The Acura TL brake light requires a 7443 bulb size for proper installation and function within the rear lighting assembly. Available data covers the specific time range from 1995 to 2003.
The year-by-year compatibility chart below provides a quick reference to verify the correct bulb size for your vehicle.
The Acura TL uses the 7443 bulb for its brake lights across the 1995-2003 model years, making it the most consistently specified bulb type across the entire brake lighting dataset for this vehicle.
The 7443 is a dual-filament T20 wedge bulb rated at 12V with a 21W/5W output, meaning its two filaments serve separate functions at different wattages within a single housing.
The 7440 is specified for the Center High Mount Stop Light on the Acura TL from 1995-2003. Although it shares the same T20 wedge form factor and 12V/21W rating as the 7443, it carries only a single filament.
Because the 7443 and 7440 share the same T20 wedge base, they may physically fit the same socket, but substituting one for the other is not interchangeable in function. The 7443 carries a second 5W filament that the 7440 lacks, and using a single-filament bulb in a dual-filament application results in the loss of one lighting function.
For the 2009-2014 model years, the Center High Mount Stop Light on the Acura TL transitions to the 168 bulb, a miniature T10 wedge type rated at 12V and 4.9W, which is a significantly lower-wattage single-filament unit compared to the 7440 used in earlier generations.
The 168 and 7440 are not interchangeable. They differ in both physical base size and wattage, with the T10 and T20 wedge bases being distinct form factors that correspond to different socket housings.
All three bulb types specified across the Acura TL brake lighting data conform to ANSI standards applicable in both the United States and Canada, indicating a shared regulatory classification for this market.
The brake light position does not carry a specification for the 2004-2008 model years in the provided data, while the Center High Mount Stop Light has no entry between the 2003 and 2009 model years in that same dataset.