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Chevy Impala "REDUCED ENGINE POWER" message

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Comments

  • dasupadasupa Member Posts: 13
    There are a lot of complaints but no answers here. If that GM lady really wanted to help us, she wouldn't tell us to email her individually. She would post the stats on the problem. How many different reasons have shown up so far for this issue? What is the most likely fix? How much is it and is it something we could do on our own? If GM can't recall these impalas, could it at least post a video on how to fix it? I love my car and would be glad to give it a shot myself!

    Anyways, here is my update: The GM lady finally messaged me back, but it doesn't look good because my car (an 07 Impala, 3.5) isn't under warranty and has over 100,000 miles on it. I'm currently waiting on a replacement throttle body and will attempt to fix it myself. I've already replaced the gas pedal and it didn't work. Another post said that it has to be one of these two things. I expect the part to arrive within a few days and will come back in a week or so to let you know if it worked. If I can, I will have someone record me fixing it and post it to Youtube for you all to see.
  • dasupadasupa Member Posts: 13
    Here is my conversation with the customer care person at GM, skipping the first few messages which were about me giving all the required information:

    Me: I believe the name of the dealership is Bauman in Port Clinton, Ohio. My car has 104,000 miles on it. Considering that it costs 100 dollars to have them run a diagnostic (for something I may just end up fixing myself), I chose not to take it in to be diagnosed. But I did take it to Advanced Auto about a year ago (there were no symptoms, just a check engine light) and it said something about the throttle control module or something like that. I know my car isn't under warranty, but I thought I'd take a shot at it since there were so many newer models also in the forum complaining about the same issue.

    Her: I understand and apologize. I wouldn't be able to continue and create a case until your vehicle has been diagnosed at the dealership. Just keep in mind, I can not guarantee any assistance. Please let me know how you would like to proceed.

    Me: Hmmm... well if you were to give me an idea of what the possibilities are, I might be willing to pay the dealership to run a diagnostic. For instance, if you were to say, "If it's X, we can do something for you. However, if it's Y or Z, you will have to pay for it yourself. But we won't know until you take it in." But I'm not comfortable with taking it in just because you asked me to.

    Considering that you've had a large number of other Impala owners with similar issues who probably did end up taking their cars to a dealership, could you tell me what you have you been hearing so far? What were the various reasons for this malfunction that you have encountered in helping others? What were the fixes? What conditions were required for the fixes to be discounted? Is there a website where GM admits the flaw and gives instructions on how to fix it? If not, is it possible to have this done? Now that you know that I've replaced the gas pedal, what else could it be based on your experience with other customers? I won't hold you accountable if the list you give me ends up not helping me with my own problem. I simply want to know what people have been doing to fix similar issues (people have a bad habit of getting on forums to complain, but never returning to inform others of what they did to fix the problem).

    I'm willing to bet that over 80% of the people who take their cars in for a diagnostic let the dealership go ahead and fix it after that. I'm trying not to fall into that trap. If you could answer the questions above, that would be super helpful.

    Her: I'm very sorry, as I am not a trained technician at the dealership, I am unable to diagnose or repair your vehicle. You will need to take your vehicle to be diagnosed for me to continue. Again, I can not guarantee any assistance. Please let me know how you would like to proceed from here.

    Me: What assistance? What are the possible types of assistance you could offer based on what the diagnostic says? What conditions are necessary for you to offer me assistance after I get the diagnostic? If you can't answer that, then you're obviously just trying to get me to spend some money with GM. This requires no knowledge of auto repair. It's a simple question. If you can't answer this question then I do not wish to continue this exchange, i.e. there is no need to proceed further. But thanks for you help.

    Her: If I am able to provide any assistance, as well as what type of assistance I can offer, fully depends on the diagnosis of your vehicle at a GM dealership. As I've said, your vehicle is no longer covered under warranty, so I can not guarantee any sort of assistance. If you change your mind, and get your vehicle diagnosed, please let me know, and I'd be happy to take the next steps and create a case. Thank you

    So you see, if she really wanted to help, she would've at least given me an idea of what my options are. All she wanted to do was get me into a GM dealership to spend 100 bucks on a diagnostic. Nothing more.
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    dasupa,

    I can see where that interaction would be frustrating and hope to clarify a few things on my coworker's behalf.

