This automotive maintenance tutorial was specifically written to assist owners of the third generation (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020) Kia Sorento SUV in cleaning or changing the air conditioning system's cabin air filter element located in the HVAC blower motor housing.

Owners of other Kia, Hyundai and Genesis vehicles such as the Soul, Seltos, Sportage, Niro, Telluride, Forte, Rio, Optima, Stinger, Cadenza, K900, Sedona, Kona, Venue, Santa Fe, Elantra, Sonata, Accent, Veloster, Ioniq, Nexo, G70, G80 and G90 may also find these instructions to be helpful.

A few compatible replacement cabin air filters with their part numbers include the following: TYC 800194P, Fram CF12161, PureFlow PC99099X, ACDelco CF3354 and Wix WP10370.

No tools are needed to access and replace the filter.

The first few steps are to sit in the front passenger seat, open the glove box and empty out the contents.

Then move to the right outer side wall of the glove box and locate the black plastic damper arm.

Move to the inside of the glove box and locate the two round plastic side stoppers.

Remove the left and right side stops by rotating them 1/4 turn in the counterclockwise direction before pulling them straight out.

Gently lower the glove box down towards the floor mat.

Don't worry if the plastic hinges at the bottom of the glove box separate from the dashboard. They can be re-attached later on.

There are two sets of black plastic tabs on the left side and also on the right side of the filter access cover.

Then pinch together the two tabs on the right side of the cover to release the other retaining clip.

Pull the filter access cover straight off the HVAC blower motor housing.

Set the cover aside in a safe place.

Inspect both sides of the old air filter.

I recommend buying the TYC 800194P cabin air filter since it has excellent reviews on Amazon from other Sorento owners.

If the old filter is relatively clean, just tap out the large debris and remove any fine dust with a wet/dry shop vacuum.

The service interval specification in the owner's manual for replacing the cabin air filter is every 7,500 miles (same time as the oil and oil filter change) or at least every 12 months (or every 12,000 KM).

Check the filter slot in the HVAC blower motor housing for any large debris such as twigs, leaves or insects.

If your vacuum cleaner has a crevice attachment, clean out the filter slot.

(The old OEM filter was marked as part number Kia F784UMEAA.)

Orientate the new filter with the air flow arrow pointing down towards the floor mat.

Slide the new filter into the slot until it is fully seated.

Line up the plastic cover with the filter slot. The numbers on the bottom right of the cover should be legible when the cover is correctly orientated.

Double check that the cover is securely in place before moving on to the next steps.

Raise the glove box towards the dashboard.

Re-insert the two side stops and rotate them 1/4 turn in the clockwise direction to secure them in place.

Be sure to write down the filter change in your vehicle's service records.

Kia recommends that the filter should be replaced every 7,500 miles (same as the oil change service interval specification) or at least once a year.

Please take a look at all of my 2016-2020 Kia Sorento DIY Repair & Maintenance Guides.