Your vehicle's radio and headlights, plus a slew of other important functions, are powered by an electrical current generated by your vehicle’s engine. A vital part of generating electricity is having a place to store it while it’s not being used, which is where a car battery comes into play. The battery holds electrical energy while a car is off in order to help the engine turn over and create a spark to start internal combustion. Without a working battery, your car will not be able to start. If you perform proper maintenance, however, an average car battery can start your car reliably for roughly four years.

At The Auto Clinic in El Paso, we know that keeping up with required maintenance schedules is the difference between a truck that lasts a few years and a truck that stays strong for decades.

At The Auto Clinic in El Paso, TX, we know that over the past decade, depending on what type of car, truck, or SUV you drive, it may seem like oil changes have gotten more expensive, and there are more options from synthetic to standard 10w/30 oil.  What kind is best for your vehicle and is the higher price worth the cost? 

You’ve known someone at some point that has a seemingly impossible amount of keys, keychains, and other accessories hanging from their key ring. You might even be guilty of that yourself. At [BUSINESS_ NAME] in El Paso, TX, we’ve seen our fair share of these loaded down car keys, and also the damage it can cause. Here’s what you need to know.

Your gas mileage mostly depends on what kind of car you drive; engine displacement and vehicle weight are the largest determining factors on gas mileage, and there’s not much you can do to change either of those. That doesn’t mean attempting to improve your fuel economy is a completely hopeless endeavor, however. With these tips from The Auto Clinic in El Paso, TX, you might be surprised how much your fuel mileage can be improved.

At The Auto Clinic in El Paso, TX, we’ve witnessed our fair share of burnt out and broken clutches. While clutch failure is an inevitability, there are a variety of ways to make sure yours lasts as long as possible.

At The Auto Clinic in El Paso, we know that the first and most important step toward keeping your car, truck, or SUV reliably on the road, is knowing how to properly care for it. Here are a few tips on how to keep your vehicle in shape.

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.

A good technician will give your car a quick inspection whenever you have maintenance performed. Fluid levels, tire condition, dashboard lights, and a variety of other items typically are briefly explored whenever you bring your vehicle in for maintenance. At The Auto Clinic in El Paso, we're good at noticing things that need repair, but the fact of the matter is that only you know your car. You know when your car feels off when its been serviced last (or that it hasn't been serviced at all,) and have at least some vague idea of what’s going on with your vehicle day to day. Here are some questions you can ask us next time you come by the shop;

Fluid levels, tire condition, dashboard lights, and a variety of other items typically are briefly explored whenever you bring your vehicle in for maintenance here at The Auto Clinic in El Paso, TX, where we are good at noticing things that need repair, but the fact of the matter is that only you know your car. You know when your car feels off when it's been serviced last (or that it hasn't been serviced at all,) and have at least some vague idea of what’s going on with your vehicle day to day. Here are some questions you can ask us next time you come by the shop;

Travelling can be difficult, and traveling can be fun. The difference usually comes down to how much preparation you do in advance, and how many unplanned obstacles you meet along the way. A great way to avoid setbacks, mishaps, and stressful situations is to make sure your car, truck, or SUV is ready to hit the road. Here are some important points to check before travelling, from The Auto Clinic in El Paso, TX.

At some point or another, it’ll happen to you. You leave your headlights on, your battery finally fails, or for some other reason, you don’t have enough juice to start your car. Don’t call a tow truck just yet, though...The Auto Clinic in El Paso has the info you need to properly jump-start your car.

At The Auto Clinic in El Paso, we know you’re busy. 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.

Have you always wondered what a spark plug does? Our team here at The Auto Clinic 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 The Auto Clinic in El Paso, TX, we can help!

At The Auto Clinic in El Paso, TX, 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.

At The Auto Clinic in El Paso, our goal is to keep your car, truck, or SUV shifting and riding as smoothly as it did the day it rolled off the lot. A big part of that is the mounting hardware that keeps the moving parts in your drivetrain running smooth.

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 The Auto Clinic, 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 The Auto Clinic to ensure its safety.

Sometimes your car, truck, or SUV stops performing quite like it used to. At The Auto Clinic in El Paso, 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 The Auto Clinic in El Paso, 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?