Okay, I just did this a few hours ago. Like the OP I didn't want to rip the liner off and tried going the outside route.
Halfway through I decided I didn't like unscrewing and removing the panel behind the license plate and gave up. It didn't want to come off and I wasn't willing to apply any force.
Today however I decided I will try removing the lining. All in all it took 15 minutes to do, and nothing broke. The ribbed pop-its need some finesse. Get a wide flathead in there (I have a plastic spudger for this kind of thing) and twist. Use the leverage to back out the pop-it. The liner is rather delicate, so be gentle.
I took the two pop-its closest to the latch off, and the two rubber stops (same technique as pop-its). Look under the door and you'll see a glow in the dark escape lever. You can peak through the liner and see where the tabs are for the panel that tucks the liner around this lever.
Once you have enough arm room, get in there. Follow the cable and you'll feel it plugged in. Twist it to remove it, you can't just yank it out.
Once you have it out, plug in the new bulb and check that it lights up. Now do everything in reverse. Done.