I was driving through a hilly/ curvy area of road when my reduced engine power, traction control, and throttle body disabled message popped up. Just then I have no power, no brakes and no steering,at all! I almost crashed with my two kids in the car! Upon looking up this issue I find that it is a very common issue in impalas. Some people have had this issue while passing cars, or the freeways and more. To me this is quite a safety concern since you have no power to do anything...nothing at all. I don't see how there is still no recall on this issue when there are so many reported problems and a huge safety risk!!
2009 Chevrolet Impala acceleration complaints
Page 5 of 5: complaints 101 to 130 of 130, newest first, as owners wrote them.
This the second time this has happened. Wife was driving down the freeway when traction control and check engine lights came on. Car went into reduced power mode and finally died while still moving. Lost power steering and finally brought car to a stop on left inside of expressway. After a short time she was able to restart the car and limp home. Note that the cruise control was on, but I do not know if it was set. Had the codes read that indicated a throttle position sensor caused the fault. There are two sensors which have to agree and if they don't car will go into reduced power mode. When she got home I found only the check engine light on. I have in the past moved the wires on the brake fluid sensor to get the check engine light to go off. Not knowing exactly how all of these different systems are tied together, I tend to think that the cars computer is the problem which sets off all the different warning lights on the dash. I went to the chevy dealership and the service advisor asked if this was a recall issue. I thought this was some what strange. After reading complaints on the net I can see why she might have thought it was a recall issue. The throttle body part is $300 dollars plus labor rate of $105/hr. As of now I cannot find any recalls for this issue. The federal safety agency needs to look at this problem because the loss of steering with all systems due to motor stalling while in motion is a hazard to everyone.
Was driving around 65 when out of no where the check engine light and traction control light came on and the reduce to power message started flashing on the dash it dropped my speed down from 65 to like 20 while on the freeway.
I am having problems with my 2009 chevy impala, it started at 43k, the acceleration pedal was changed when the reduced engine power/service traction control came on. Then again at 100k same problem, this time the dealership told me it was a bad throttle position sensor, the throttle body needed to be changed. I changed it, but it came back again less then 3k miles. I replaced the throttle body again. 3k later same thing. The problem is when it is raining the throttle sensors go nuts. I took the car to advance auto and read the codes, same as before, p0121, p2176, throttle position sensor. Once in a while you can remove the batter lines and unplug the throttle body and mass air flow sensor to get it to restart. Other times you have to go to advance or autozone to clear the codes in order to get it to run long enough for a sunny day. I had one occurrence were the car would not start and it said service throttle position. The throttle sensor needs to be recalled before someone get killed. I have renamed my car to the ford impala. Found on the road dead impala.
While merging onto a two lane highway my impala suddenly lost power and I received a "low engine power" warning and then " service traction control" the check engine light comes on and the car runs roughly at reduced power - you need to pull over and shut the car off until you can start it again. This is a very dangerous issue that gm refuses to acknowledge. In this instance I had my daughter in the car - I also lost the power brakes. I have been to two chevrolet dealers and a buick dealer because this has happened several times over the past year and a half. They replaced my throttle body, oil sensor, battery and something else and charged me over $2000 for the three visits and I am still experiencing the issue. I have also been to a local repair shop and had the wiring harness changed and had several diagnostics done. After all this the problem still exists. I normally don't write letters but, this is a very dangerous situation and many others are experiencing the same thing based on the message boards I have read. My concern is that gm refused to help or issue a recall. My fear is that someone gets seriously hurt or killed before gm answers for this. This is not good for gm. My hope is that someone finally addresses this issue before someone is killed. In my last communication with gm - I was told to take my car to a dealer for a diagnostic at my own expense. So, basically I am on my own and they offered to do nothing. Just not right!
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated the accelerator pedal position sensor failed and called the vehicle to slow down to 40 MPH. The contact stated that the traction control light illuminated on the instrument when the failure occurred. The sending unit was replaced and the vehicle began to perform normally. The dealer informed the contact this was a known problem. The failure and current mileage was 81,506.
I was driving and the message loosing engine power and stability control system started flashing. The car started slowing down and I couldn't steer. I had someone look at it and they told me what was wrong. I also looked online and saw the many complaints and gm is aware. I parked the car until I am able to have it serviced. The issue seems to be a accelerator sensor switch malfunction. If I was going at a faster speed or was on the highway this could have cause an accident. I called gm and they stated they see no reported issues.
