The Least Reliable Impact: Milwaukee's Latest & How to Fix it 

-52 subs so far. We're headed for the bunker to relax, boys

Why? I don't see why anyone would unsub for a transparent informational video. This is important information to get out there. Who else has this many examples and run time on all these models. Keep up the good work and being transparent with information. I appreciate these types of videos.

Content like this is why I subbed to this channel. Im a milwaukee fan boy but like to call out any manufacturer for flaws

thanks guys, Milwaukee fanboy here, im just going to hang on to my 2853 and skip this one. I appreciate you releasing videos like these even if others don't.

I hope Milwaukee reads this: I have thousands of dollars in Milwaukee tools. Lately, I’ve been discouraged by the higher and higher prices. If I see very much more of this, the blue and yellow will overtake the red. I’m a fanboy… of what works!

I'm here for the comments section! 🔥

I love that you use the Makita as your go to for disassembly. It's the not strongest, but man it's smooth as silk.

Gonna have to disagree and say I think there should be a recall. I don't even own one of these, but if your comments section remotely reflects the reliability of all those impacts sold...50% failure rate is not acceptable.

Fan boys aint gon like this one🤣

Thank you! I have this Milwaukee impact and it fell apart the same way in the first month of use.

Milwaukee tools have had very hard gears for decades. 45 years ago, I was doing warranty and repair work on many brands at an industrial supply house. I replaced a lot of broken Milwaukee parts that appeared to be too hard for their own good, and not just gears. I own quite a few Milwaukee tools these days, but I can't imagine unsubscribing because of a video like this. Lotta butthurt out there! I love this channel, mostly because it's honest and objective. Just keep doin' whatcher doin'.

Milwaukee: "Now that we've got enough market share and home depot is taking competing brands off the shelves, implement planned obsolescence and start putting out trash products."

I'm glad power tools and batteries have a 5 year warranty required by law here in Norway for private consumers. The funny thing is that Milwaukee cost almost twice as much as Dewalt with local pricing.

That's one thing I do love about my Makita tools...so far I have had 0 reliability issues across a number of drills, impact drivers, belt sanders, grinders, etc. I've had multiple Makita tools now for close to, or even over 20 years, and they're still going as strong and smooth as day one. I even have some of their old school white/black brushed tools, (drill and an impact), and they're still working great. Use those all the time for stuff around the house that doesn't require uber power. Same goes for their batteries and chargers. The set of 2 x 3Ah batteries and the accompanying charger that came with that white and black set are still going strong today. I do own other brand tools, I'm fairly brand agnostic, and try to buy the best tools at the time I can afford. However I have not made the jump to another battery platform, as I have a hars time justifying the additional cost vs performance gains. The only reason I do want to get some Milwaukee stuff, is cause Makita doesn't often release new tools or batteries. For instance I love my Makita Mid-Torque, it's a beast in power and very smooth. However if I want a high torque (which I really do), i'd rather go with probably the new Milwaukee, over any of the current Makita offerings...unless Makita finally releases their new XGT High Torque in an 1/2" LXT 18V format.

I got my gen 3 2 years ago from home depot when they were getting rid of stock for half off, glad I jumped on that deal when I did. Its really too bad they could have made a great tool. My regular brushless and gen 3 fuel have never had any issues, and my previous gen m12 fuel has been my daily tool for a couple years with no issue as well. Thank you for putting out a video on how to fix it for everybody that bought one hoping for an even better impact.

Episode idea: Do warrantee claims with each brand. Who has the fastest turn around? Who requires insane paperwork? Who has local repair centers? I became a DeWalt guy in large part to having a local repair center that offered walk-in replacement of batteries and many tools. Sadly. however, that local repair center was shut down during C19, and the listed "repair center" was just a local tool dealer who gives you forms to send it in to DeWalt. If another brand opened a local repair center like DeWalt used to have, I might switch brands.

Videos like these are what we all need. Thank you, i was about to purchase the milwaukee impact driver and drill set, but now i can wait until a revision. Please open more tools up! Love to see the insides.

Limited experience here but while i was hobbing gears out of 4140, target hardness was around 48-52 hrc. Almost seems like they forgot to temper after hardening.

Long term subscriber here: this is amazing content and what i'd love to see more of in the future. Thank you TTC!

Im a mechanic, full time use for 3 years now haven't had one issue with any old gen. we have warranted 4 m18 new gen.

I am a huge Milwaukee fan boy! I am so glad to see this… like you said happens to the best of them… I try to do my research, and talk to actual users before buying any tool of upper price ranges.. this is the type of information that is most helpful IMHO… real world, (or as close as can be) testing and results data is pure gold! I try and make data driven decisions in my day to day.. Much Thanks!