    On this "Reduced Engine Power" matter, I myself have not handled any of the Service Requests on this, and our main social media agent has moved on to other pursuits at this time, so your agent was brand new to this issue.

    That being said, we handle each vehicle inquiry on a case-by-case basis. While a particular symptom may be common on a forum, the reason behind it may be different when we have our technicians look at the individual vehicles. I can understand how that may be off-putting to you all as you share your stories on the forum, but it is how we proceed in these individual instances.

    In so far as the ability to provide cost assistance, if that is what you're seeking, this is quite a process as well. We look at service history, history of ownership of GM vehicles, what is causing the vehicle concern, the time and mileage that the vehicle is outside of its warranty, and other factors. Our primary concern is to repair the vehicle, with any other offers coming secondary.

    I hope this at least helps to set your expectations in working with us; if you have further questions I'll do my best to answer!

    Sarah, GM Customer Service
  • dasupadasupa Member Posts: 13
    IS it the case that the issues are different for each individual in this forum? As far as I can tell, it's either the throttle body or the gas pedal (which I replaced). How many other different fixes have been reported on this issue that your company has dealt with? Give us a list so that we know what we're up against. You make it seem like it could be a thousand different things. Let's see what all has come of this so far on your end.

    As for your criteria: they're anything but straightforward. In fact, they seem to be convoluted and more for weeding people out than helping customers with an issue that is of no fault of their own. Your post doesn't tell me anything that the email conversation that I posted hadn't already stated.

    You still haven't met any of my expectations. Which I will again write below.

    (a) You have dealt with other customers along with their respective dealerships who were having similar symptoms? What came of them? What ended up being the problem with their cars? Did you even keep track? This is why we're all here: to find out what others had to do to get their Impalas fixed.

    (b) Instead of saying, "Well, it all depends on X, Y, and Z. After you give us that information, we'll decide whether we should help you or not." Why not just say, "If you car is newer than X, has less miles than Y, and your warranty status is Z, we can help you. If you think your case to be special in some way, feel free to contact us for a discussion on the issue." If you said that, we would all consider you a real straightforward person who wants to help as many people as possible. But that's not what you said. All this circumlocution only makes me more suspicious.

    Not only that, but when you have a car that isn't safe to drive, who has time to wait for you all to sit over there and decide these things? Since first contacting you, I've already been trying to fix it myself and when I do, I'll post everything that I tried and discovered in order to help everyone else out. But YOU guys have access to a lot more data that could be useful in helping folks with this issue. You could post this and help guys like me avoid trying 10 different things before getting the issue resolved.

    You have my information. If you don't plan on fixing my car or telling me all the results of the other similar issues that you've encountered, please do not respond to this. It's for the other customers in this forum, not for you.

    Best,

    David
  • dasupadasupa Member Posts: 13
    A final hello to everyone here. I fixed my vehicle (2007 Impala 3.5). If you look to my past posts you'll see that I replaced the gas pedal and it didn't work. But I just replaced the throttle body and now she's purring like a kitten again. Don't let this intimidate you though! I don't know much about cars (I can do my own tune-ups and oil changes, that's about it.) and I was able to do it! Here's what I did:

    1. The manual will tell you to drain the engine coolant. DON'T. It's not necessary.
    2. Take plugs off of throttle body and air filter hose (2 total).
    3. Take of the cover for the air filter (2 clips).
    4. Take of hose that goes from air filter to throttle body (2 screwed clamps: 1 on filter, 1 on throttle body). Now you can see the throttle body.
    5. There are two screws up top and two nuts on the bottom of the throttle body. Easy to reach. Take em off.
    6. There are two black pipes attached to a piece of steel that's connected to the same 2 screws to which the throttle body is attached (on the bottom). You either need to unclamp these hoses and move them out of the way or you can do like me and just use brute strength to pull them off and move them out of the way. Oh, by the way, there is another screw in front of the 2 pipes. Take that off too. My way avoided spilling any antifreeze at all. The other way may have involved losing a tiny bit of antifreeze, which you'll have to wipe up. But no biggie.
    7. After you pull those pipes away the throttle body still won't budge. That's cuz there are 2 more nuts at the bottom 2 corners on the same screws that you took the first 2 nuts off of! Take em off!
    8. Now the throttle body should come right off. Put the new one on (mine already had an O-ring on it. you may need a new one).
    9. Work your way backwards to reassemble the rest!

