The Kia Forte side marker requires a bulb size of 12961 for proper installation and function within the lighting assembly. Data for the specific component covers the range from 2021 to 2024.
The year-by-year compatibility chart below provides a quick reference to verify the correct bulb size for your vehicle.
The 2357NA is the most frequently specified bulb across the Kia Forte side marker positions, appearing in the front side marker for 2010-2013 and the rear side marker for 2010-2013 and 2023.
The 2357NA carries an ANSI standard designation and uses a dual-filament design with a BAY15d bayonet base, operating at 12V with a high-filament draw of 26.9W and a low-filament draw of 8W. The "NA" suffix denotes natural amber glass, which produces an amber output without a separate amber lens.
The 2357 shares the same ANSI-standard dual-filament construction and BAY15d bayonet base as the 2357NA, operating at identical wattage ratings, but its glass envelope is clear rather than amber-tinted.
For the Kia Forte rear side marker on 2014-2018 models, the 2357 bulb is specified only for vehicles equipped with halogen capsule headlamps, indicating a trim-level or package dependency for that position.
The 12961 is a Philips-specific part number rather than an ANSI industry-standard designation. It is a T10 miniature wedge bulb with a W2.1x9.5d base, rated at 12V and 5W.
The 168 is an ANSI-standard T10 miniature wedge bulb rated at 12V and 4.9W. It shares the same T10 form factor as the 12961 but is defined under a different standardization system, and the two are not directly interchangeable without confirming base and wattage compatibility.
The front side marker on the Kia Forte transitioned from the 2357NA (2010-2013) to the 168 (2014-2018) and then to the 12961 (2021 and 2023), reflecting shifts across different generation models.
The 2357 and 2357NA are dual-filament bulbs, meaning they contain two separate filaments within a single envelope. In side marker applications, only one filament is typically active, though the dual-filament design allows the socket to engage either filament depending on circuit wiring.
The T10 wedge format used by both the 168 and the 12961 relies on the bulb's glass envelope itself to make contact within the socket, with no separate metal base pins. This differs from the BAY15d bayonet base used by the 2357 and 2357NA, which locks into the socket via two offset pins.
The rear side marker for the 2021 Forte uses the 12961, while the 2023 Forte rear side marker uses the 2357NA, indicating that the two model years do not share the same rear side marker bulb despite being in close proximity.