Before a warranty ends, run the tool through its full range of functions, listen and smell for anything unusual, check the cord or battery and charger, inspect any guards and safety switches, and confirm accessories and paperwork are in order — while a repair or replacement is still free.
Why does this matter more near the end of a warranty?
Once the warranty period closes, any fault becomes the owner’s problem to pay for. A manufacturer or retailer has no obligation to fix or replace anything discovered the day after cover lapses, even if the fault had clearly been developing for months.
Tools that sit unused in a garage or shed are the biggest risk. A drill bought for one job and put away for a year can develop a fault nobody notices until the warranty window has already shut. Setting a reminder a few weeks before the warranty ends — not on the exact expiry date — leaves time to actually raise a claim if something turns up. For a general refresher on what a warranty is meant to cover in the first place, see what a warranty actually covers on a power tool.
What should you actually test on the tool itself?
Run the tool through every mode and speed setting it has, under a light load, not just an idle spin. Faults often only show up under actual working conditions, not sitting on a bench.
- Every speed setting, if it has variable speed, checking for smooth transitions rather than surging or stalling
- Any hammer, impact or orbital mode, switched on and off, to confirm it engages and disengages cleanly
- Depth stops, bevel adjustments and any other mechanical settings, moved through their full range
- Chucks, collets or blade clamps, tightened and released a few times to check they still grip evenly
Pay attention to vibration that feels different from when the tool was new, and to any grinding, ticking or rattling that wasn’t there before. A burnt smell from a power tool during this test is a specific warning sign worth investigating rather than dismissing as “just the smell of a new motor.”
What does a change in noise or smell actually tell you?
A new noise or smell usually points to friction, wear or an electrical fault developing inside the tool — problems that are often cheap to fix under warranty and expensive once it lapses.
Brushed motors wear in a fairly predictable way, and knowing what that process looks like helps distinguish normal ageing from an actual fault. Why brushed motors eventually fail covers what that wear looks and sounds like as it develops. A blade or bit that has gone blunt puts extra strain on a motor that has nothing to do with the tool’s own reliability — see what a blunt blade does to a motor before assuming the tool itself is at fault.
What should you check on the cord, battery and charger?
Inspect the cord for nicks, cracking or exposed wire along its full length, and check that plugs and battery contacts are free of corrosion or heat discolouration, with no loose connections at either end.
For corded tools, the cord itself is usually the first thing to fail, especially where it enters the tool’s body — that’s where flexing concentrates the strain. A coiled extension lead stored badly develops the same kind of stress, so it’s worth checking any lead the tool is regularly used with as well.
For cordless tools, batteries and chargers are worth their own separate check:
- Does the battery hold a charge for roughly the same working time it always has, or has that noticeably shortened?
- Does the charger’s indicator light behave as the manual describes, without unusual flashing or an unusually long charge time?
- Is there any swelling, heat, or a chemical smell from the battery pack itself?
Batteries age even when they’re not being used, and how they’re stored between jobs makes a real difference. How lithium-ion tool batteries actually age and what storing a battery at full charge does both explain what’s happening inside the cell and what’s worth flagging to the manufacturer before cover runs out.
What about guards, switches and safety features?
Check that every guard moves freely and returns to its resting position under its own spring tension, and that switches — including any dead-man or trigger-release switch — cut power immediately and reliably every time.
These checks matter for safety as much as for warranty cover. A guard that’s sticking, a spring that’s lost its tension, or a switch that doesn’t cut out instantly are all faults that should be reported and fixed, not worked around. If a guard or safety feature is behaving oddly, that’s a manufacturer issue to raise while the tool is still under warranty — not something to loosen, remove or bypass to get a job done.
Anti-kickback pawls, riving knives and blade guards on saws are worth checking specifically, since they see less daily attention than a trigger switch but matter just as much when something goes wrong. What an anti-kickback pawl does and why a riving knife is not optional explain what correct operation actually looks like, so a fault is easier to spot.
Should you check accessories and included parts too?
Yes — chucks, blades, bits, cases, dust bags and any bundled accessories are usually covered by the same warranty as the tool, and a fault in any of them is worth raising before cover ends.
A case with a broken latch, a dust port that no longer seals, or an included blade that’s warped from the factory are all things a warranty claim can often address. It’s easy to overlook these because attention naturally goes to the motor and the trigger, but a kit bought as a bundle should be checked as a bundle. If a decision is coming up about whether to buy the bare tool or a kit next time, kit vs bare tool is worth reading before that purchase, not after.
What paperwork should be sorted before the warranty ends?
Locate the original receipt or proof of purchase, the product registration if one was completed, and the manual with its serial number, and keep all three together somewhere they won’t be lost.
Many manufacturers require proof of purchase date to process any claim at all, and some extended warranty schemes require registration within a set window after buying — missing that registration can quietly void the extension without the owner ever intending to skip it. A phone photo of the receipt and the serial number plate, stored somewhere searchable, is a simple habit that avoids a lot of frustration later.
What if you find something wrong?
Contact the manufacturer or retailer with a clear, specific description of the fault, when it appears, and under what conditions — rather than a vague “it doesn’t feel right.”
Note the exact circumstances: which mode, which speed, whether it’s under load or idling, and whether it’s consistent or intermittent. This makes the claim faster to process and harder to dispute. If a fault is borderline or the tool is older, it’s also worth weighing whether repair actually makes sense against the cost and hassle involved — when a tool is genuinely worth repairing lays out that decision without assuming a professional trade repair is always the right call.
Does regular maintenance affect a warranty claim?
Basic care — keeping a tool clean, dry and stored properly — supports a warranty claim by showing the fault wasn’t caused by neglect, but it doesn’t replace the checks above.
Rust, dust build-up in vents, or a tool left in a damp shed can all be used to argue a fault was caused by poor storage rather than a manufacturing defect. How to store tools so they don’t rust and what workshop humidity does to tools and timber both cover the storage habits that keep a tool in a condition where a genuine fault is easy to demonstrate. General buying and comparison groundwork on what a tool’s spec sheet is actually promising is covered on the buying tools guide hub, and broader maintenance habits worth building into a routine are gathered under tool care and maintenance.
Is it worth doing this check on every tool?
It’s most worth doing on tools that see irregular or seasonal use, since faults on daily-use tools tend to surface on their own well before a warranty period ends.
A hedge trimmer used twice a year, a rarely-touched rotary tool, or a specialist jig bought for one project are exactly the kind of purchases where a fault can sit undiscovered. Building a habit of checking anything infrequently used against its warranty date — alongside general safety checks covered under safety and PPE — costs very little time and can save the price of a repair or a replacement outright.
Find Tool publishes general information, not professional advice. Power tools, mains electricity and workshop machinery are genuinely dangerous, and the safe settings, guards and procedures differ between models — always follow the manual and the markings on the tool in front of you rather than a general guide. Never remove or defeat a guard or safety feature. Anything involving fixed wiring, gas or structural work belongs to a qualified tradesperson. Wear the eye, ear and respiratory protection the task calls for.
Featured image: Photo by Rosser1954, source, CC BY 4.0