    My problems started with a slight problem in shifting from 1st to 2nd gear about a year ago. Then I got a check engine light, but cleaning the throttle body fixed it. So I forgot about it. Then my rpm's started getting funny while waiting at stop lights and stuff. Then I noticed that my car wasn't responding when pressing the gas during take-off, but it was VERY settle. Could barely tell. This got worse though. Then my car went to reduced power while on the highway about a month ago. Since then it's gotten worse every week. Sudden jolts when coming to a stop and stalling out when coming to a stop. Gas pedal was WAY worse, barely working at take off. Also, I noticed that when the car wasn't responding to the gas pedal, I could hear a soft buzzing noise coming from the engine (probably the throttle body control thingy acting up). Even if i was coasting in a parking lot, I could tell when the car wasn't going to respond cuz I could hear that buzzing noise.

    Anyways, it's fixed now. I bought the throttle body online for 160 something dollars. I get a 50 dollar rebate in the mail if I send in the old part. Your dealership will charge you top dollar for the throttle body (probably around 300 bucks) and then they'll charge you for the diagnostic and a couple hours worth of labor (300 bucks). They may even do the engine coolant drain/refill, which will cost you another 100 bucks or more. So compare this 600-700 dollars with the 120 bucks that I'll have spent in the end (200 counting the replaced gas pedal). The pipes were a pain to get out of the way, then back on, but all-in-all it was an easy fix! Best of luck to you all!
  • randyaporandyapo Member Posts: 4
    Dasupa,

    Since I've changed my gas pedal (6 weeks ago), I haven't got the Big 3 error messages/codes. However, I've started to notice my car's RPM's seem to bounce at times when using cruise and now I'm noticing almost a shudder or jolt when cruising around 40 mph. It feels like the car might be missing. Did you experience this before you replaced your throttle body? I did just replace my spark plugs and that hasn't cleared up the issue. Oh and I put in new Air/Cabin filters and a new battery.
  • pgopalpgopal Member Posts: 1
    Thanks much Dasgupta. The dealership has quoted me $575 to fix this!!! I am Going to take these prescriptive measures to a MIDAS or a PEP BOYS and have them provide me a quote as I am extremely inadequate at these things..what your score also underscores is the well worn fact that the dealerships and the car company aren't going to walk that extra mile for you....I have just 46k miles on my 2006 impala and like most others in thread, I feel quite aggrieved.Anyhow thanks again !
    (btw they are quoting me 300 bucks to change the fuel sensor too)!!
  • dasupadasupa Member Posts: 13
    Yes I did feel something like that, but not exactly the same. It felt like while I was in cruise control there was someone behind be with a rope giving me a soft tug once every couple seconds. If it were the spark plugs it seems like you would be able to feel it when idling (the piston will miss every time it comes time to fire off). Pay really close attention to how the car takes off from a stop. In the beginning it's really settle and easy to miss. Other than that, your symptoms seem to be a little different from mine. One thing's for sure, my symptoms progressed. So if you want to let it go a little while longer, you could. I like to work on my car for fun, but I'm far from being a mechanic, so I could be wrong.
  • yunafierceyunafierce Member Posts: 1
    I recently just purchased a 2011 Impala back in Feburary. Not two months into having car i got the traction control light as well as reduce engince power message...took back to dealer..they say they replaced with brand new part b/c it was bent in...My car has a little under 47,000 miles on it. I am now having same issues. I will be contacting dealer as soon as they open.
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    Hello yunafierce,

    We're sorry that you're having these troubles on your Impala. If you would like for us to work with you and your dealership towards hopefully getting this concern resolved, please contact us via email at [email protected] (include your name and contact information, a brief summary of the situation, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and the name of your involved dealership).

