Makita BTD142HW: Discontinued — What to Buy Instead
An early 18V LXT impact driver. Retired, but it takes current LXT batteries, which changes the calculation.
Disclosure:As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This costs you nothing and never changes which tools we recommend. Read more.
The BTD142HW was an 18V LXT impact driver from Makita’s first lithium generation — a brushed motor, a single speed, and the compact body that made LXT drivers popular with cabinet installers.
It is discontinued. The LXT battery mount is unchanged, so current packs fit and old packs run current tools.
Where a modern driver is genuinely different
Impact drivers have improved more than drills over the same period, for two reasons.
Brushless motors matter more here than anywhere else, because an impact driver spends its life at high load in short bursts. The efficiency shows up as noticeably more screws per charge and a tool that does not get hot.
Speed modes are the bigger practical change. A single-speed driver hammers everything at full rate, which is fine for 100 mm structural screws and terrible for a small brass screw into hardwood. Current drivers offer three or four modes, including an assist mode that starts slowly so the fastener does not walk before it bites.
Keeping the old one going
The anvil and the hammer mechanism are hardened and rarely fail. Brushes wear and are replaceable. The usual reason these get retired is that the batteries died and the owner upgraded the whole kit.
Given LXT compatibility, buying a current pack to revive an old driver is a reasonable move if the tool is otherwise fine.
What to buy instead
The Makita XDT16T, linked below, is the current equivalent: brushless, four speed modes, and sold as a kit with 5.0Ah packs that will also run your old tools.