My cordless circular saw is making a grinding noise and sparking - is it toast?

Hey folks, having issues with my 5-year-old DeWalt 20V circular saw. Lately it's been making this awful grinding noise when I start it up, and I've noticed some sparks coming from the motor area when under load. Battery seems fine (holds charge on other tools), but the saw feels wobbly when cutting. Is this something I can fix myself or should I just toss it and buy new? Hate to waste a tool if it's salvageable.

Sounds like your brushes are shot, OP. I've had that happen with my drywall saws - the grinding noise is usually carbon brushes wearing down. Sparks mean they're arcing. You can usually replace them pretty cheap if you're handy. Check if your model has accessible brush caps on the sides. If it does, pop 'em open and see if the brushes are worn to nubs. YouTube has good vids on this. If the wobble is bad though, might be bearing issues too.

Ugh, sparking tools give me the willies. Had a corded saw do that once while I was up on a roof - nearly dropped it! If it's wobbling, that's concerning beyond just brushes. Could be the armature is damaged or the blade shaft is bent. Before you do anything, make sure it's unplugged/disconnected (obvious but people forget). If you're not comfortable taking it apart, might be worth taking to a repair shop for diagnosis. Sometimes the fix costs more than a new tool though.

5 years on a cordless saw is decent life. Brushes are $15-20 part, bearings maybe $30. If you DIY, maybe $50 total. New comparable saw is $150+. Wobble suggests bearing or gear issues - if gears are stripped, it's probably dead. Open it up, look for metal shavings in the gear housing. No shavings? Probably just bearings/brushes. Shavings? Time for new. DeWalt parts are easy to find online. I've saved 3 tools this year with simple bearing swaps.

Thanks everyone! Going to try the brush replacement first since that seems easiest. Found the caps BeamBetty mentioned. If that doesn't fix the wobble, I'll check bearings like CaulkChris suggested. Appreciate the help - will update if I get it running smooth again. Rather fix than replace if possible!