Chrysler Paint Code: Where to Find It and How to Read It
The exact label to look for on a Chrysler, how the code is printed, what people mistake it for, and 12 verified Chrysler colour codes.
NHTSA vPIC has no colour field, so no VIN decoder returns one. The label on the vehicle is the reliable route.
On most 2007-and-newer Chryslers the paint code sits on a barcoded equipment label in the driver's door jamb, printed as three characters right after the field label "PNT:" — for example PNT: PW7. Older 300, Sebring, Concorde and PT Cruiser models carry it under the hood on the firewall or the radiator support. A 17-character VIN does not encode paint color.
Where is the paint code on a Chrysler?
- Driver-side door jamb. On a white barcoded equipment label on the door shut face or the B-pillar, separate from the safety certification label that carries GVWR and the build date. This is the standard spot for 2007-and-newer Chryslers — 300, 200, Pacifica, Voyager, Town & Country, PT Cruiser — and AutomotiveTouchup, PaintScratch, ExpressPaint, Wiltse's Auto Paint and Scratches Happen all name it. PaintScratch says Chrysler moved the tag here from the radiator support on "later models" without pinning a year, so some pre-2007 cars have it too.
- Engine bay firewall. Under the hood on the wall between engine and cabin — check the passenger side first, then the center, then the driver side. AutomotiveTouchup lists the firewall for the 300, 300C, 300M, LHS, Concorde, Sebring, PT Cruiser and Colt, mostly 1990s and 2000s cars. Sources disagree here: the same site says every 2007-and-newer Chrysler uses the door jamb, yet still lists the firewall for the 300 and 300C, which stayed in production through 2023. Check both.
- Radiator support, front of the engine bay. The metal crossbar at the very front of the engine bay, visible with the hood open. AutomotiveTouchup lists it for the Pacifica, Town & Country, Concorde, Prowler and Imperial, and PaintScratch calls it the classic Chrysler location on older cars, frequently hidden under engine grease and oil. Applies mainly to pre-2007 vehicles and the 2004-2008 Pacifica. Check it whenever the door jamb comes up empty.
- Inner fender well or strut tower. The last-resort locations. AutomotiveTouchup lists the inner fender well for the New Yorker, Concorde and Vista, and the right frame rail in the engine compartment for the 2004-2008 Crossfire; Scratches Happen adds the driver-side strut tower, in front of the tower under the hood. Mostly relevant to 1980s through 2000s models, and to any car whose door-jamb label was lost during body repair.
How to read the Chrysler paint code
Three characters, mixed letters and digits, printed immediately after the field label "PNT:" on the sticker — PNT: PW7, PNT: PX8, PNT: PRV. The first character is almost always P, occasionally Q (PX8 is also printed QX8, PS2 as QS2). Ignore the other three-character sales codes on the same label: interior trim, wheelbase and equipment options use the same format, and the trim code is what people grab by mistake. Ignore the 17-character VIN printed above them as well. Refinish catalogs list the identical color under a different leading letter — GW7 for PW7, NRV for PRV, LAU for PAU — because FCA maintains a "paint code" column and a "sales code" column. Only the last two characters identify the color.
- Open the driver's door and look at the door shut face and the B-pillar for a white barcoded equipment label. It is a separate sticker from the safety certification label that carries GVWR, the VIN and the build date.
- Find "PNT:" on that sticker. The three characters printed immediately after it are the exterior paint code — for example PNT: PW7.
- If there is no such label in the jamb, open the hood and work through the firewall (passenger side, then center, then driver side), then the radiator support at the front, then the strut towers and inner fenders. That is where 1980s through 2000s Chryslers put it.
- Write down all three characters including the leading P or Q, and leave the other three-character codes on the label alone — those are interior trim, wheelbase and equipment options.
- If nothing on the car is legible, call Chrysler customer care at 1-800-247-9753 with the VIN so a dealer can read the build record.
- Verify the code against the color name before ordering paint: PW7 should read Bright White, PRV Velvet Red Pearl, PAU Granite Crystal Metallic, PX8 Gloss Black. If the name does not match the car in front of you, you have the wrong code.
Common Chrysler paint codes
| Code | Chrysler colour name | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| PW7 | Bright White Clear Coat | Long-running white across 300, Pacifica, Voyager and Town & Country. Refinish catalogs index it as GW7. |
| PX8 | Gloss Black Clear Coat (listed by Mopar as Gloss/Pitch Black) | Solid black, not the pearl black. Refinish code DX8; some suppliers print it PX8/QX8. |
| PXR | Brilliant Black Crystal Pearl-Coat | Pearl black, mainly on the 300. Refinish code AXR. Routinely confused with solid black PX8. |
| PAU | Granite Crystal Metallic Clear Coat | 300 and Pacifica, roughly 2013 onward. Refinish code LAU. |
| PSC | Billet Silver Metallic Clear Coat | 300 and Pacifica. Refinish code JSC. |
| PAR | Maximum Steel Metallic Clear Coat | 300 and Pacifica. Refinish code KAR. |
| PRV | Velvet Red Pearl-Coat | The velvet red pearlcoat people ask about. Mopar lists the same code as Passion Red and, on Dodge, Octane Red. Refinish code NRV. |
| PDN | Ceramic Grey Clear Coat | 300 and Pacifica. Unusual in that FCA's paint code and sales code are both PDN. |
| PBM | Ocean Blue Metallic Clear Coat | Pacifica. Refinish code SBM. |
| PPS | Fathom Blue Pearl-Coat | Pacifica. Refinish code LPS; some suppliers also list it as Mallard Blue Pearl. |
| PRY | Redline Tri-Coat Pearl | Three-stage red on the 300. Needs a base and a midcoat, but the label still prints one code. Refinish code JRY. |
| PS2 | Bright Silver Metallic Clear Coat | Older 300, Town & Country and Sebring. Refinish code WS2; also printed QS2. |
This list is not every colour Chrysler 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 does not encode paint. NHTSA's vPIC decoder returns 154 fields for a 2018 Chrysler 300 VIN and not one of them is exterior color, because color is not part of the VIN standard. PaintScratch states the same thing outright: the VIN does not contain the paint code, and only helps narrow formula variants once the code is already known.