    Sarah, GM Customer Service
  • sherri15sherri15 Member Posts: 2
  • sherri15sherri15 Member Posts: 2
    Our 09 Impala dashboard said low engine power, service traction, I read the things on here and called the car dealer this morning our car has 61,000 miles on it and the 3 yr warrenty is up, but the service tech said it is covered under the powertrain warrenty since the check engine light comes on also...we got it covered under the 5 yr 100,000 mile warrenty, so everyone that had to pay, I would go back and complain to the service dept. Hope this helps.
  • treadway00treadway00 Member Posts: 2
    I own an Impala and primarily use it for highway travel. All I know is that with the glaring evidence of the severity of this problem if I get into an accident because my speed drops due to this issue I am going to OWN GM by the time my lawyers are done. Months and months of people's cars stopping and no recall? You can't plead ignorance on this one. This is every bit as much a safety issue as faulty brakes.
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    treadway00,
    Have you experienced the Reduced Engine Power concern or had this checked into at your dealership already?

    Sarah, GM Customer Service
  • treadway00treadway00 Member Posts: 2
    For legal reasons I'm not going to post what I have or have not done. You can't just say "Give us your vin number and we hope you visit a dealer soon" and have corporate negligence washed away. I know this is not your fault but feel free to just pass this along to someone who shares water cooler time with GM's legal team. If I, or someone riding in my car, is injured because of this when there is a preponderance of evidence showing negligence then I won't be working another day in my life. The only question will be whether or not I'll file an individual suit to get more for myself or class action it for a bigger total settlement.
  • cnhmommycnhmommy Member Posts: 3
    edited December 2012
    I was on my way to work this morning and all of the sudden the service engine light comes on with the error messages: Service Traction Control, Reduced engine power, and service translink (I think that was the last one). After reading the comments on this forum I am floored!! I took it over to the dealership and was told that it is a faulty gas pedal and would need to be replaced because of the sensor. I traded a Dodge Durango in for this Impala because it was in the shop every year... I got this car in May and has 48K miles on it. I was told that it is not covered under powertrain. I think that is pretty crappy considering that a lot of people are having the same problems!! This is going to cost me $250 and right as Christmas!! Will this fix the problem?? Or will there be more problems down the road??
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    cnhmommy,
    We're sorry to hear about the troubles you had with your Impala yesterday. Have the repairs already been performed? Keep us updated, and if you want for us to check into anything further please contact us at [email protected] (include your name and contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and a brief summary of the situation so far).

    Sarah, GM Customer Service
  • cnhmommycnhmommy Member Posts: 3
    Sarah,
    I did have to have this fixed... It cost me $250.00 and they also told me that the Throttle body (induction service) needed to be done as well. I chose to only have the gas pedal done right now because I do not have $400 to pay for it all.. This should not be happening and I think something like this should have been covered under powertrain warranty! I could understand if my car had 100K or close to it, but it only has 48K miles on it!!!!!! I am not happy about this at all. I traded in my Durango so that I would have a reliable car that I would not have to put in the shop every year. If I contact customer service at GM what will they do? Nothing??
  • moca002moca002 Member Posts: 1
    Wow....I have a 2008 Chevy Impala (LT/V6 /3.5)...okay, My car would not start on 12/17/2012 due to the Engine Reduce power message came on. I experienced the engine light coming on, the hot and cold metter not working, the I saw the "A/C turn off on the dashboard", all this stuff. I since the hesatation when setting in my car while its parked, everything the other readers where saying. Only problem is I can't get my car to the nearest autozone because I can't drive it. So floored right now. My car has papers, I change the oil faithly and routine check ups...why was this not caught?
    So far I have found someone to do the job for $170.00. It is the throttle position sensor that needs to be replaced. B/c my car won't start I hope i don't have to get the "Body" because if so, my girlfriend paid $1000 to have her's replaced. My friend did say that the problem went away. So I will see in the next couple of days.
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    We hope the repair goes well, moca002! Looking forward to an update.
    Sarah, GM Customer Service
  • littlegrayonelittlegrayone Member Posts: 6
    Driving home Friday night on cruise set at 65, bang, car dropped power, kicked off cruise, and the three rotating messages, service stabilitrak, service traction control, engine power reduced. Both orange placards lit up on dash, engine and traction. Pulled out of traffic and re started the car. Was able to drive at normal speeds but codes still rotating and placards still lit. Couldn't get it into the shop until this AM. When I started it up to take it in, codes were all cleared and car ran just fine. Dealership just called and told me it was the pedal sensor and will cost me $275 to repair. How can we get GM to do a recall on this on going issue? This is a 2010 Chevy Impala LT with 45000 on it. This repair should be covered under warranty and I was told it is not.
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    littlegrayone,
    It's correct that once you're out of bumper to bumper warranty that sensors would not be covered by the powertrain warranty. If you would like for us to look into the situation further (not promising anything up front but we'll do what we can), please email us at [email protected] (include your name, contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and the name of your involved dealership, as well as a brief summary of the situation).

