Subaru Paint Code: Where to Find It and How to Read It
The exact label to look for on a Subaru, how the code is printed, what people mistake it for, and 12 verified Subaru colour codes.
NHTSA vPIC has no colour field, so no VIN decoder returns one. The label on the vehicle is the reliable route.
On a Subaru the paint code sits on the vehicle information plate, in the field printed "Color Code" (with "Code de couleur" beneath it), the last field on its line, just above the plate's full-width barcode. Look low in a front door jamb on newer cars, or on a strut tower or the radiator support under the hood on older ones. The code is three characters, letters and digits, like K1X or D4S.
Where is the paint code on a Subaru?
- Driver-side front door jamb. Low on the B-pillar near the sill, usually below the white federal certification label. This is the common spot on roughly 2010-and-newer Subarus. The plate is headed SUBARU CORPORATION on cars built from April 2017 and FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD. before that, with a barcode across the bottom and Color Code as the last field on its middle line.
- Passenger-side front door jamb or door edge. Same plate, other side. Sources disagree on which side Subaru used and when: AutomotiveTouchUp assigns 2007-and-newer cars to the passenger-side front strut tower, door edge or door jamb, while PaintScratch and ScratchesHappen say either front jamb without splitting by year. Check both front openings, and the door edge as well as the pillar, before concluding the plate is gone.
- Driver-side strut tower, under the hood. On roughly 1990-2010 Subarus the plate is often laid flat on top of the driver-side strut tower, where oil and road grime make it hard to read; a phone camera and a flashlight help. AutomotiveTouchUp gives driver-side strut tower for 1990-up cars, and PaintScratch describes the same placement on top of the driver's strut for older models.
- Radiator support or ahead of the passenger strut tower. ScratchesHappen lists two further under-hood spots used on some Subarus: the front radiator support, center or driver side, and the area just ahead of the passenger-side strut tower. Worth checking on 2000s cars, and on any car whose door-jamb plate may have been lost during earlier body repair.
How to read the Subaru paint code
Three characters, mixed letters and digits, printed after the words "Color Code" on the plate's middle line — the rightmost field on that line, with the French "Code de couleur" directly underneath. Examples: K1X, D4S, P8Y, 02C, 37J. Do not copy "Trim Code," which is the interior code and sits immediately to the left (J20 on a 2019 Ascent, H20 on a 2009 Impreza). "Option Code" (U4JH, 1G) and "Applied Model" (WMAAYA8, GHCBY8L) are not paint either, and wheel finishes carry their own codes, such as Subaru's GK1 Gold Metallic.
- Open the driver's front door and look low on the B-pillar near the sill, below the white federal certification label. Subaru's color plate is a separate dark rectangle with a barcode running its full width.
- If it is not there, check the passenger front door jamb and the door edge, then open the hood and look on top of the driver-side strut tower, ahead of the passenger-side strut tower, and along the radiator support.
- Read the middle line of the plate. It runs Applied Model, then Trim Code, then Color Code. The three characters after "Color Code" — the last field on that line, above "Code de couleur" — are the paint code.
- Photograph the whole plate rather than writing down three characters. Pearls and tri-coats need the exact code, and a photo lets a supplier see the trim and option codes you did not use.
- Check the code against the colors your model and year were actually built in. If K1X, D4S, P8Y or your candidate code does not appear on any list for that year, you have probably read the trim or option code.
- If the plate is missing, painted over or unreadable, give the VIN to a Subaru dealer parts department or a refinish supplier, who can pull the color from the factory build record. No public VIN decoder will return it.
Common Subaru paint codes
| Code | Subaru colour name | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| K1X | Crystal White Pearl | 2015 onward across nearly the whole range. A three-stage tri-coat, not a plain white. The same code appears on the Subaru-built Toyota 86 and bZ under the name Halo. |
| D4S | Crystal Black Silica | The standard black from roughly 2010 to the present on Forester, Outback, Legacy, Impreza, Crosstrek, WRX, BRZ and Ascent. |
| G1U | Ice Silver Metallic | 2015 onward; the default silver on Forester, Outback, Legacy, Impreza, WRX, BRZ and Ascent. |
| P8Y | Magnetite Gray Metallic | 2018 onward. On several models it replaced 61K Dark Gray Metallic mid-generation, so a 2019 car can carry either. |
| M1Y | Crimson Red Pearl | 2018 onward on Forester, Impreza, Legacy, Outback and Ascent. |
| K7U | Tungsten Metallic | Short-lived: 2019-2020 Ascent, 2020 Legacy and 2020 Outback. Confirm the model year before ordering. |
| WCH | Sapphire Blue Pearl | 2022 onward on WRX, BRZ, Impreza, Forester and 2026 Ascent. |
| K7X | World Rally Blue Pearl | 2022 onward WRX and BRZ. PaintScratch sells it as a tri-coat, listed as World Rally Blue 2 Tricoat. |
| 02C | World Rally Blue Pearl | The 2002-2007 WRX blue, still used on 2008-2011 Imprezas. Some suppliers list the same code as WR Blue Mica. |
| M7Y | Pure Red | 2020-2023 Crosstrek, and on the WRX. |
| 37J | Satin White Pearl | Early-to-mid-2000s Outback, Legacy and Impreza. A tri-coat, so a single-stage white will not match. |
| 32J | Obsidian Black Pearl | Early-to-mid-2000s Outback, Legacy and Impreza. |
This list is not every colour Subaru 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 carry paint. Running the VIN printed on a 2019 Ascent color plate through NHTSA's vPIC DecodeVin API returns 142 variables — make, model, year, plant, engine, restraints — and not one color or paint field. No free VIN lookup, this site included, can return a Subaru paint code.
