Audi Paint Code: Where to Find It and How to Read It
The exact label to look for on a Audi, how the code is printed, what people mistake it for, and 12 verified Audi colour codes.
NHTSA vPIC has no colour field, so no VIN decoder returns one. The label on the vehicle is the reliable route.
A 17-character VIN does not contain an Audi paint code. Audi prints it on the vehicle data sticker inside the luggage compartment — boot floor or spare wheel well, the rear compartment side panel, or under the trunk lid. Find the row headed LACKNR. / INNENAUSST. (PAINT NO. / INTERIOR): a four-character code starting with L, usually printed twice, as in LY7G/LY7G.
Where is the paint code on a Audi?
- Luggage compartment floor or spare wheel well. The vehicle data sticker sits on the boot floor, usually under the carpet and often inside the spare wheel well. AutomotiveTouchup and Chipex both name this spot, and Chipex states the label is inside the luggage compartment on every Audi model. This is the first place to look on cars from the 1990s through current model years, and no source reports the position moving out of the boot.
- Underside of the trunk lid. AutomotiveTouchup's Audi location diagram marks a second spot under the trunk deck lid, and Chipex repeats it as "under the boot lid". Check here when the boot floor is bare or the trim has been replaced. Both sources list it alongside the floor position rather than tying it to particular model years.
- Rear compartment side panel. ExpressPaint places the Audi label "inside rear compartment (back compartment panel, or under trunk floor mat)", and AutomotiveTouchup lists "inside the rear compartment" as one of its four spots. Worth checking on the Q5, Q7, Q8 and e-tron, where the load floor is shallow and there is no deep spare well.
- Under the dash (single-source alternative). ExpressPaint lists "Under Dash" as an alternative Audi location. Neither AutomotiveTouchup nor Chipex mentions it, and both state the label is in the trunk on every model, so treat this as a fallback to try on older cars after the three boot positions have been ruled out rather than as a normal position.
How to read the Audi paint code
Four characters beginning with L — LY9C, LZ7S, LX5H — printed on the row headed LACKNR. / INNENAUSST. in German with PAINT NO. / INTERIOR beneath it in English. The value normally appears twice with a slash between the halves (LY7G/LY7G on Audi's own label). Audi also uses a two-character order code for the same colour (T9 = LY9C, A2 = LY9B, 6Y = LZ7S), and some labels show only that short form; ExpressPaint describes the code as four characters such as LA7W, sometimes shown as two characters such as 8E. Two things on the same sticker get mistaken for it: the pair immediately to the right of the paint value (N1F/NQ on the example label) is the interior material and interior colour, and the block of three-character codes below it (E0A, 7GA, 4UB, 6XL …) is the PR option list describing equipment, not paint.
- Open the trunk and lift the load floor and carpet — the vehicle data sticker is usually on the boot floor or inside the spare wheel well.
- If it is not there, check the underside of the trunk lid and the rear compartment side trim panel.
- On the sticker, find the row printed LACKNR. / INNENAUSST. with PAINT NO. / INTERIOR beneath it.
- Read the value in the paint column: four characters starting with L, normally printed twice with a slash, as in LY7G/LY7G.
- Ignore the pair to its right (N1F/NQ — interior material and colour) and the grid of three-character PR option codes below it.
- Verify the code against Audi's colour name — LY9C is Ibis White, LZ7S is Daytona Gray Pearl — and if the sticker is missing or unreadable, give an Audi dealer your VIN so they can retrieve the code from the build record.
Common Audi paint codes
| Code | Audi colour name | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| LY9C | Ibis White (Ibisweiss) | Order code T9. Audi's standard solid white; listed on everything from the 2012 A4 to the 2024 Q7. |
| LY9B | Brilliant Black (Brillantschwarz) | Order code A2. Solid black offered across the range for two decades, still current on the Q7. |
| LZ9Y | Phantom Black Pearl (Phantomschwarz) | Order code L8. Common on 2000s and 2010s A4, A5 and A6; absent from 2020-onward colour lists. |
| LY9T | Mythos Black Metallic (Mythosschwarz) | Order code 0E. The current metallic black — Q5, Q7, Q8, A1, R8, RS5, e-tron. Some catalogues label it Pearl rather than Metallic. |
| LS9R | Glacier White Metallic (Gletscherweiss Pearl) | Order code 2Y. Audi's metallic white, listed from the 2012 A4 through the 2024 Q7. |
| LZ7S | Daytona Gray Pearl (Daytonagrau) | Order code 6Y. Appears on almost every Audi colour list from 2012 to 2024, including S and RS models. |
| LZ7G | Florett Silver Metallic (Florettsilber) | Order codes L5 and 8W. Current silver on Q5, Q7, Q8, A1, R8 and e-tron. |
| LY7C | Nardo Gray (Nardograu) | Order code T3. Flat-looking grey used mainly on S and RS cars, plus the A1, Q7 and R8. |
| LX5H | Navarra Blue Metallic (Navarrablau) | Order code 2D. Listed on 2020 Q5, RS5, A1 and Q8, the 2021 e-tron and the 2024 Q7. |
| LZ3M | Misano Red Pearl (Misanorot) | Order code N9. Long-running red — listed for the 2012 A4 and still on 2020 RS5, A1 and Q8 lists. |
| LY7G | Quartz Gray Metallic (Quarzgrau) | Order codes 7G and Q4. This is the code shown on the Audi data-sticker photo used by AutomotiveTouchup, from a C6-generation A6. |
| LX7R | Monsoon Gray Metallic (Monsungrau) | Order codes 0C and 07. Listed on the 2012 A4 and still on the 2020 Q5. |
This list is not every colour Audi has sold. Always confirm against the label on your own vehicle before ordering paint.
