We know you’re busy. At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, ID, we also know that while there are certain issues with your car, truck, or SUV you can ignore for a while, some of them shouldn’t wait. While serious issues are often obvious, sometimes they aren’t - ball joints are one such case.

At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, we know that a huge part of the ride quality of your car, truck, or SUV is how well it keeps road and engine noises out of the passenger compartment. Few things are more annoying on a long commute or road trip than the drone of tires on pavement, the constant sound of your car battling the air outside, loud semi-trucks, and so on.

If you drive a standard shift car, truck, or SUV, there’s a good chance reliability was a factor in your decision to get a stick shift. However, from time to time, even a manual transmission needs to be serviced; when it does, Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl has you covered.

If your car has climate control, then it also has a cabin filter. Cabin filters are simply air filters for the interior of your car, truck, or SUV. All air entering circulation through the climate control system first passes through this filter, to prevent your AC or heat systems from accumulating debris or blowing them out of your vents. The result is cleaner, quieter, and longer-lasting climate control systems, which keep the inside of your car as comfortable as possible. 

If you drive a car, truck, or SUV that runs on gasoline, there's a good chance you’ve run it low on fuel a few times (or more than a few times,) and maybe even run out of gas completely a time or two. At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, ID, we like to provide information applicable to you. Running a vehicle low on fuel is something we’re all guilty of, and most of us don’t think twice about it. But, can it be bad for your car?

At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, ID, we know the key to making your vehicle last; good maintenance. An overwhelming percentage of the problems we see, especially the really catastrophic ones, are a result of poor maintenance. While properly maintaining a vehicle can seem like a bit of a hassle, it is absolutely worth the payoff. Good maintenance is the only difference between a car that lasts 80,000 miles and a car that lasts 400,000 miles. Preventative maintenance and repair when a problem occurs are your two concerns, and both will keep your car on the road far longer if observed properly.

Here are 10 steps to keep your car up and running from our team here at Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust! Whether you choose to do the maintenance yourself or take your car to see our professional service technicians, the non-profit Car Care Council recommends 10 basic maintenance procedures to keep your vehicle running its best. 

At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, ID, we know how annoying little quirks and issues can be. A common problem vehicles experience is a cooling fan that doesn’t kick on and off when it’s supposed to. While a fan that won’t kick off is far less troubling than a fan that won’t turn on, it’s still a problem that needs to be fixed for a variety of reasons. Here’s why, and what you should do.

Road trips are a lot of fun, and often unpredictable. For all the miles you will be driving we always recommend preparing for any situation. With this checklist from Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, you’ll be prepared for whatever comes your way.

At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, cars are our passion, so naturally, we like to keep up with new technology on the market. At the moment, surprisingly the current trend is moving towards a goal you may not expect; self-driving vehicles. You’ve probably heard about self-driving cars a little bit here and there on the news, but it likely still seems somewhere in the realm of science fiction to you. However, the reality is that self-driving cars are on the way and maybe here sooner than you think. Already, almost all major automobile manufacturers are dumping billions of dollars into research and development for self-driving cars, and even companies like Uber are jumping on board. 

Judging by the number of near-rear-endings we witness on our morning commutes, the typical attitude toward brake maintenance appears to be, “Brakes: Don’t let them stop you!” This puzzles us because monitoring your braking system’s health is one of the most straightforward aspects of car ownership. You do have to know what to look for, though, or rather, what to listen and feel for. So let us, uh, break it down for you. Here are the top three signs that your brakes need fixing.

At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, we’re not only here to fix your car when something goes wrong...we’re here to help you understand your car, truck, or SUV a little better, too. Here are some tips concerning your thermostat - how it works, what to watch out for, and what to do about it when one fails.

Have you always wondered what a spark plug does? Our team here at Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust is here to help you out. It's simple in theory but does quite a lot of work for such a small piece of equipment. Your spark plug forces electricity to arc across a gap like a bolt of lightning at high voltage and fits into your engine's cylinder head, where it “sparks” to ignite the fuel and creates combustion within your engine. Without it, you wouldn't be able to drive your car or truck. 

Many cars, particularly models produced between the 1970s and the 1990s, utilize cable clutch designs instead of hydraulics to operate the clutch. Here’s a brief explanation of clutch cable systems, from Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl.

At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, routine maintenance and repair isn’t the only thing we do. For custom parts installation, you can also count on us. Common modification enthusiasts do is swapping to a short-throw shifter; but what actually is a short-throw shifter, and what does it do?

At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, ID, we believe it’s important for you to know how different systems in your car, truck, or SUV operate. Whether you want to know what to watch out for, or you’re just curious about how things work, we’re here to supply the answers.

It’s likely you’ve been exposed to conflicting opinions about having your transmission fluid replaced. You may have heard that cars over a certain mileage should not have the transmission fluid flushed and replaced, because it could damage the transmission, or you may have had someone tell you the first thing you should do at any sign of trouble is have your transmission flushed. At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, our expert mechanics have the answers you’re looking for.