• Acoustic pianos have strings, and do not connect to power mains. Most upright and grand pianos are acoustic.

• Digital pianos do not have strings, and do connect to power mains.

• Hybrid pianos may have strings, and do connect to power mains. These will be designated NV, ATX, or AR models.

Warranty period

12 years

Where to find your serial number

On the frame at the top (for upright pianos) or the front (for grand pianos), and also on your warranty registration card. Most Kawai acoustic piano serial numbers are 7 characters long.

Common issues that are not covered by your warranty

Sticking keys, silent notes, ringing dampers, “strange” sounding notes, squeaking pedals

These issues all suggest that your piano needs to be serviced, which is a normal part of piano maintenance, and should be performed at least once per year by a piano technician. This is not the same as having your piano tuned. These issues rarely indicate a defect, and so usually cannot be claimed under your warranty. Click here to search for piano technicians close to your area, or contact us for more help.

Piano will not stay in tune

Again, this will generally indicate a problem with the piano’s routine servicing, and may also result from unstable temperature and/or humidity in the environment, neither of which are covered by your warranty. You should contact a piano technician for more advice.

Broken strings

Piano strings will break from time to time. This is normal and expected and, just as you would a guitar or violin, you should be prepared to have these strings replaced as a matter of the course of your piano ownership. String breakage/replacement is not covered by the warranty.

Broken Soft-Falls

The Soft-Fall is the mechanism that causes the fallboard to close slowly over the keys, instead of falling closed under gravity. They do occasionally run out of gas and need to be replaced, which is covered by the warranty – when this is the case, they do not damage the surrounding timber. Fallboards and Soft-fall mechanisms that show signs of damage are the result of the fallboard having been closed under pressure – this is not covered by your warranty.

Warranty period

5 years

Where to find your serial number

Printed on the nameplate on the underneath of the keyboard, and also on the warranty registration card that came with your piano. Kawai digital piano serial numbers have one letter followed by six numerals, like this: A123456.

Common issues that are not covered by your warranty

In all cases, you should ensure that your piano’s software is up to date before you report a fault. The latest versions are always available here.

Piano is out of tune

This is essentially impossible unless the piano has been modified. Most models have functions that will allow you to adjust the tuning, stretch tuning, and temperament, sometimes per key. You should check your owner’s manual for more information about these features, perform a factory reset, and make adjustments to the environment – acoustic resonances with surfaces and objects in the piano room are a common cause of misapprehended tones.

One or more notes “sound strange”

Sampling pianos is as much art as science, and what sounds beautiful to one person can sound strange or wrong to another. For this reason, Kawai pianos include settings that allow for fine adjustments of many of the characteristics of the sounds, often at a per-key level. These functions are generally bundled under the Virtual Technician or Virtual Piano Artisan section in the menu. You should familiarise yourself and experiment with these features before reporting a fault – and if you do report a fault, please be descriptive and include audio or video recordings if you can.

Keys make thumping or whooshing noises

Kawai digital pianos are designed to sound and feel as much as possible like acoustic pianos, including the mechanical sounds of, for example, the hammers falling back onto the rest felts, and the short, rustling resonance that occurs when the dampers are released all at once. Again, these sounds can be adjusted in the Virtual Technician or Virtual Piano Artisan section in the menu. Failure to understand or properly use these features does not constitute a fault with the product and will not be covered by your warranty.

Pedal pins are bent

Pedals that don’t work or work intermittently are usually caused by one or more pins inside the pedal plug being bent. These fine metal pins must all be pointing straight up so that they are inserted correctly into the socket, when you plug the pedals in. These plugs can only be inserted one way, so be sure that it hasn’t been jammed in incorrectly. Bent pedal plug pins are easily remedied with tweezers or needle nose pliers and are not covered by your warranty.

Warranty period

5 years on all electronic components, else 12 years.

Where to find your serial number

On the warranty registration card that came with your piano, and also:

ATX/AR models: on the frame at the top (for upright pianos) or the front (for grand pianos).

NV models: printed on the nameplate on the underneath of the keyboard.

Common issues that aren’t covered by your warranty

As hybrid pianos contain both important acoustic and electronic elements, their warranties provide different conditions for different issues. 

ATX and AR models are considered “hybrid acoustic” pianos and are full acoustic pianos with strings, and additional electronic parts and functions.

NV models are considered “hybrid digital” pianos because they produce sound electronically, but have acoustic piano action and damper mechanics.

In both cases, please see both the Acoustic Pianos and Digital Pianos tabs for more information about common issues that won’t be covered by your warranty.