Jul 22, 2015, 12:18 PM
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VERY dangerous reduced engine power issue!!
CF Beginner
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Reduced Engine Power
I bought a 2017 Chev Malibu and the experience has been a nightmare. The car is only beautiful from inside and a hell from the engine side. I bought two months ago and I have been to GM Mechanic 5 times with failed attempts..
They replaced all these parts and still my car is with them with the same Problems.
1. Valve
2. Pan
3. ECM
4. Pedal
5. Finally they rewired everything back to a new ECM and same experience.
If you want to live longer do not drive Chev Malibu.
They replaced all these parts and still my car is with them with the same Problems.
1. Valve
2. Pan
3. ECM
4. Pedal
5. Finally they rewired everything back to a new ECM and same experience.
If you want to live longer do not drive Chev Malibu.
CF Beginner
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Please reply if you see this
This has happened to me 4 times in the past two weeks, and I am honestly lucky to be alive. I have a 2011 Chevy Malibu with 58,000 miles on it. My husband and I just moved from Dallas to Atlanta, so I have had to make several trips back and forth to handle things with our home in Dallas. The first time this happened, I was about 70 miles outside of Atlanta going 70 MPH on the highway surrounded by 18 wheelers. Suddenly my traction light and service engine light came on and the reduced power notification came on, the car slowed to about 10 miles an hour very suddenly and the car was shaking violently.
The 18 wheeler behind me could not stop fast enough and the only reason I was not hit was because I was able to veer onto the shoulder. Terrified, I sat on the side of the road for several minutes after turning the car off. I started it again and it began driving normally, but the service engine light stayed on. Since I was pretty much in the middle of nowhere and it was extremely dark, I got back on the road again to get home. I made it to Atlanta, but the same thing happened again when I was entering the city on the loop. I basically coasted home. We took it to Goodyear the next day because that was the closest place. They told us it was the gas pedal sensor and charged us $265 to replace it. The car seemed to work normally until a week later I was back in Texas when the exact same thing occurred when I was going 60 MPH on the highway.
Luckily, I was close enough to yet another Goodyear to coast in. They told me there was a frayed wire on the throttle body pigtail and they replaced that for $113.40. Again, the car seemed to work normally for a few days until I was again on the highway, this time in Jackson, MS and the same situation happened again. I was able to coast into a Chevy dealership this time. Here they told me that the problem was the Engine Control Module and they replaced it free of charge saying it was under warranty. Since I spent all day there, I was now faced with driving to Atlanta in the dark, not trusting that this would not happen again. Thank God I stopped in Birmingham and got a hotel room, because the whole thing happened yet again. I got it towed to a Chevy dealership the next morning, and because it was now Christmas Eve, no one would even look at it since they all wanted to go home at noon.
So that I would not have to spend Christmas alone in a hotel room, I rented a car to get to Atlanta. It is now the day after Christmas, and the Chevy dealership just called to tell me it is an internal failure of the throttle body, and it will cost $550 to fix it. So, I am faced with driving 3 hours back to Birmingham, paying all that money, only to risk my life driving it 3 hours back to Atlanta, hoping this won't happen again. Oh, and if you are wondering why I didn't trade it in somewhere in this whole process, it is because I currently owe more than the trade in value. Sorry for the long post, but I feel helpless and hopeless at the moment, not to mention I am broke now. I hope I make it back to Atlanta in one piece.
Thanks, Chevy, and Merry Christmas!
The 18 wheeler behind me could not stop fast enough and the only reason I was not hit was because I was able to veer onto the shoulder. Terrified, I sat on the side of the road for several minutes after turning the car off. I started it again and it began driving normally, but the service engine light stayed on. Since I was pretty much in the middle of nowhere and it was extremely dark, I got back on the road again to get home. I made it to Atlanta, but the same thing happened again when I was entering the city on the loop. I basically coasted home. We took it to Goodyear the next day because that was the closest place. They told us it was the gas pedal sensor and charged us $265 to replace it. The car seemed to work normally until a week later I was back in Texas when the exact same thing occurred when I was going 60 MPH on the highway.
Luckily, I was close enough to yet another Goodyear to coast in. They told me there was a frayed wire on the throttle body pigtail and they replaced that for $113.40. Again, the car seemed to work normally for a few days until I was again on the highway, this time in Jackson, MS and the same situation happened again. I was able to coast into a Chevy dealership this time. Here they told me that the problem was the Engine Control Module and they replaced it free of charge saying it was under warranty. Since I spent all day there, I was now faced with driving to Atlanta in the dark, not trusting that this would not happen again. Thank God I stopped in Birmingham and got a hotel room, because the whole thing happened yet again. I got it towed to a Chevy dealership the next morning, and because it was now Christmas Eve, no one would even look at it since they all wanted to go home at noon.
So that I would not have to spend Christmas alone in a hotel room, I rented a car to get to Atlanta. It is now the day after Christmas, and the Chevy dealership just called to tell me it is an internal failure of the throttle body, and it will cost $550 to fix it. So, I am faced with driving 3 hours back to Birmingham, paying all that money, only to risk my life driving it 3 hours back to Atlanta, hoping this won't happen again. Oh, and if you are wondering why I didn't trade it in somewhere in this whole process, it is because I currently owe more than the trade in value. Sorry for the long post, but I feel helpless and hopeless at the moment, not to mention I am broke now. I hope I make it back to Atlanta in one piece.