What to know before you order paint
- A 17-character VIN carries no paint information. NHTSA's vPIC decoder (vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov) returns more than 140 fields for an Audi VIN and not one is exterior colour, and PaintScratch states the distinction directly: the VIN identifies the vehicle, the paint code identifies the paint colour. Any service that shows a colour "from your VIN" is reading a manufacturer build record, a dealer system or a listing.
- Chipex's own Audi page confirms how the VIN route actually works: if you cannot find the code on the car, you call the dealer with the VIN and "they will be able to look it up on their internal database" — a build-record lookup, not a decode.
- Three independent sources agree the label is in the trunk. AutomotiveTouchup says to check "under the trunk deck lid, inside the rear compartment, under the mat, or on the spare tire wheel well"; Chipex says it is inside the luggage compartment regardless of model; ExpressPaint says "inside rear compartment (back compartment panel, or under trunk floor mat)" and adds "under dash" as the only dissenting alternative.
- The field label is verifiable from AutomotiveTouchup's photographed Audi data sticker (a C6-generation A6, VIN beginning WAUDH7): the row reads LACKNR. / INNENAUSST. over PAINT NO. / INTERIOR, with the value LY7G/LY7G and the interior codes N1F/NQ beside it. AutomotiveTouchup's Audi page tells owners to "look for 'Paint No.'".
- Audi exclusive custom colours fall outside the normal L-series and carry a separate factory formula number: AutomotiveTouchup's 2012 A4 list shows LQ81 Classicrot Metallic (FQ33-0001), LQ83 Palace Blue Pearl (FQ33-0003) and LQ84 Saddle Brown Pearl (FQ33-0004).
Audi and refinish sources
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- How to Find Audi Paint Codes for Precision-Matched Touch-Up PaintAutomotiveTouchup (Microfinish LLC)
- Audi Touch Up Paint — Audi Color Codes and where to find themChipex USA
- Audi Touch Up Paint — paint code location and formatExpressPaint
- How to Find Your Car Color Paint CodePaintScratch
- vPIC VIN decoder API (DecodeVinValues) — returns no exterior colour fieldNHTSA
Audi paint code questions
How do I find the exact paint code for my Audi?
Open the trunk and read the vehicle data sticker. It sits on the luggage compartment floor or inside the spare wheel well, on the rear compartment side panel, or under the trunk lid. The paint code is on the row marked LACKNR. / INNENAUSST. — PAINT NO. / INTERIOR — and looks like LY9C or LZ7S. If the sticker is gone, an Audi dealer can pull the code from the build record using your VIN.
Where is the paint code located on an Audi Q5, Q7 or A6?
The same place on all three: inside the luggage compartment. Chipex states Audi puts the label there regardless of model, and AutomotiveTouchup lists four spots to check — under the trunk deck lid, inside the rear compartment, under the mat, and on the spare tire wheel well. On the A6, lift the boot carpet first. On the Q5 and Q7, check the rear side trim panel as well as the well under the load floor.
Can I get my Audi paint code from the VIN?
No — a 17-character VIN does not encode paint. NHTSA's free vPIC decoder returns over 140 fields for an Audi VIN and none of them is exterior colour. PaintScratch puts it plainly: the VIN identifies the vehicle, the paint code identifies the colour. Sites offering a colour "by VIN" are reading a manufacturer build record, a dealer system, or a sales listing — not decoding the number itself. We do not return a paint code from a VIN.
What does an Audi paint code look like?
Four characters beginning with L — LY9C, LZ9Y, LX5H — printed on the paint row of the data sticker, normally twice with a slash between: LY7G/LY7G. Audi also uses a two-character order code for the same colour (T9 for LY9C, A2 for LY9B, 6Y for LZ7S), and dealer and refinish systems accept either. ExpressPaint describes the Audi code as four characters such as LA7W, sometimes shown as a two-character code such as 8E.
There are several codes on my Audi sticker. Which one is the paint code?
Only the value on the LACKNR. / PAINT NO. row. The pair immediately to its right — N1F/NQ on the label AutomotiveTouchup photographs — is the interior material and interior colour, not paint. The grid of three-character codes below it (E0A, 7GA, 4UB, 6XL and so on) is the PR option list describing equipment. The line above carries the VIN, and the TYP / TYPE line carries the model code, such as 4F2.
Does Audi print more than one code for two-tone, pearl or tri-coat paint?
Audi prints one exterior paint code even for pearl and crystal-effect finishes; the extra layers live in the refinish formula, not in a second code on the car. The paint field itself carries two entries separated by a slash, and on a single-colour car both halves are identical — LY7G/LY7G. If the two halves differ, the car left the factory with a second body colour, such as a contrasting roof; ask a dealer which panels each code covers before you buy paint.
What is an Audi exclusive paint code like LQ81?
Audi exclusive custom colours sit outside the normal L-series. AutomotiveTouchup's 2012 A4 list shows LQ81 Classicrot Metallic, LQ83 Palace Blue Pearl and LQ84 Saddle Brown Pearl, each paired with an FQ-prefixed factory formula number such as FQ33-0001. If your sticker shows one of these, a general touch-up catalogue may not stock it and the paint has to be mixed to the factory formula by a refinish supplier.
The sticker in my trunk is missing. What now?
Call an Audi dealer with your VIN. Chipex's Audi page says exactly that: the dealer looks the colour up on their internal database, because the number itself carries no colour. Original sale paperwork and the window sticker also name the colour, which maps to a code — Ibis White is LY9C, Daytona Gray Pearl is LZ7S. Failing that, a body shop can read the panel with a spectrophotometer and mix a match without any code.