2 destroyed starters in a row...WTH?

I feel your pain, but when it happened in my w200, I had to pull my transfer case, too, to fix it. I had that problem on a stock Chrysler truck starter, you know the big heavy bastards. I was told by a rebuilder that the starters are supposed to have a leather washer on the end to cushion the impact of the bendix pinion gear on the snout when it spirals out to full throw. I don't know if that's true or not, just repeating what I was told. Don't know if that has any relevance to the Denso minis.
FWIW. I had a big *** powerful new battery in it.