- The VIN does have a secondary role. PaintScratch states it can identify formula variations once the correct color code is already known, because plants and production runs differ. It still cannot produce the code itself, which is why the physical plate comes first.
- The plate header tracks the corporate name: FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD. on cars built before 1 April 2017 and SUBARU CORPORATION after, per Subaru Corporation's own 31 March 2017 news release. The field layout is identical either way, so Color Code sits in the same position on both.
- Suppliers disagree on the year cutoffs for the location. AutomotiveTouchUp lists driver-side strut tower from 1990 and passenger-side strut tower, door edge or jamb from 2007; ScratchesHappen lists either front door jamb plus two under-hood spots; PaintScratch says only that the plate moved to the jambs in recent years. Check every location.
- One code can mean two things. ImportArchive records K1X as Crystal White Pearl on Subarus and as Halo on the Subaru-built Toyota 86 and bZ, and ScratchesHappen lists Carbide Gray Metallic under a paired code, K6U / JV9. Always give a supplier the make, model and year with the code.
Subaru and refinish sources
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
Subaru paint code questions
Can I find my Subaru's paint code from the VIN?
No. A 17-character VIN does not encode paint color. Decoding a Subaru VIN through NHTSA's free vPIC service returns make, model, year, engine, plant and restraint data across 142 fields, and no color field at all. Services advertising "paint code by VIN" are either querying a manufacturer build record through a dealer, or guessing from the model. Read the code off the car.
Where exactly is the paint code on a Subaru?
Open a front door and look low on the B-pillar near the sill, below the white federal certification label: on most 2010-and-newer Subarus the color plate is a dark rectangle with a barcode across the bottom. On older cars it is under the hood, usually laid flat on top of a strut tower, sometimes on the radiator support. Check both front jambs, because the side varies.
What does the Subaru color code label actually say?
It reads SUBARU CORPORATION across the top on cars built from April 2017, or FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD. before that. Below sit VIN/NIV and Option Code, then a line running Applied Model, Trim Code, Color Code, then Engine Type and Transmission Type, with a barcode along the bottom. Every field is labeled in English and French, so Color Code sits above Code de couleur.
What is the Tungsten Metallic paint code on a Subaru?
K7U. Subaru used Tungsten Metallic on the 2019-2020 Ascent and the 2020 Legacy and Outback; ImportArchive, ScratchesHappen and PaintScratch all list it as K7U. Chevrolet sells a Tungsten Metallic too, under a separate GM code and a different formula, so a Subaru K7U order will not match a Chevrolet. Match the code, never the name.
Is the Trim Code the same as the paint code?
No. Trim Code is the interior trim code, and it sits immediately to the left of Color Code on the same line, which is why it gets copied by mistake. Two real plates: a 2019 Ascent reads Trim Code J20, Color Code P8Y; a 2009 Impreza reads Trim Code H20, Color Code 02C. Option Code and Applied Model are not paint either.
How do Subaru two-tone and tri-coat colors read on the plate?
Two-tone Subarus carry a combination code standing for two paints. PaintScratch documents 3M6 as Atlantic Blue Pearl 33A over Granite Gray Opal Clearcoat 35S, so one code on the plate becomes two orders at the counter. Several single colors are three-stage rather than two-tone: K1X Crystal White Pearl, 37J Satin White Pearl and K7X World Rally Blue need base, pearl midcoat and clear.
The label is missing or unreadable. What now?
Take the VIN to a Subaru dealer parts department or a refinish supplier. Dealers can pull the color from the factory build record, which is the same data a paid "paint code by VIN" service is really buying. A body shop can also read the existing paint with a spectrophotometer. Do not guess from the color name, because Subaru reuses names across models while formulas change.
Why doesn't my touch-up match even with the right code?
Because the code names a formula, not a finish, and Subaru's pearls need layers. K1X and 37J are tri-coats: too much pearl midcoat goes creamy, too little goes flat. Formulas also vary by build plant and drift with sun exposure, so suppliers publish variants under one code. Give the supplier your VIN and year and ask for the matching variant.