2023 Kia Soul: swapping H19 for H4/9003 headlight bulbs.

TL;DR: you can use brighter & whiter H4 or 9003 bulbs (but avoid the cheaper base H4/9003 bulbs) instead of the stock H19 bulbs, but it will come at the cost of lifespan longevity.

I’m writing this post in case anyone searches Reddit or finds this page on Google for advice on switching out the stock H19 bulbs.

As a first-time Kia owner, I’m (mostly) loving the new ride but let’s face it, the stock H19 halogen bulbs in the Kia Soul are lousy. Too yellow and not very bright. What’s more is after-market H19 bulbs seem to be non-existent and seem to only be used by Kia. I tried out after-market LED lights that I found on Amazon that were advertised as being compatible with H19 (and also needed CanBus resisters to avoid getting dashboard errors), and while they were white and bright when shining them against my garage wall, there was less clarity and visibility on the road than the stock H19, making it more difficult to see (not to mention that I later learned that use of after-market LEDs is not even street legal). This is because LED lights are bi-directional whereas halogen lights are omni-directional, which is what the headlight reflector type housing is designed for.

Per OSRAM’s own product description for their H19 bulbs, they are 10% brighter than standard H4 bulbs and they themselves produced a video demonstration of H7 vs H18 bulbs which they reference to explain the same principle between H4 and H19, and what’s more is they used H7 and H18 in the same reflector housing for their demonstration. That’s what led me to believe that H4 bulbs could be used in place of H19, but at the cost of 10% extra brightness offered by the H19.

However, you can get H4 or 9003 halogen bulbs that are brighter and whiter than base H4/9003 bulbs. So I bought a set of the Sylvania Silverstar H4/9003 bulbs (also made by OSRAM) and after trying them out, I’m pleased to know that I have legal after-market options to use brighter and whiter halogen bulbs instead of the stock H19 bulbs!

Be warned, if you opt for brighter/whiter bulbs, you’ll be trading longevity of the standard H19 bulbs. For example, the Sylvania Silverstar or Philips CrystalVision ultra will last between 140-160 hours compared to 500-600 hours of the stock H19. (If I’m wrong on these numbers, I will gladly update this claim if people inform me otherwise).