On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 12:32:46 AM UTC-4, wrote:
As a contractor, my tools are usually dropped, fall off roofs and ladders, have heavy things fall on them, get left out in the rain, get stolen, misplaced and about 10 other things occur before I have to worry about warranty issues.

However, I bought a pair of ultra compact 12v Li drills about 4 or 5 years ago when they first came out. I bought them to use on my kitchen work as they work great to drive tiny hinge screws, drill the holes for pulls, and they are just dandy inside a cabinet when replacing or adjusting drawer hardware. Both we $99 with on battery each, and a charger. They are fine little drills.

But the batteries finally died. I took the to the local HD as instructed and had a really bad time. The "tool guy" had to look at them, make his determination, write a report on his findings and then make a suggestion as to what repairs MIGHT be authorized. He told me that it could take him a month in the store to get to them, and if they were found to be in warranty, it could take another month to have it certified by the national repair depot, and then if it was the batteries ONLY, then they could possibly ship new ones to me in another 10 days to 2 weeks after that. So the whole process could take as much as 2 1/2 months! I was shocked. The tool guy did a cursory inspection and agreed that when new batteries were put in the old drills they both worked fine. When the old batteries were put in a new test charger, they showed as defective. However, he determined the issue needed more research on his part. (Clever man... I thought for a moment I was at the monkey cage at the zoo...)

I called the national number to tell them what was going on. They told me that they were tired of being blamed for the long wait times for warranty resolution and they were more tired of people calling to yell at them for store related issues. With their help they told me how and what to say (their corporate buzz words) to the store manager to get the project off center. It worked!

From start to finish of this episode I had two new batteries in my hands in 3 1/2 weeks. But I wasn't through.

The batteries came with a stern warning to register them within 90 days or there would be no further battery warranty. I tried several times to register, and then contacted them by email as instructed on their website. They didn't realize that you couldn't access their registration screens after the tool and its parts were registered. The reason was that anyone could change their serial numbers to tools found in pawn shops, etc. without having bought the tool new. So my CS email response was for me to simply go the website and register.

After a while, I gave up and called national customer service again. They lady on the other end of the phone sighed pretty heavily and told me that I couldn't register them myself and a phone call was required. On a previously registered tool only Ridgid CS could modify any information. So today, she took my info over the phone and my account was updated within the half hour.

So the moral is, register the tools correctly, know that they will honor their warranty in some cases, and know you will have to work for it as well as be patient. That being said, HD/Ridgid are the only guys that will warrant tools for more than a few months (most not at all) for contractor use.

Hey... at least it worked, and I have my two favorite mini drills back!

Robert

I'm curious as to why they replaced the batteries under warranty. If I understand the terms of the warranty correctly, wouldn't "dead batteries" after 4 -5 years of use be excluded due to the "normal wear and tear" clause?

Here are a few of excerpts from their warranty website.

https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/full-lifetime-warranty

*** Begin Included Text ***

What is Covered

RIDGID tools are warranted to be free of material and workmanship defects.

What is Not Covered

Failures due to misuse, abuse or normal wear and tear are not covered by this warranty.

DEFECTS IN MATERIALS OR WORKMANSHIP:

It is our experience that a product that fails prematurely due to a manufacturing defect in materials or workmanship, will generally do so very early in the products life cycle, often the first or second time the product is used. When returned for inspection, these products are generally found to still be in like new condition and show very little signs of use. It is uncommon for a product that was manufactured with a defect, to survive under normal use for any extended period of time. Products that are returned for warranty inspection after months or years of continuous reliable service are rarely found to be defective. The most common demand for service is the result of normal wear and tear issues, which are not considered to be a defect in materials or workmanship.

*** End Included Text ***

Can a dead battery really be considered "defective" after 4-5 years of "continuous reliable service"?