I have the M12 Impact Driver that I use when I work on my cars and it works great, no problems so far.

This is my favourite channel on RU-vid. Thank you so much for taking the time to make and edit these videos!

I ran over my makita 3/4 impact with a semi trailer (accidental of course) and with only scratching the case runs perfectly still. No internal damage. This is why i buy Makita.

I've been using my old makita for almost 20 years for everything and it has NEVER failed me. It has also replaced all my drills.

This is what I like most about your channel, The honesty. You will show us the good and the bad. It is refreshing given the budgets on social marketing these days. I am positive this will upset the Milwaukee fans, though the reality is they should be thanking you the most as reviews like this are more likely to make Milwaukee take notice and hopefully make improvements in the future.

Sounds about right. I have had two milwaukee drills, 4 batteries, and a polisher quit on me. Since I didn't have the receipt, I was out of luck on the warranty. My m18 gen3 impact constantly overheats during extended use.

Over 40 years ago I had a Makita 9v ni-cad drill. It was over used well beyond what it was designed for and never failed.

As the Milwaukee marketing bravado increases, the quality decreases. I haven’t had a battery case break but I’ve had many m18 batteries where they won’t charge to full bars or else, in the case of 2 of my m12 6ah batteries, they will only charge on the oldest of my 6 chargers. The newer chargers just show a red/green error. Also, they still offer very few of their tools in packout. They really need to take a look at how well festool does this.

I've had my gen 3 m12 and gen 4 m18 kits ever since they came out, luckily no issues with them yet

Thanks for shining light on issues, as a milwaukee user myself I appreciate it. I started due to watching one used on jobsites and its owner claimed to get a half day of tapping trees (maple country here) on a single battery. Loved that drill for about a decade, the chuck is showing signs of age and it might need some fixing now

I have had Milwaukee power tools, and more specifically the M12 sets, for over a decade now with no issues and all of my batteries still working and holding charge for the same amount of time. I have seen some hit or miss tools in the past 3-4 years but have also had similar problems with Dewalt, Ryobi, etc doing heavy scenic carpentry, low voltage install, and metal work/fabrication. They all have product cycles that have issues and that are rock solid. The biggest thing in my opinion is having independent testing and reviews available for the products without the brand trying to make them take this kind of content down. The flip side is that the reviewers and testers need to do their content like this or project farm. Where it is factual and does not vilify or attack the brand in a defamatory manner but rather presents the facts. Still love my Milwaukee tools but definitely also happy to see them called out when they deserve to be.

Those HRC numbers are INSANE for load bearing gears🤯😂 I’ve gotten into metallurgy the last few years, and I just gotta ask…. If I were able to take one of these apart and temper all of the overly hard gears to a happier, less brittle rating, would you guys be interested in testing it? 🤔

Gives me a similar picture to the people over here in northern europe are saying Milwaukee is good. But not for long periods at a time ... Someone once called it a subscription like system

Another great and informative review. I'm still rocking the 2853, and am very happy with it. I have put it through some legit torture tests at work and at home, and found it to be one tough, reliable little beast. Thanks for curing my 3-led envy.

All Milwaukee owners and I should be very grateful to these youtubers and people who made video or text reviews about common faults and the horrible reliability that is presented in our main brand of tools, making a lot of noise is the only way to get to Milwaukee manufacturers and engineers. We need these critics to improve the future of red brand tools, I hope they don't become the average manufacturer that only produces for money and doesn't care about quality, this is not the essence of Milwaukee. I really don't care if the next generation Milwaukee is 100 dollars more expensive if they do a good job on the engine, good quality components and use new types of stronger materials and a new system of protection technology in their tools. We must not allow fanaticism to blind us and our judge. Actually we should be the first ones to criticize our tools brand (or in any other area), that is the only way to reach perfection and improve, learn from our own mistakes and not be a useless conformist. I really hope Milwaukee takes note and starts fixing all the problems. Just in case, I have the 4th generation, I use it every day on very hard jobs and I never have any problems. But that doesn't mean we turn a deaf ear to reality, I'm really waiting to see the next 5th generation and that it really comes as a surprise to the other competing brands. Greetings to all.

Can't wait til you test the DCF860

-51 now. I appreciate the testing regardless of personal feelings. Also hammer issues isnt uncommon for milwaukee. Their 3/4" after use likes to ride the hammer on top of the anvil and lock it up. Thankfully millwaukee learned from competition and you can pull them apart and unstick them now.

I'm a Milwaukee tool guy and I love this video. People like you are looking out for people like us. Keep up the unbiased reviews.

