There have been more than 165,000 Fiat 500s sold in North America since 2011. As the cars age, it is inevitable that things like light bulbs eventually burn out. One item that caused owners of early Fiat 500 models some annoyance was replacing the license plate LED bulb located in the tailgate lift handle.

Early cars required you to change the entire tailgate lift handle at considerable expense - normally well over $100. However, starting somewhere around March 2012, Fiat revised the license plate LED to make it replaceable, with a cost of around $20. Below is how to change the license plate LED bulb in late model Fiat 500, 500 Cabrio and 500 Abarth models.

Take a small screwdriver and insert it into the notch at the one end of the license plate lamp lens on the underside of the liftgate light bar and handle unit. Gently release the latch tab that secures the lamp in the light bar assembly.

Carefully pry the light out of the liftgate handle.

Late model cars will have this style connector with locking tabs that allow you to unplug the bulb from the wire harness. Early cars will not have these tabs and the light bulb is serviced as a complete assembly. If you are handy you may be able to modify the harness with a new connector so you can use the late model bulb.

Using the small screwdriver, carefully unlock each tab and remove the bulb from the connector. The tabs are delicate and the connectors will become fragile as the car ages, so proceed with care. Plug your new bulb in and just reverse the procedures and you are done!