This automotive maintenance tutorial was specifically written to assist owners of the third generation (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020) Kia Sorento SUV in changing a burnt out cargo area light bulb in the housing attached to the headliner near the tailgate door.

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.

The compatible replacement festoon style light bulb is part number DE3175 which is available from various manufacturers such as Sylvania, GE, Philips, Eiko, Bosch and PIAA.

If you would like to have a brighter cargo area light that will also last a lot longer before burning out, install a DE3175 LED bulb.

The only tool needed to access and replace the bulb is a small flat head screwdriver or a small plastic pry bar tool.

The first step is to open the tailgate door.

Then locate the two small notches on the rear edge of the lens cover situated closer to the tailgate hinge and the back windshield.

Insert the blade of the screwdriver into one of the two notches and gently pry out the lens cover.

You may need to remove the screwdriver, re-insert it into the other notch and pry again to fully remove the lens cover.

Avoid using excessive force. The lens cover should pop out relatively easily.

Make sure that the "ON / DOOR / OFF" switch is in the "OFF" position.

If the old light bulb was recently turned on, be careful when you remove it. The bulb might still be hot enough to burn your fingers. Allow the old bulb to cool off for at least a few minutes.

Remove the old light bulb from the socket.

If you would like to have a brighter cargo area light, that will also last much longer before burning out, install a compatible replacement DE3175 LED light bulb.

Make sure the new bulb is securely attached in between the two metal electrical contacts.

To test the new light bulb, slide the "On / Door / Off" switch to the "On" position.

Tip - If you installed an LED bulb and it doesn't work, try removing it from the socket, rotating it 180 degrees and pushing it back into the socket. Some LED bulbs are "polarized" and will only work when the "+" positive and "-" negative electrical contacts are in the correct orientation.

Gently snap the lens cover back into place.

Make sure the lens cover is flush with the rest of the light housing at every edge.

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

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