Thanks, Chevy, and Merry Christmas!
CF Beginner
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo LS
I just had the engine power power is reduced happened to me car wouldn’t start , check engine light flickered dimly , solution bad body ground.. Replaced body ground with 12 gauge wire haven’t had a problem since
The final solution for my 2011 malibu seems to have been replacing the whole throttle body. The reduced engine power situation has not happened to me since. I have encountered several gm car owners who have experienced the same problem and they have said replacing the throttle body was the solution. I was told by chevy dealership it was only covered under warranty up to 35000 miles. I was getting my car inspected yesterday and while i was waiting anotger customer walked in who was driving a chevy. He described the same problem and said it happenedto him on the highway while he was driving 70 mph. The mechanic immediately stated that it must be the throttle body and said it was a common gm problem. Sounds like the next class action lawsuit to me. I hope nobody has been hurt by this as i was nearly in a wreck over it. As soon as i am able i will be buying a non gm car.
CF Beginner
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Just Wow!
It appears I have joined the club of Malibu owners who have been put in a very dangerous situation. I experienced the same story as many here with the sudden onset of the reduced power message followed by a reduction in speed from 70 to 10 in the fast lane on the highway.. if anyone has driven in Austin TX there is no such thing as courteous drivers so getting off the highway was certainly not easy and extremely dangerous.. After finally getting off I had to let the car sit for 20 minutes in 101 degrees weather before it would allow the car to start and drive at least 15 miles an hour.. I tried all the little tricks like adding oil, putting gas treatment, checking all the wires and finally gave up. the next day it worked fine but here we are 2 days later and the same issue. after reading through this forum I am so disheartened. like many others I live dang near paycheck to paycheck so coming up with over 500.00 dollars to get what certainly appears to be a known issue fixed is like 10,000 to me. up to this point I was bragging on how great my Malibu was on social media but after reading through this forum I am going to have to sadly take back my praise and tell the real truth to my 8,000 Instagram followers and 3000 friends and family on Facebook.. it is horrible that a corporation like this would risk their reputation especially in the world of social media where word of mouth spreads so quickly, when from everything I have read a recall would have fixed it.
I am friends with quite a few You-Tubers who have over 50K followers each that I will be directing to this page and telling my story to. When large corporations like this start losing customers which equals money then and only then will greed not override the safety of their customers. It is best practice to treat customers right because you never know when you will get that one customer like myself who knows people who believe in standing up for justice and wont just sit by and let people die or become injured due to a lack of due diligence by corporations.
it is time for consumers to stop buying from companies/corporations who lack the integrity to do everything possible to insure the safety of their consumers. Human lives matter!!!
I am friends with quite a few You-Tubers who have over 50K followers each that I will be directing to this page and telling my story to. When large corporations like this start losing customers which equals money then and only then will greed not override the safety of their customers. It is best practice to treat customers right because you never know when you will get that one customer like myself who knows people who believe in standing up for justice and wont just sit by and let people die or become injured due to a lack of due diligence by corporations.
it is time for consumers to stop buying from companies/corporations who lack the integrity to do everything possible to insure the safety of their consumers. Human lives matter!!!
Last edited by veneyke72; Jul 21, 2019 at 5:20 PM.
CF Beginner
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Very Dangerous is RIGHT
The same thing keeps happening to my 2012 Chevy Malibu. I have repaired the throttle body and control module and still doing the same thing. I have about had it and am going to look into obtaining a lawyer. My family was put in danger because of the car losing power on the highway late at night when only 18 wheelers were out. very scary.
CF Beginner
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Dangerous reduced Engine Power issue
Traded in my Chevy Cruze back in February due to this problem (my daughter could have been killed). Have had issues with my Chevy Traverse not related to this but similar in that Checy does not want to issue a recall so I traded that in Maexh 2015. Bye bye Chevy forever 😀
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CF Beginner
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Service ESC
Miss Tiffany, I am having the identical issue with my 2011 Chevy Malibu. This evening it happened with my four-year-old daughter in the back seat and we were barely able to Coast into a safe spot. Service ESC, traction, reduced engine power.......etcetera. It has happened multiple times. I can pm you my info....
Greenfield3,
I am sorry to hear about your experience. I would like to look into this for you. Please private message me your name, VIN, phone number, address, and dealership. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Erica Tiffany
Chevrolet Customer Care
I am sorry to hear about your experience. I would like to look into this for you. Please private message me your name, VIN, phone number, address, and dealership. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Erica Tiffany
Chevrolet Customer Care
CF Beginner
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
2009 Chevy Impala
Hi Nyocam82,
We apologize for the unexpected situation with your vehicle, and we can understand how out of pocket expenses can be frustrating. We do rely heavily on the dealership to provide us with the technical information based on their diagnosis. However, we would be happy to reach out to them on your behalf and add an extra layer of assistance. Feel free to send us a private message along with your VIN, current mileage, contact information and preferred dealership. We look forward to your response.
Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care
We apologize for the unexpected situation with your vehicle, and we can understand how out of pocket expenses can be frustrating. We do rely heavily on the dealership to provide us with the technical information based on their diagnosis. However, we would be happy to reach out to them on your behalf and add an extra layer of assistance. Feel free to send us a private message along with your VIN, current mileage, contact information and preferred dealership. We look forward to your response.
Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care