At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, ID, our goal is to keep your car, truck, or SUV on the road. The best way to prevent a huge problem is to pay attention to the small ones and get issues taken care of before they leave you stranded. As you know, small problems can lead to big problems and if you're not careful you could miss the signs and your transmission could fail you. 

At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, our priority is keeping your transmission shifting smooth and running strong for years to come. While proper maintenance, driving habits, and a myriad of other conditions affect the life and reliability of a transmission, there are also ways to increase the overall efficiency of your unit, even above stock performance.

A huge part of what the hydraulic system in your transmission does is tell the mechanical components what to do and when to do it. Even if you don't understand how that works, our technicians at Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, ID have trained with the best to make sure they understand all the ins and outs of your system. We want you to understand what we're talking about when we talk to you about your vehicle so we'll break down some aspects of your hydraulic system. 

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. 

It’s a busy morning, you’ve finally gotten everyone where they need to be and you’re just pulling into the parking lot at work when your dash light starts glaring at you. Your check engine light shines bright, but you have no idea why. Whether you can tell a difference in the way your car, truck, or SUV is running, your car is trying to tell you something. At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, ID, we can help!

At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, ID, we recommend always making it a priority to change your oil on time. Here’s a look into why it’s so important, and what happens if you don’t keep up with oil changes.

Sludge - If oil stays in an engine too long, sludge begins to build up anywhere oil can go. The oil absorbs tiny debris and contaminants, kind of like a liquid sponge - once it’s at capacity, that oil begins to stick, clog, and build up throughout the engine. Small veins that carry oil to components like actuators, turbos, and bearings will become blocked, starving critical components of oil and causing component or engine failure.

Do you hear a funny clicking sound when you turn the wheels of your vehicle? It could be your car or truck's CV or Drive Axle, and it may be in need of repair. Safety is the number one priority for our customers here at Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust, and it is our goal to keep your vehicle running smoothly. Driving around with a damaged CV Joint or Drive Axle problem can be extremely dangerous. The axle is a structural component that bears the weight of the vehicle, any cargo, and the acceleration forces between you and the ground. It is so important to have your vehicle inspected regularly by a trained automotive repair professional here at Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust to ensure its safety.

Sometimes your car, truck, or SUV stops performing quite like it used to. At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, we can fix that. A simple but common issue on vehicles equipped with a manual transmission is shifter bushing issues. Your shifter has a bushing on the end of it, where it connects to the actual transmission. Its purpose is to provide tight, smooth shifting. 

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?

You’ve probably heard the term “transmission flush” before at some point in your automotive experience. But what exactly does it mean to have your transmission flushed, and why does it matter? Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, ID has the answers.

At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, ID, we know buying a used car, truck, or SUV can be a gamble. While there are no guarantees, there are key points of inspection that tell us a lot about the condition of a vehicle and how it has been maintained. There are some important points of the inspection we verify when checking out a used vehicle.

All the lights on your vehicle have an important job to do. Brake lights, tail lights, blinkers, reverse lights, and headlights are a crucial part of driving. Lights make you visible, make things visible to you, and allow you to communicate with other drivers. All of a vehicle’s lights make driving easier and safer, and all of them are important...not to mention legally required.

In the market for a new car, truck, or SUV? Used cars aren’t always what they seem; here’s some advice from Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl to make sure you get the used car of your dreams.

Chances are you don’t pay much attention to your vehicle’s battery until it dies, when you get to perform the dreary dual task of waiting for a jump while simultaneously calling for an appointment to get a new battery fitted. Of course, that’s if you’re sure it’s the battery that’s dead in the first place. The only way to be certain is to take it in to be tested. However, it generally helps to know the health of your vehicle battery prior to finding yourself stranded.

At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, the history of cars is a huge topic of interest to us. Here’s an interesting piece of automotive trivia, from us to you.

Transmissions are complex, and over time they will wear out and eventually break. Knowing what to look for will play a key role in preventing your transmission from failing prematurely. At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, ID we want to give you some insight on how your transmission works and how it can fail.

When your car, truck, or SUV is burning oil, it can be frustrating and costly. There are numerous reasons an engine will burn oil - these range from an altogether worn out engine to a simple part replacement. At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, ID we want to keep you informed, here's what you need to know about why your engine might be burning oil.

Manual transmissions are durable, reliable pieces of equipment. Still, sometimes problems arise. Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl has the answer to a question that plagues many manual transmissions; why does my transmission pop out of gear?

Cars, trucks, and SUVs use and create multiple liquid substances. Here’s what you need to know about the puddle of liquid under your vehicle, from Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, ID. There are a few different substances that can pool under an automobile, and some are more serious than others. Knowing what to look for and what to do could save you from hassle with your vehicle in the long run. 

At Cowden's Automotive & Exhaust in Buhl, we know how annoying a dead battery can be. Here’s some information on the subject, that will hopefully help you understand your battery issues a little better.  If your battery dies after your car, truck, or SUV sits for a few hours, the battery itself isn’t necessarily the problem. While having the battery tested is a good place to start, many people mistakenly make a bad battery diagnosis, when actually something in the electrical system is to blame.