    Sarah, GM Customer Service
  • cnhmommycnhmommy Member Posts: 3
    LIttle gray,
    That is the exact same thing that happened to me... you would think that GM would do a recall, but NO.............. I had to fork out $251 to have that stupid pedal senor replaced (they have to replace the entire gas pedal as well to get to it) So many people are having the same issue and it is happening when the cars are getting close to 45K miles or a little over... Too coinsidental huh? They just don't want to "fix" the problem. My mother in law has a trail blazer and there is a problem with the fuel gage and her sister also has one. They will not fix that either... Alot of people have problems but GM doesn't want to step up the plate to fix it. They only want to get the cars out of production and sold... If I have any more problems to this car, I WILL NOT be buying another GM made vehichle. I traded in my Durango because it was always in the shop. I cannot afford this... Maybe that is why so many people are going to the foreign made cars?
  • stephy13stephy13 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2008 Chevrolet Impala; I experienced this problem with the "reduced engine power" in July 2010. I took my car to the dealership and they fixed it, thankfully was still under warranty, BUT I still had to pay the $99.95 diagnostic fee. Now, here we are over 2 years later Jan. 2013, we are experiencing the SAME problem. I call the dealership and ask what's the warranty on the parts, they tell me 12 months...REALLY!!! That's ridiculous!!! This is so frustrating, of course now I don't have a warranty, and they will charge $300 plus $99.95 for the diagnostic fee to tell me that is the SAME problem that happen 2 years ago...again, Ridiculous!!! This will be my last GM car, after reading all of these comments about the SAME issue. Why isn't this a recall??? And why is the dealership charging so much for labor?? Looks to me this is a simple and easy fix.
  • dasupadasupa Member Posts: 13
    Stephy13,

    You can get a diagnostic for free at Advanced Auto. Also, I posted earlier on how to fix it. It ended up costing me about 200$ to replace the gas pedal and throttle body ($70 for the gas pedal; $120 for the throttle body; about 2-3 hrs of my time). The gas pedal is extremely easy to fix. The throttle body wasn't too bad either. I did it and I don't know much about cars!

    Best,

    David
  • dasupadasupa Member Posts: 13
    This is a shame. The gas pedal costs $70 bucks and putting in a new one takes all of 5 minutes. I did mine: take out a few screws, unplug gas pedal, plug in new gas pedal, put screws back in. Easy as 1, 2, 3. This customer service rep has you take in your car so that GM can AT LEAST get $ out of you for your diagnostic fee (I once took mine in and gave them the diagnostic codes that were coming up. They ran a diagnostic anyway and charged me for it.) She's not trying to help you. She's trying to get more $ out of you even though you're already paying way too much for the car itself.
    The sensors are attached in ways that they are supposedly inseparable from the car parts, thus making the customer have to spend twice as much when the sensor goes out. This isn't just for the gas pedal and throttle body. If your muffler goes bad, they will try to charge you 900$ to replace the entire exhaust system because those parts are now inseparable as well.
    Also, they could have easily replaced your gas pedal and driven the car around for a few minutes to see if that did the trick. If not, put the old gas pedal back in (as it's not the problem) and fix the throttle body. But they didn't do this. They want you to pay them to fix every possible problem all at once, thus raising the bill even higher. It's a sham.
  • dasupadasupa Member Posts: 13
    Hey, sorry for the late response. I hope you didn't pay them 275$ to fix that gas pedal! It costs 70$ and take 5 minutes to fix, so long as you have a screw driver and know how to unplug a plug (which I'm sure you do).

