whodeydiva

Please HELP!! We have only had this 2009 Impala LT for a month...we purchased from dealer in Columbus, Ohio On April 27, 2014 (we were told and Carfax confirmed that it was a one owner car with only 35K miles on it..driven by "Betty White", even smelled like moth moth *****...so we thought we were getting an almost like brand new car...the salesman that sold the car new was on sight and confirmed everything) ...On Friday May 23, 2014 , husband was driving home from work and all of a sudden he got the Reduced Engine Power / Service Traction Control Alert...car slowed considerably but he made it home...the dealer gave us a limited warranty of 1000 miles or 30 day...well he has already passed the 1000 mile mark....it is a holiday weekend and no one is at the dealership...does anyone have any words of wisdom...plan to contact dealer first thing Tues. morning...a week after we purchased this car we purchased another Impala LTZ 2014 (Not new body style) with only 15,600 miles...was told it was used as a demo...we are freaking out thinking we have a couple lemons on our hands and we love these cars! My dad id GM retiree and I wouldn't think of driving anything else!!..Any words of wisdom? Will GM or the dealer make this right ? I have read that this seems to be a common problem...

JimK

Welcome to the group.
Check out " Warning! Potential dangerous problem." in this forum and
"VERY dangerous reduced engine power issue!!" in the Malibu forum.
Please help the effort by going to the NHTSA website and adding yours to the list of complaints.
On the plus side, it looks like the problem affected 2008 - 2011 so your 2014 shouldn't have the same problem.

whodeydiva

It's not happening on our 2014 ...it is happening on our 2009!!!

whodeydiva

Do you have a link to the website you referred to? would be happy to add our complaint!

JimK

The NHTSA web site is Home | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
On the home screen you'll see "file a complaint" in the upper right area of the screen. Click on-that and follow the prompts.

whodeydiva

Thanks JimK...will get on the complaint today!

sledge.impy

It is in your owner's manual as expected operation of the vehicle when systems fail.

whodeydiva

When what systems fail sledge? If this is a common problem should here not be a bulletin or recall available to fix tis potentially dangerous issue?

JimK....reported problem and made complaint per your instructions....

blue-impala

Have you had this to the dealer yet for a diagnosis? There a dozen possible reasons that the vehicle went into reduced power mode. You need to find out why before going an a safety rampage. Things fail on cars all the time, GM designed it so that it would still be drive-able with out damaging the engine or other parts, the other options would to have it shut off completely or let it self destruct. I find it amazing these days that people can't cope with a malfunction of a car without calling everything a safety issue. Back when cars did not have computers, there were just as many failures with carburetors, fuel pumps, electrical issues ect. that would cause a car to stall or die out completely and people knew how to deal with it, for me it was part of drivers education. There is no such thing as a perfect risk free car.

sledge.impy

Thanks Blue.

http://www.chevrolet.com/content/dam...ner_Manual.pdf

Search on "REDUCED", 5-33.

Engine Power Messages

ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED

This message displays when the
vehicle's engine power is reduced.
Reduced engine power can affect
the vehicle's ability to accelerate.
If this message is on, but there
is no reduction in performance,
proceed to your destination.
The performance may be reduced
the next time the vehicle is driven.
The vehicle may be driven at a
reduced speed while this message
is on, but acceleration and speed
may be reduced. Anytime this
message stays on, the vehicle
should be taken to your dealer
for service as soon as possible.