Hey folks.

My daily driver has been running into some problems as of late. Here is some additional info:

2008 honda accord 3.5L ex-l sedan.

149000 miles.

Owner before me was an older lady, so we assume that it wouldn't have many severe issues when buying it. Paid 8k.

Soon after buying the car in mid-2022, we brought it to our mechanic, who convinced us to let him replace the rear shocks and brakes all around. It ran pretty well after that.

Fast forward a few months, and the car is completely dead, won't turn over, and definitely won't start. No lights are on until I jiggle the negative battery terminal. Then, like magic, everything works. I dealt with this happening here and then for a little while. Thought it was a loose cable around the post.

About two weeks ago, the car won't start, but the lights are on, and it tries to turn over. It will start on a jump but dies shortly after removing the jumper cables. The mechanic tells us that the spool valve has been leaking oil on the serpentine belt and the alternator, frying the alternator and warranting a replacement on all three parts listed. $2100.

That seemed a bit pricey, but whatever, it's the past. We got the repair done.

Except!!! When we got the car back, the check engine light was on, and occasionally flashing!!! It seems to idle poorly when it flashes. I took it to an autozone to have it scanned after calling the mechanic who worked on it (our schedules haven't lined up for me to take it back to him). The scanner showed multiple misfires on 3 cylinders, and said to replace the mass airflow sensor.

I went ahead and picked that up and replaced it for like 70 bucks. But the problem persists. What's odd is that I can get the car to drive relatively normally by turning the car on, waiting until the check engine starts blinking and misfiring. And then put it in drive. Then I cut the car off with it in drive. Back to park, start back up... no misfires. The check engine light is still on, but its not blinking, driving like shit, lurching, and has a smoother idle.

Needless to say, I'm at a loss, and I'm a few steps away from driving the car off a bridge into a river.

I have heard to test for vaccum leaks, but I don't know how to do that. My first instict is that my Mechanic fucked something up.

Have a good day.

We are taking it to a different mechanic, and he will take a look at the misfiring while also fixing the wheel bearings in the front.

I wish I would have financed a better, newer car instead of this. Sorry for the wall of text.