    Simply back up the front seat. Reach down under there and unplug the gas pedal. Undo 2-4 screws (can't remember how many). Plug in new gas pedal. Screw screws back in. They are all very easy to reach. Like I said: you'll be done in 5 minutes. Best of luck!
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    stpehy13,

    We certainly understand why you're frustrated and would be happy to check into this further with you if you liked. Please email us at [email protected] (include your name and contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and a summary of the situation).

    Regards,
    Sarah, GM Customer Service
  • dasupadasupa Member Posts: 13
    So far I've been seeing that GM is charging well over 200 dollars to fix the gas pedal problem. PLEASE don't give them this money. You can fix it yourself for $70 (the cost of the part) and 5 mins of your time. It is extremely easy to do. See my past posts and you'll find out.

    The only way to stop GM from taking advantage of us is to get smart to their game.

    1st- Stop taking your car to GM dealerships.
    2nd- Always check youtube and other online resources to see if the problem is fixable at home.
    3rd- Don't just get on here to complain. After you've solved the problem, be sure to get back online to inform everyone else before they go through all the same problems that you did!
    4th- For this particular forum, the problem is going to be either the gas pedal or the throttle body. Both are fairly simple fixes. The throttle body isn't quite as simple for the average Joe, but it IS simple for anyone who knows about cars. So if you can find someone like a friend to do this for you for 50$, all the better. Don't worry. He won't mess it up. It's an easy fix for someone who knows his stuff.
  • stephy13stephy13 Member Posts: 2
    Thank you everyone that has responded!!! All of your comments have been VERY helpful! After I posted this, I kept doing research and found a video on Youtube on how to fix it and as you all mentioned it is an easy fix and a cheap fix!!! I found the part at Autozone for $72, also found it at O'Riely's even cheaper for $51. Needless to say, my husband will be fixing this. He was at work when I did all of this research so he was surprised to see that I had all this figured out...hahahaha

    I'm done with GM! I also, do not like the Cheverolet dealership in my town, so I wasn't taking my car there anyway. The customer service is horrible!!

    Thanks again!!!
  • pigglet27pigglet27 Member Posts: 3
    edited January 2013
    Sarah,

    I must tell you I am extremely ticked off right now. Almost a year ago this happened (see my post above) and it happened again tonight!!! This time I was on the highway. Do you have any idea how frightening that is?? It is 20 degrees out there and dark. I was alone and I am disabled. I cannot have this happening every year.

    They replaced the throttle body last time but apparently either the work is shoddy or the parts are. The Impala is unreliable and I only wish I could dump this car but I'm stuck with it. Now I have to take more time off of work and find money somewhere to pay for a loaner so that they can come up with some other BS reason that this happened. And this is a CERTIFIED used car. Imagine the issues with an uncertified one?

    The original broker/dealer who is 45 miles away from my home, so now I have to find a new dealer to work with. I have been watching this thread for a year now and I see that GM does not care about keeping their customers happy nor safe.

    You can be assured that everyone I know is going to hear about this, especially now that it is a consistent and KNOWN problem that GM doesn't care to address on a large scale.

    Sincerely,
    A Ticked Off Customer
  • nick2006matrixnick2006matrix Member Posts: 42
    Does the service engine soon light come on too when the reduced engine power message appears? Trying to see if there is a trouble code for the accelerator pedal/sensor assembly. Thanks!
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    pigglet27,

    I have experienced something similar in my older vehicle this past week and certainly do appreciate how frightening it is to have a vehicle not respond. If you would like for us to work with you through the process of getting this looked at by your dealership again (or a different dealership, if you wish), we're here. Please email us at [email protected] (include your name and contact information, a summary of the situation, and the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage).

