Disappointed with Ryobi Impact Driver

[ragswl4]

I was really shocked yesterday when my new Ryobi Impact Driver died. Purchased it on July 31 and died on August 5. I probably had only about 2 hours of total run time sinking maybe 2-300 drywall screws. It worked great for this task but yesterday when driving a screw I heard a little "POP" and the driver would only turn really slow with no load and not at all when trying to drive a screw. Tried two fresh batteries and no joy.

Still got a ton of drywall screws to sink so replaced the Ryobi with the Hitachi 12v Li-ion. Really light at only 2 lbs and has tons of torque. Hope it lasts longer. Just could not see getting another Ryobi.

[Knottscott]

Hopefully you returned it...sounds like it was defective. I've got a couple of Ryobi-made Craftsman drills, and an impact driver, and a few Hitachi's...I tend to like the feel of the Hitachi's better.

[aggrex]

My 18V Ryobi P230 has a 2 year warranty so you should be able to get a replacement under the warranty if the return policy has expired at HD.

[cwsmith]

Sounds to me like something was just defective. These things happen, even with the best brand names.

I have several power tools made by Ryobi (including some Craftsman branded) and have yet to have a single failure. So I presume this to be just an oddity.

In any case, Ryobi provides a 30-day Satisfaction Warranty, so don't hesitate to return it for cash or exchange.

I'm surprised though that you'd use an impact driver for driving drywall screws. But to each his own, as they say. I have a Ridgid impact driver, but I'm at a loss as to what projects to use it on. Although only a 14.4, it's so powerful that it'll destroy a bit holder.

CWS

[Jim Frye]

Ryobi Impact Driver...

I was really shocked yesterday when my new Ryobi Impact Driver died. Purchased it on July 31 and died on August 5. I probably had only about 2 hours of total run time sinking maybe 2-300 drywall screws. It worked great for this task but yesterday when driving a screw I heard a little "POP" and the driver would only turn really slow with no load and not at all when trying to drive a screw. Tried two fresh batteries and no joy.

Still got a ton of drywall screws to sink so replaced the Ryobi with the Hitachi 12v Li-ion. Really light at only 2 lbs and has tons of torque. Hope it lasts longer. Just could not see getting another Ryobi.

My P230 is several years old and gets used a lot. I think you got a defective one from the factory.

[ragswl4]

I also believe that I just got a defective one out of the box. All my other 18v Ryobi tools work great. Home Depot happily offered to refund my money or provide a replacement on the spot. I went for the Hitachi due to several factors. The Ryobi was $70 with no batteries and is considerably heavier than the Hitachi.

I got the Hitachi Impact Driver and a Drill Driver at Lowes for $139 that included a charger and two batteries, so for the extra $70 I got the drill, batteries and charger. Better deal IMO. Biggest issue was the weight as we are doing the drywall on the ceilings and while we are using a Senco Drywall gun that uses the collated screws, many of those screws have to be "sunk" below the surface of the drywall after driven by the Senco so weight is a big factor for me. Holding that impact driver up against the ceiling all day gets tiring.

I have no qualms about buying Ryobi tools, in fact I believe they have great value for the price.