- FCA's own 2022 Mopar Touch-Up Paint Application Guide (FCA US LLC, ©2022) prints two columns for every color: a "paint code" (GW7, LAU, DX8, NRV, JSC, KXJ) and a "sales code" (PW7, PAU, PX8, PRV, PSC, PXJ). The code on the vehicle's label is the sales code. The last two characters are identical in both, which is why suppliers can accept either.
- AutomotiveTouchup states that all Chrysler models from 2007 carry the code on the driver-side door or door jamb, but the same page still lists the 300 and 300C at the passenger-side or center firewall. That is a real disagreement in the sources, not an error to resolve by picking one — check the jamb first, then the firewall.
- Central Alberta Paint & Supply, Scratches Happen and AutomotiveTouchup independently describe the code as three characters printed immediately after "PNT:", and Wiltse's Auto Paint shows PW7 as its worked example from a Chrysler door-jamb label.
- Tri-coat colors still get one code. The Mopar guide names PRY Redline Tri-Coat, PWH Pearl White Tri-Coat and PWD ("formerly known as Ivory White 3 Coat Pearl") as single sales codes, and Central Alberta Paint & Supply notes those codes require both a base and a midcoat to be supplied against that one code.
Chrysler and refinish sources
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- 2022 Mopar Touch-Up Paint Application Guide (PDF)FCA US LLC / Mopar
- Chrysler Paint Codes — code locations by modelAutomotiveTouchup (Microfinish LLC)
- Find Your Chrysler's Color CodePaintScratch
- Chrysler Paint Color Code LocationExpressPaint
- vPIC VIN decoding API (DecodeVinValues)NHTSA, U.S. Department of Transportation
Chrysler paint code questions
Can I find my Chrysler paint code from the VIN?
No. A 17-character VIN does not encode paint color. NHTSA's free vPIC decoder returns 154 fields for a 2018 Chrysler 300 VIN and not one of them is exterior color. Sites advertising "paint code by VIN" are either querying a manufacturer build record behind the scenes or guessing from the model and year. The label on the vehicle is the reliable route.
Where is the paint code on a Chrysler 300?
Check the driver's door jamb first. On 2007-and-newer Chryslers the code sits on a barcoded equipment label in the door opening, after "PNT:". Sources disagree on the 300 specifically: AutomotiveTouchup lists the passenger-side or center firewall under the hood for the 300, 300C and 300M, and the 300 ran to 2023. If the jamb comes up empty, open the hood and read the firewall.
Where is the paint code on a Chrysler Pacifica or Town & Country?
Look at the driver's door jamb on 2007-and-newer vans, then the radiator support if it is not there. AutomotiveTouchup lists the Pacifica at the front of the radiator and the Town & Country at the radiator support or front passenger side. The 2004-2008 Pacifica and the 2017-on Pacifica are different vehicles on different platforms, so check both spots before giving up.
What does a Chrysler paint code look like?
Three characters, letters and digits mixed, printed right after "PNT:" — PW7, PX8, PRV, PAU. The first character is almost always P, occasionally Q. Do not copy the other codes on the same label: the interior trim code, wheelbase code and equipment options are also three characters, and the trim code is the one most people take by mistake.
What is the paint code for Velvet Red Pearl-Coat?
PRV. FCA's 2022 Mopar Touch-Up Paint Application Guide lists sales code PRV against paint code NRV, under the name "Velvet Red Pearl P/C / Passion Red P/C"; Dodge sells the same color as Octane Red. It is a pearl coat, so a proper repair needs base plus clear over primer. The door-jamb label prints only PRV.
Why do paint suppliers show two codes, like GW7 and PW7?
They are two columns of the same FCA table. Mopar's own touch-up guide lists a paint code (GW7, LAU, DX8, NRV, JSC) and a sales code (PW7, PAU, PX8, PRV, PSC) for every color. Your vehicle's label prints the sales code. The last two characters match in both columns, so W7 is Bright White either way.
Does Chrysler print more than one code for tri-coat or two-tone paint?
No. One code covers the whole finish. Mopar's catalog names several three-stage colors — PRY Redline Tri-Coat, PWH Pearl White Tri-Coat, PWD, formerly Ivory White 3-Coat Pearl — and the door-jamb label shows only that single code. The supplier handles the extra layer by shipping a base plus a midcoat. Chrysler's current cars and vans are single-color bodies.
What if the label is missing or unreadable?
Call Chrysler customer care at 1-800-247-9753 with your VIN, or ask any Chrysler dealer's parts counter. A dealer can pull the original build record, which does list the paint sales code, and that is the same back-end route the "paint code by VIN" sites use. Otherwise a refinish shop can read a clean panel, such as the fuel door, with a spectrophotometer.