I cant speak for the Milwaukee but ive been using a DeWalt DCF850 atomic impact for over 2 years now and its been an absolute champ. Lags, tapcons, automotive bolts, unibits, etc. Ive gotten it pretty smoking hot and it just keeps going. Has held up extremely well and was the best $100 tool ive ever bought

Much appreciated. This is why TTC is so well regarded. I'm on team red. Mostly. Thanks again!

I was really hoping this video would be about how the gen 4 fixes the gen 3 issues, but it looks like the gen 4 still has those, plus a lot more. I got rid of all my milwaukee tools a few years ago for reliability reasons, and I keep hoping they'll start building quality again, but apparently they're still getting worse. Glad I jumped ship when I did

I actually appreciate the work you guys are doing and i only have Milwaukee tools.

This was a perfect chance for a collab with Dean Doherty.

Ive had the same makita for 10 years. Not one problem

I watch your content for the no-nonsense, unbiased opinions. Keep up the good work 💪🏻

I’ve stuck with Dewalt, had my 20v impact for about 11 years. Used daily and under hard conditions throughout my indoor playground career till it ended in 2018 and been using it around the house since. Only one battery has quit. My Dewalts never seem to die.

Perfect timing, my wife was just asking for a new one!

That's why DeWalt has been my choice for many years. Doesnt shake, doesnt stop, almost half the price of Milwaukee in EU. Only thing I will give Milwaukee is that their impact bits and drills are the best for the price. I bought a set dcd996 with 5ah battery and a charger for equivalent power Milwaukee hammer drill body. If i wanted to spend that much money on tools id take the Hilti or Festool route

Going back to my grandfather's tool box there was always an understanding that Milwaukee tools always had more raw power than Makita, but a Makita would last for eternity and a Milwaukee would tear itself apart because it had no limits. I've had 2 drills and 2 impact drivers from Team Red just go full rage mode and die trying to win the fight, all of my Makita tools just hit their safe limit and shut down before they can damage themselves. I could always imagine the Makita going "sorry boss, you need the next size up".

Good video Thanks. I don't do Milwaukee these days from past experience.

Mine shot sparks and gave up some magic smoke and I tried resetting it with time and a different battery and it did it again. Took it apart and the lead for the led lights wore into the motor shell from vibrating and having a bend in the housing tight against the motor. I really couldn't solder it together and fit it back into the case, so I did some crazy rewiring and adding tape for protection from the motor.

I don’t hate any tool company but with Milwaukee prices and this specific tool having the issue I really think they need to recall or drop the tool and design a better one. my dad bought one and it broke he warrantied it and it broke 4 months later. He tossed the tool all together and stopped buying Milwaukee he doesn’t have a favorite brand but is more of the “if it works I’ll use it if it breaks I’ll toss it kind of person”

Thanks for making these videos

I was kind of surprised by the battery issue that you mentioned in this video as well. I’m a Dewalt guy and had thought about moving to Milwaukee because I hear a lot of good stuff. This makes me happy to know I’ve stuck with Dewalt because I’m still using batteries I bought in 2013-14 for the 20V lineup without issue.

Im a Milwaukee fan boy. If they push out garbage i want to know. So i can be informed and look out. Thesw videos are crucial to keeping corps honest and not just push out garbage

Makita then DeWalt for actual work.

Great vid as always guys! And let me say as a Dewalt platform guy, no tool is perfect and no tool company is above having problems. Dewalts had its share. So im all for your great content helping us all out avoiding problem tools. And I will want to know if there is a Dewalt tool out there that I should stay away from till the company gets its issues corrected. I certianly watch your vids to see what tools I should choose over others, and this vid is just squarely in your wheelhouse of great content.

A damn great video. Thank you TTC!

Stayed away from milwaukee for the longest time due to the higher prices. Managed to snag an m12 combo drill and impact driver. The drill quit working after putting it in reverse during the first test. Also snagged the curre t m18 high torque with the impact driver and the high torque gives up a clacking noise when feathering down the trigger. Good thing they come with 5 year warranty. I'll stick with metabo hpt and bosch. Don't need the power as much as longevity since I am just a DIYer.

Glad I stuck with Dewalt over the years. I use my power tools hard at work and never had a single problem with anything from them.

As someone who bought into flex tools about 3 almost 4 years ago. Watching this video made me smile so wide haha. All the times I’ve heard yea it’s fast but it won’t last as long as my Milwaukee would… or the let’s see how long till it breaks comments. All I can say is I’m happy I went with flex over team red. With the amount of use my tools see I would have gone through them over and over again.

I absolutely love this channel it's one of the best information on channels on tools on the internet and I've bought many of his recommendations. I bought a lot of the newer DeWalt tools over the Milwaukee's. For some reason buying a tool brand that's made by Ryobi and uses probably some of the same Parts interchangeably is a hard pill for me to swallow

My Milwaukee driver isn't as reliable as my DeWalt, it's cutting out often.

