I rattle off warranties to customers all the time, based on the warranty basics of each company. For example, I will tell customers that Inada and Panasonic have 3 year parts and labor,  in-home warranties and that the chinese-made chairs have a 1 year parts and labor, in -home warranty. But, to be honest, there is a little more to it than that.

I thought I would write a series of articles on the warranties of each of the companies for which I am an authorized dealer, each article discussing the finer points of the warranty of each company. I will start this adventure today by reviewing the Panasonic warranty.

Panasonic Warranty

First of all, Panasonic’s warranty applies to residents of the USA and Puerto Rico. For Canadian customers, I’d encourage you to find out what the coverage is for your chair.

About a year ago, Panasonic began to offer a 3 year parts and labor, in-home warranty on their MA70, EP30005, and EP30007 models,, with an additional 2 years for parts only on the massage block and all electronic components. Here are the details of that warranty that you should be aware of:

1. 3 years or 1000 hours for parts and labor, which ever comes first. If you were to use your chair 15 minutes per day, 1000 hours would translate into 4000 days. 4000 days equals almost 11 years. If that is your average usage, your warranty will expire after the 3 years.

2. Beyond the initial 3 years, Panasonic will cover the “massage block” and all electronic components for 2 more additional years (or 1000 hours). This is a parts only coverage and NOT labor.

3. Panasonic stipulates, in their warranty document, that coverage begins on the Date of Purchase, not when the chair is delivered to the customer.

4. Coverage is for “a defect in materials or workmanship.”

5. Panasonic will, “at it’s option either a.) repair your product with new or refurbished parts, b.) replace it with a new or a refurbished equivalent value product, or c.) refund your purchase price. ” They also mention that the decision to repair or replace, or refund will be at the discretion of Panasonic and not the customer.

6. The warranty only extends to the original purchaser of the chair. In other words, it is not transferable if and when the chair is sold.

7. The warranty includes an in-home determination of whether the chair problem falls under the scope of the warranty. If it is found that the chair problem does NOT fall under the scope of the warranty, the customer is responsible for the cost of the in-home determination service (and I have no idea what that cost would be).

8. Make sure to have a copy of your purchase receipt when you petition Panasonic for warranty coverage. You will not get any coverage if you do not provide proof of purchase. That proof of purchase will need to include date of sale, amount paid, and the vendor from whom you purchased the chair.

9. Things that are not covered by the warranty include normal wear and tear, damage from shipment or delivery, cosmetic damage, accidents, misuse, abuse, neglect, mishandling, misapplication, alteration, faulty installation, set-up adjustments, misadjustment of consumer controls, improper maintenance, power line surge (get a surge protector ASAP!!), lightning damage, modifications, introduction of sand, commercial use such as hotel, office, restaurant, or other business or rental use of the product, or service by anyone other than a PCEG Authorized Service Center, or damage that is attributable to acts of God.

By the way, if the weight of the user is more than 264 lbs, permanent damage may occur. If it is determined that this was the cause of the problem, it will be deemed user abuse and, therefore, not covered by the warranty.

Panasonic does mention in their warranty that “some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, or limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts, so the exclusions may not apply to you.” Check your state laws to see if these exclusions don’t count in your state.

10. Warranty for all other Panasonic massage chairs include: 1 year parts & labor and 3 year parts only (massage block and all electronic components). Other than the time differences, everything else applies to this warranty as does the 3 year parts and labor mentioned above.

I hope this helps you understand the Panasonic warranties.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com