Okay okay I should definitely not have done it but I handed my 5 year
old 9.6 V Makita cordless drill to a temporary worker, a kid, who
didn't really understand them (he SAID he did but no, as it turns
out)and he held onto the snout and twisted it (in F) in reverse to
back out a bit. He must have done this with steely determination.
The F/R switch will no longer go into R, it freezes 1/2 way there, and
only the forward torque works - there is no action in the 1/2way
there, and when I slide it to the full R posiition it will not only
not remain in that position but there is no action at that position
either.

Has anyone popped the case on these to see if it's intelligible in
there? Should I have a go inside at fisxing this?

I have 3 of these and am dedicated to them. The ones with higher
voltage are too heavy for me, I'm a girl thankyou, and I still use the
batteries that have the one metal clamp in front. Unfortunately the
other 2 drills are at home, which is in a different state from my art
studio where I am now, and I do not have that much work in January or
I would probably just go out and buy another drill.

Thanks in advance to anyone troubling to reply who knows something
about this. Sometimes the repair people at customer service at
Matita/Hitachi/Bosh/etc are really great and sometimes they just make
one sad at their entire disregard for someone who's trying to get a
job done.
Deborah