag

Good to see your problem resolved: hopefully the fix is permanent.

Me too!

Lucky bugger!
I saved an HR4001C from being scrapped at work, very well used and heavily abused unit, opened up to nicely cooked windings and stator.
Was going to buy replacement parts, but then the AUD dropped against the GBP (Even with the poor performance, it's still cheaper to buy them from o/s than the one Australia based source I could find).