The first time my engine control lights turned on was when I was backing up out of a parking space. As time went by the lights started to come on continuosly. The lights kept telling me to service traction control. Then the check engine light came on. I then took my car into friendly chevy in minnesota. They did 3000 dollars worth the work and never fixed the problem I went in for.the lights are still coming on and it scares the life out of me.. I paid 9,000 for it. Also put in 3000.00 into it for repairs. What a piece of junk. I tried to take it back but they said there was nothing I could do about it except trade it in for 3000.00 less then what I paid for it.absolutely unacceptable!!! I will never buy another chevrolet again. Terrible service.
Alarm came on that read service traction control - engine power reduced. I was trying to pass a semi-trailer with another car directly behind me. The engine suddenly went dead and another alarm read starting disabled. There was nothing I could do. If the car behind me had not noticed my car rolling to a stop I would have been rear ended and sent into the truck. This is a serious life-threatening situation and it needs to be addressed immediately.
I recently purchased a chevrolet impala ltz 2009 model a few months ago and it has 82,000 on it. While driving on the highway my check engine light came on. It said that I had a bad accelerator sensor. Followed by a flashing light that said my car had reduced engine speed. I have looked up many times about this issue with my car and many other people have had problems with a bad gas pedal. Gm knows and I'm confused as to why they never asked for a recall on this.
While driving. Apprx 30-45mph. Random service light appeared showed as "reduced power engine" vehicle then automatically slowed down. Turns off without notice. Un-safe. Over 1500 reviews same situation same vehicle.
While accelerating after a stop at a red light the throttle lost responsiveness. The check engine light came on and three messages appeared on the dash board display. 1. 'service stabilitrack' 2. 'traction control malfunction' followed by 3. 'reduced engine power'. Vehicle would not accelerate beyond 40mph. I was on a down ramp heading toward a highway with no breakdown lane available. Very dangerous situation. Next morning I brought the vehicle into a local chevrolet dealer and code p2138 revealed "accelerator pedal/sensor failure." repair cost $265. Many other chevrolet owners complain of this same issue and the dangerous situation the acceleration loss causes. Please see this edmunds.com blog with dozens of others complaining of this same issue. [xxx]. *tr parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
I was driving 55mph 4/10/2013 then I go down to 40 and message sensor says engine low pressure or something like that so I took it to auto zone and they said throttle sensor make the check engine light come on now 4/27/2013 the light came on again now they saying the pedal sensor and the low engine pressure check engine light is on again.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while traveling 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was moved to the shoulder and restarted. The vehicle resumed normal function then the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was found that the throttle control sensor had failed. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 67,000.
As I was driving on the interstate all of a sudden I feel the vehicle slow down and the message center displays "traction control off" "engine power reduced". I was traveling about 65mph at the time however to maintain that speed after this happened I had to press the gas pedal further. The stabilitrak light stayed on for a days also.
Driving about 25mph on feeder, engine reduced speed without any warning. Then panel showed traction control and engine reduced speed. I was thankful I was going home. Terrified experience. Checked online. Other people bad the same experience and almost costing lives because of claims the engine stops also without warning. Everyone said from acceleration pedal. Why was this not recalled and I'm having to take the car to a shop. I called a dealer but didn't offer much assistance. This is dangerous!
I have a 2009 chevy impala lt & was driving aproximately 50mph down the road when all of a sudden the "service traction control message came on, the check engine light came on & engine power will be reduced message came on". The cars speed dropped down to about 40mph & would hardly go. I didn't know what was going on. It really scared me because I thought my car was going to cut off. I did get to work safely but I am terrified to drive this car. I searched message boards on the internet & came across 297 messages from other people who own gm vehicles that this has happened to. A couple of people said their cars actually cut off on them while going down the highway at a high rate of speed. One was involved in an accident. The problem from what I have read has something to do with the accelerator pedal position sensor or throttle body. From what I have read gm knows about this problem but has not done a recall on this. A couple of people posted that their local chevy dealership covered the repair even though their cars were no longer under warranty. I called my local chevy dealership and they told me that they couldn't do anything about it. They said that I would have to pay for repairs myself. To me, this is unacceptable. I could have a wreck & get killed or kill someone else. I don't understand why a company would clearly know about a problem with their vehicles and do nothing about it. I think that gm should cover the repairs to my vehicle and to any others that are having this problem.