    Sarah, GM Customer Service
  • jmayfield89jmayfield89 Member Posts: 1
    I agree I have 2006 empala and my throttle light came on and thinking it was my 02 sensors took it to a mechanic and it turned out to be my hrottle body and im haveing to change it myself
  • rq_maliburq_malibu Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2011 Malibu with 39K on it and was driving 70mph on a busy highway when Service ESC, Service Traction and Reduced Eng Pwr lights came on. The car went down to 40mph instantly...very scary on a busy highway. Local mechanic says it's the throdle position sensors but he doesn't know which one and they are about $500 each. He cleared the codes and the car seems fine right now but I think it's only a matter of time before this happens again. I can't see putting $1500 into the car at this point. Should I try the accelerator pedal as some would suggest on this forum?
  • dasupadasupa Member Posts: 13
    That sounds like a lot of $ for a sensor. Worst case scenario, tell them to fix one at a time, starting with the cheapest. If you hit bulls-eye on the first try, you'll have only spent 500 dollars (still seems like a lot though!). You probably have two sensor up by and on the throttle body, then one on the pedal. If you can do any of these on your own, definitely do so. The manual for your car only costs about 30 bucks. Get that and see if the instructions are in there for doing this. Also, go to youtube and other places to get instructions on how to do this at home.

    I think what gave mine away as being the throttle body (as opposed to the pedal) was a slight up and down of rpms while idling. I don't want to say too much though because this forum is for Impalas. But yeah, get that manual; try to change the pedal sensor yourself. If that doesn't work, find the other sensors and see if they are within reason to be done at home!

    Most importantly though, see if your car is under warranty!!!
  • littlegrayonelittlegrayone Member Posts: 6
    Throttle body should be under drive train warranty. My Chevy dealership told me that if my issue had been the throttle body, it would have been covered but mine was the pedal sensor and it was not covered. I have filed a formal complaint with the NHTSA to see if we can't get a recall on these sensors. They should not be failing this soon in their life span.
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    rq_malibu,

    Is your mechanic associated with one of our GM dealerships? If so, we'd be happy to follow up on this with them. Email us at [email protected] with more information (include your name and contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and a summary of the situation so far).

    Sarah, GM Customer Service
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    littlegrayone,
    On 2010 model year vehicles on, the throttle body assembly was removed from power train coverage. If you have any questions about any warranties on your vehicle, we're available to get you more information on that (email us at [email protected] with the last 8 digits of your VIN).
    Sarah, GM Customer Service
  • kdh12389kdh12389 Member Posts: 5
    I have a 2006 Impala SS with just over 100k every time i drive this car it shuts off DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD!! It comes up and says "starter disabled service throttle" OR "engine power reduced". Im not a big person and i cant control it when it shuts down b/c it has no power steering or brakes! I take my children in this car is it going to take someone getting killed because of this issue for Chevorlet to fix it???
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    kdh12389,

    We're sorry to hear that you are experiencing this concern and can understand how it's a frightening experience. If we can check into this further, please contact us at [email protected] with more details (including your name and contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and a recap of the situation so far).

    Sarah, GM Customer Service
  • trumble09trumble09 Member Posts: 13
    edited January 2013
    I was driving my 2009 Chevy Impala on the highway in a snowstorm and received the dreaded Service Traction Control/Reduced Engine Power messages and my car went from approximately 45 mph down to 20 mph and sounded like it was about to kick the bucket. I logged on here and started freaking out seeing people had spent $$$$$ to fix it, My father contacted a family friend who is a GM certified Mechanic and explained the problem... he said its pretty common. Anyways he told him to look at the "Drive by wire" wires going into the Throttle body, sure enough one of the wires was pulled loose from the plug not getting a solid contact and causing a short. With the car running (like garbage on reduced engine power) he pushed this loose wire back into its plug and magically the car immediately began to run like normal. All that's required is to buy a new "throttle body wire harness" which runs for 80$ on car parts discount websites, or trim back the wire insulation and solder the connection back in place. Seems to me from the fixes people posted its either the gas pedal or this wiring harness. To those who have tried the gas pedal replacement and continue to have problems check this wire harness that plugs into the throttle body. Here's a video from Youtube, I know this is a pickup truck but its the same issue, same wire harness, and in the same location under the hood of the Impala.

    Loose Throttle Body Harness Wire Fix
  • jfudgejfudge Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2009 Impala with same symptoms and after reading pages and pages of people having this same problem I am amazed. This obviously is an issue that should not be happening at this early age of my vehicle.

