Nissan Sentra Back Up Light Bulb Size

The Nissan Sentra back up light utilizes bulb sizes 12961, 921, 912, P21W, and 1156 depending on the specific version. Available information covers the range from 1982 through 2024.

The year-by-year compatibility chart below provides a quick reference to verify the correct bulb size for your vehicle.

Bulb Size by Year Range

Years	Bulb Size
2024	12961
2023	921
2020-2021	921
2018	921
1998-2015	921
1995-1997	912
1982-1994	1156

Bulb Specifications

Description	Bulb Size
Philips part number. Miniature wedge bulb (T10) with W2.1x9.5d base. 12V, 5W.	12961
ANSI standard (US & Canada). Wedge bulb (T15). 12V, 16W.	921
ANSI standard (US & Canada). Wedge bulb (T15). Variant of 921. 12V, 12W.	912
ANSI standard (US & Canada). Single-filament bulb with BA15s bayonet base. 12V, 21W.	1156

Other Locations

Additional Notes

The 921 bulb is the most widely used back up light size across the Nissan Sentra's history, covering model years 1998-2023 with the exception of 2019 and 2016.
The 921 is a T15 wedge-base bulb rated at 12V and 16W, following the ANSI standard recognized in both the United States and Canada.
The 2024 Nissan Sentra departs from the long-running 921 fitment, instead using the 12961, a Philips-designated T10 miniature wedge bulb with a W2.1x9.5d base rated at 12V and 5W.
Because the 12961 uses a physically smaller T10 form factor with a W2.1x9.5d base, it is not interchangeable with the T15 wedge socket used in earlier Sentra model years.
Model years 1995-1997 used the 912 bulb, which shares the T15 wedge form factor with the 921 but is rated at 12W rather than 16W, making it a lower-wattage variant of the same base type.
Although the 912 and 921 share the same T15 wedge base and are physically compatible in many sockets, their wattage ratings differ, and substituting one for the other may affect light output or circuit load.
Model years 1982-1994 used the 1156, a single-filament bulb with a BA15s bayonet base rated at 12V and 21W, representing a fundamentally different mounting and electrical design compared to the wedge-base bulbs used in later years.
The BA15s bayonet base of the 1156 is mechanically incompatible with the wedge-base sockets found in 1995 and later Sentra model years, meaning cross-era substitution is not possible without socket modification.
At 21W, the 1156 carries the highest wattage of any back up light bulb used across the Sentra's specification history, while the 12961 used in the 2024 model year carries the lowest at 5W.
Three distinct base types appear across the full specification range: the BA15s bayonet base (1156), the T15 wedge base (921 and 912), and the W2.1x9.5d wedge base (12961), each requiring a correspondingly matched socket.