Car won’t go past 20 mph, struggles to start?

Tiny
GABRIELLEIVY328
  • MEMBER
  • 2018 HONDA ACCORD
  • 1.1L
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 140,000 MILES
I hired Your Mechanic On Call to fix an oil leak. Before the repair, my car ran fine except for the leak. The mechanic said I needed an oil pressure switch, alternator, and belt, but told me the alternator wasn’t urgent. I skipped it. He fixed the oil pressure switch and the serpentine belt.

After the service, my car won’t go past 20 mph, struggles to start, and all the dashboard lights are on( literally all of them, traction, brakes, engine etc...)Now he says it’s the alternator, but I’m not having battery problems, and three inspections, including AutoZone, say it’s fine.

Has anyone seen this before? What could be wrong?
Friday, August 15th, 2025 AT 6:34 AM

3 Replies

Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 54,601 POSTS
When you start the engine do you have a battery warning light on? If so then the alternator is probably bad. This guide can help confirm the failure.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-alternator

If not it sounds like a ground wire was left off during the first repair. I would run a scan on it to see which codes are present so they can guide us to the problem.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/checking-a-service-engine-soon-or-check-engine-light-on-or-flashing

Please upload a videos in your response so I can see what's going on.

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Friday, August 15th, 2025 AT 5:48 PM
Tiny
GABRIELLEIVY328
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No, the battery light does not come on.
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Friday, August 15th, 2025 AT 10:24 PM
Tiny
KEN L
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Sorry, you must have the new Iphone which has new video file format, this website is not updated so I cant see it. You can change the file to an older version and it will work. Did you run the codes to se which ones are stored? Also, I would look over the engine to see if any wiring has been left off such as ground wires.
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Saturday, August 16th, 2025 AT 9:02 AM

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