It'll be interesting to see how the dcf860 will hold up, considering it'll be about as powerful and will be fairly compact

Truth is the truth. Thanks for heads up!

I am glad I never went with Milwaukee. Back in the early 2000's, around 20 years ago, I bought all Hitchi cordless tools, I think I have 12 of their tools and I still have them all today and am still using the original 20 year old original batteries and chargers, and they still work great today. I use them daily in a Body Shop.

Aww poor milwaukee baby boys what haaaaappen ?? 🤣🤣

Tbh I love Milwaukee but I’ve had to send my grease gun back 5 times, a couple half inch impacts, air compressor and vac.

Great video. Love your work :)

Que bueno que me he mantenido alejado de milwaukee, solo uso makita xgt y metabo(no hpt) y no he tenido ningun problema en 6 años. Gracias por la informacion @TorqueTestChannel

Sad to see milwaukee going down the pan. I bought a packout DAB radio charger and after 3 replacements it is still not right. Keeps losing presets and randomly turns on and plays a station that I have never tuned in to. Not what you would expect from a unit that cost over £330

Have never regretted buying Makita.

Budding Milwaukee fan who recently bought this tool in a kit with the hammer drill. Definitely concerned by this but very thankful that you brought it to light!! Anxious to see what response (if any) Milwaukee offers.

Great video as always!

YIKES no wonder ive been seeing them Milwaukees for cheap on facebook marketplace. They are selling them for “get rid of them asap” prices

Every tradesman is going to reference this issue when they see me on team red now. This is a recall, only sane option.

Blasphemy! Lol. A lemon is a lemon. I’m glad y’all called them out. Now, hopefully, Milwaukee’s R&D takes some notes and does better.

Earned my sub on this one. Been a causal viewer until now.

Not surprising at all, anyone without half a brain knew milwaukee would fry their tools for marketing numbers. Outside of US, the warranty being only 2 years makes Milwaukee not a wise investment.

This seems like they're repeating cost cutting measures somewhere like they did with that impact wrench, even if it's not a total redesign. In this case by using a cheaper parts production process or supplier who are skipping heat treatment steps or using a cheaper metal that doesn't respond well to the process in place. Either way this is something that should be getting caught in early pre-production test runs, not on shelves.

Interesting video. I just built a 0 ft bu 18 ft covered deck with no use of nails as every piece of wood was glued and screwed. The number of deck screws of various lengths and size ,lag bolts and nuts had to number over a thousand ! I used a Porter Cable impact and it did fantastic !

I’m a sicko and own tools on multiple platforms. Makita is my main platform. I also own a ton of dewalt,metabo hpt,and Milwaukee. Milwaukee by far has given me more problems than any other brand. Half of the Milwaukee tools ive bought I’ve had to exchange after a days of use due to poor quality control but they make a pretty tool so I guess that’s why I keep buying them.

Mmmm we have quite a lot of issues with milwaukee high torque. The previous Gen. Electronics love to die or just bearings falling apart

I have an M12 version and have had it go into heat protection mode twice building decks in the summer but never had it physically break. I think it may be the gearbox is designed for the M12 power and the M18 output is just enough more to cause it to start to break.

Hey. Nice video! Thanks for making me stick to DeWalt. I was going for an impact gen 4 next week in favor of an DCF 850, even if I have more DeWalt tools already.

Was just about to purchase one to replace my gen 3 glad to have seen this first.

Ffs man milwaukee is starting to get away from what got em to the game. Breaks my heart

I think DeWalt is jystly taking Mil's marketshare.

I was just about to sell my current M18 impact driver for the latest model, thank goodness I came across this video!

Love your Channel and your unpayed opinions. Could you please try Out the Wera Joker self adjusting wrenches together with other adjustable wrenches?

I’ve been using the same makita impact driver at work for 6 years

Get your tissues ready fan boys

No one asked but in still using my dcf899

My m12 version broke on me about 6 months in. pretty light casual use as a hobbyist and then one day drove about 30 3 inch wood screws and something seized on the inside. No issues with warranty process, they repaired and got it back to me in about a week.

I have had the gen 3 for 3 years daily use. Most abuse it gets is structural screws 4-10”. For the big stuff I don’t bother impacts are slow, I use my drill or impact wrenchs for. Still works flawlessly.

Not gonna lie, me and my Hercules tools really enjoyed watching that few seconds of the other blue 1/4” taking apart the dead 1/4” Milwaukee.

When are you going to test the DeWalt dcf860 it’s seems very powerful from other videos I’ve seen

I just bought one this past weekend in a memorial day sale... hope it holds up.

seems like a good quality company pushing out great tools!