    This is my last Chevy, too.
  • kdh12389kdh12389 Member Posts: 5
    The sad part is I have been dealing with the customes service (like I was asked to) and I have gotten NO WHERE! Trumble09.. my car says "starter disabled service throttle" before I get the "engine powee reduced" message. The car completely dies. I have to get out and take the terminal off to restart it. GMs advise to me was take it to a GM mechanic. The last GM mechanic that worked on my car somehow managed to put antifreeze in the transmission fluid.. I have 2 kids and I'm in college, I don't have the time or money to pay them to tell me they can't figure it out. I absolutely love this car when it's running but after all of this I will NEVER buy another Chevrolet.
  • trumble09trumble09 Member Posts: 13
    edited January 2013
    Hey sorry I forgot to include that my car also displayed "service throttle starter disabled"after I turned my car off when it had been running rough. Ill take a picture of the wire harness and post pictures on where to find it. Give me an hour or so I'm replying from my phone at work. All in all its a p!ss poor design that's prone to failure. Before paying for a gas pedal try this throttle body wire harness as it may be the culprit.
  • trumble09trumble09 Member Posts: 13
    edited January 2013
    Throttle Body wire harness pictures:

    So this is the establishing shot, once you have popped the hood this is what it should look like more or less, pardon the dirt and sand its wintertime here, also pardon the picture quality its currently -4 degrees fahrenheit with a windchill making it -7.

    This red circle is the area you're going to be concerned with, you can leave the valve cover on if you like. if you wanna take it off it involves unscrewing the oil cap and removing the oil cap fill neck and giving the plastic a tug. Instructions can be found on google

    Engine shot

    This next picture is of the drivers side front portion of the engine, the bunch of wires circled in red are the throttle body wire harness, Grip these wires in your hand and push them towards the plug and any loose connection that may be present will re-establish and either your motor will be back to running like normal or else this isn't the problem... but this is a good check to do before you go to the dealer and throw money at them to try to fix your car, if it's not this bunch of wires chances are its either the throttle body itself, or the APPS sensor in the gas pedal

    Harness close up

    Hopefully this helps some people, if your car is still running like garbage after having the dealer replace the throttle body and gas pedal check this bunch of wires because this wire harness is not often replaced when the throttle body is serviced.
  • trumble09trumble09 Member Posts: 13
    Yeah if your problem is caused by the exact same thing then Chevy needs to re-evaluate their wire/plug design. I had an issue with the airbag wire harness under my passenger seat 2 weeks after I bought my car, took it to the dealer took them all of 5 minutes to diagnose and i was charged 60$ because wires and sensors weren't covered by warranty. they just shoved the wire towards the plug and called it good 'nuff. check my post below with the links to pictures on Flickr and see if it helps your car, my car the minute that wire got shoved back into place was night and day as far as running like it should and not in the reduced engine power mode. Also works if you try to start the car and get the "Service throttle, Starter Disabled" message
  • trumble09trumble09 Member Posts: 13
    Sorry KDH, forgot you have the SS, probably the LS4 motor, I found a picture of one and circled and arrowed to what I believe is the Throttle Body Harness, not positive though you may know more about where the throttle body is on your v8

    Impala SS Wire Harness
  • yourtroublyourtroubl Member Posts: 1
    Ive been dealing with this since my car was practically new; only in the winter. I had in in several times under the warranty and they did nothing. Its really cold now and this is getting dangerous. I saw this post and so I jiggled and pushed those wires. It drove like a charm for 30 minutes. Then it went bad. Usually I can stop and wait a while and then go futher. I have appointment with dealer because I complained that they never fixed it but now at over 10000 miles they will cerainly charge me no matter how much I complain. I was hoping I had fixed it myself. Im a woman and am my wits end with this. I mean I had it in under the warranty and extended warranty so many times. The pedal was replaced (by me) and they cleaned the throttle or something.
  • kdh12389kdh12389 Member Posts: 5
    As soon as my husband watched the video you sent me a link of yesterday he went out and jiggled all the wires with no change. The only time my car doesnt shut off is when u have ur foot completely buried in the throttle. But as soon as u let out of it it dies. I just want someone to tell me what the problem is so i can fix it myself. Anymore ideas??
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