2023 Subaru Outback
10 factory colors were offered on the Sixth generation (BT) Outback. 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: Cosmic Blue Pearl (XAS), Dark Mahogany Pearl (XAU)
- Dropped after 2022: Abyss Blue Pearl (SAL), Cinnamon Brown Pearl (SAM)
Verified against 3 independent sources: Subaru of America 2023 Outback retail brochure, 'Color Combinations' matrix p.12 - https://cdn.dealereprocess.org/cdn/brochures/subaru/2023-outback.pdf; PaintRef Subaru 2023 colour cross-reference, Outback rows - https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?manuf=Subaru&year=2023&rows=100; PaintRef per-code view for UCD (Brilliant Bronze) confirming Outback application for 2021-2024 - https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?manuf=Subaru&code=UCD&con=m&rows=50.
Mid-cycle refresh. Abyss Blue Pearl (SAL) replaced by Cosmic Blue Pearl (XAS); Cinnamon Brown Pearl (SAM) replaced by Dark Mahogany Pearl (XAU). Geyser Blue remained Wilderness-only, and Cosmic Blue Pearl was NOT offered on Wilderness. Brilliant Bronze Metallic restricted to Premium and Limited; Dark Mahogany Pearl to Limited and Touring; Crimson Red Pearl to Premium, Limited and Touring. Many retailer colour lists still show Abyss Blue Pearl and Cinnamon Brown Pearl for 2023 - both are incorrect for this year.
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 Outback years
Color availability changed year to year. Codes often carried over; names sometimes did not.