2023 Subaru Forester
11 factory colors were offered on the Fifth generation (SK) Forester. Your code is on the driver's door jamb sticker on the line marked C/TR — the characters before the slash.
Changes from 2022:
- Added for 2023: Sapphire Blue Pearl (WCH)
- Dropped after 2022: Dark Blue Pearl (M2Y)
Verified against 2 independent sources: Subaru of America 2023 Forester retail brochure, 'Color Combinations' matrix p.12 - https://cdn.dealereprocess.org/cdn/brochures/subaru/2023-forester.pdf; PaintRef Subaru 2023 colour cross-reference, Forester rows - https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?manuf=Subaru&year=2023&rows=100.
Dark Blue Pearl (M2Y) dropped and replaced by Sapphire Blue Pearl (WCH) as the Sport-trim exclusive colour. Geyser Blue (UAT) remained Wilderness-only. Brilliant Bronze Metallic on Premium, Limited and Touring only; Cascade Green Silica and Horizon Blue Pearl not offered on Sport or Wilderness; Crimson Red Pearl on Premium, Limited and Touring only; Ice Silver Metallic not offered on the base trim.
Where to find your paint code
Under the hood, on the strut tower or firewall plate — Subaru does not put the paint code on the door jamb.
Driver's door jamb
- Open the hood and look at the driver's side strut tower and the firewall.
- Find the small metal or foil plate carrying the model and colour codes.
- The paint code is the three-character entry, often labelled COLOR CODE or COLOR NO.
- On some model years the plate is on the passenger side instead — check both.
If the sticker is missing or faded
- Genuine Subaru touch-up part numbers embed the code — part J361SAJ090A1 is Carbide Gray, code K6U.
- Any Subaru dealer parts desk can look the code up from your VIN.
Other Forester years
Color availability changed year to year. Codes often carried over; names sometimes did not.