I have a 2009 chevrolet impala that I purchased in 2010. Several months later, the car began to read check engine, service traction control, reduced engine power, then stalls and jerks while I'm driving. It happens intermittently. I took it to autozone to have them check the computer code. They said it was the accelerator pedal position sensor. The car only has about 50,000 miles on it. I am planning o taking it to the dealership because it is happening more often and I am afraid that I will have an accident as a result of this problem.
I was driving home from work on my 2009 impala, I was already concerned because the car had the reduced power engine and traction control enabled display. When all of a sudden I get a message saying disable throttle body and the star felt like it was going to stop. The good thing I was on the slow lane so I was able to pull over . I don't understand why my car is doing this and why gm is not issuing a recall to fix this problem. They probably need someone to die so that they can take this serious.
While traveling on I-95 at about 75mph, the following message appeared on the dash," repair traction control system... Engine power is reducing". Thankfully, I was approaching a rest area, so I safely coasted to a secure area. After escaping a potentially fatal accident, I researched this traction control message, only to discover innumerable customers had the same problem. This issue should be investigated since it is a universal problem, one that is endangering the lives of gm and other drivers on the highway.
While driving the car through a parking lot at roughly 10-15 MPH the check engine light came on. As it was displaying the message for what needed to be checked the service traction control, service stabilitrak, and engine power reduced messages came on. I have been online and check forum after forum about it and have found hundreds of posts about the same issue in the same vehicles. Wondering eugene gm will be forced to issue a recall and publicly address this issue.
I was driving on the interstate when I rec'd the following messages: service traction control and reduced engine power. The engine light and the traction control lights also came on. I was able to go approx 50-55 MPH. I was very lucky that I was near an exit. As I was exiting, a message came on telling me that the power was being turned off or stopped. I can't remember the exact words. I then had no ability to accelerate and my only option was to pull off the side of the road. Even though I was able to pull off the side, it was not in a safe place and traffic was going by at the speed of 55-60 MPH and I was barely over the white line. I called a tow truck, and had it towed to my mechanic. This happened at 4:15 on a friday afternoon. My mechanic didn't look at it until monday and could not find anything wrong with it. He drove it all over and he checked everything he could think of. I trust this mechanic. He did say that he was afraid he would have to send me to the dealer to have it looked at. I came home, googled the problems and ended up at edmunds.com in a forum for chevy owners with this issue. While no one was hurt this time, that is just a blessing. How many people will need to be hurt, maimed or even killed before they issue a recall and do something about a problem that is very obvious. How much money and time will I spend taking this to a dealer who doesn't know about the problem and won't diagnose it correctly the first time? America wants americans to buy american made products. I owned a foreign vehicle for 9 years and it never left me stranded the way this chevrolet impala did after owning it for 7 months! I think it is past time something was done. For those of us who have the problem now and for those who are out there just waiting for this to happen to them. Safety should come first!
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that the reduced power warning light illuminated on the instrument as the vehicle decelerated independently until stalling. The contact took the vehicle to a mechanic and was told that the throttle sensor failed and had to be replaced. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 107,000.
I-40 east bound; 60 MPH; coming down a 4 to 7% grade through the smokey mountains, north carolina side; 1st error: "service traction control, reduced engine power, service engine. Approximately 5 minutes later 2nd error: "starting disable,service throttle" lost all power to vehicle. A very dangerous and frightening event having no control of your speed, steering, and braking trying to get off to the side of I-40 with the type of grade, tractor trailer trucks that can not slow down fast enough to let you over. We were very.... Very fortunate with our outcome. Had to be towed to a local dealership. Ran diagnostic; error codes p2122, p2138. Dealership replaced the component: electronic accelerator pedal
All chevrolet impalas dating back to 2002-2009 have problems with their traction control systems. The engine power is reduced and the vehicle slows immediately. This problem has been ignored by chevrolet since 2002. Fortunately, no one has been killed. Chevrolet does not know how to fix the problem, or simply chooses to ignore it. However by simply reading complaints on the internet, it is obvious that this is a wide-spread problem and a potentially dangerous one. Public safety should require the government to discipline chevrolet for intentionally refusing to address a potentially lethal flaw in it's chevrolet impala line.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The traction control, engine and the throttle warning lights illuminated before the failure. The contact was able to turn the vehicle engine off for a moment and once restarted, the vehicle returned to normal function. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to have the dealer performed a diagnostic. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 67,000.
I bought a 2009 chevy impala with 35k miles on and not even a month after I bought it I started having problems with the traction control on acceleration and sometimes on braking... I see with all the internet complaints that this is a wide spread problem that gm seems to be putting off.. I have contacted gm and they told me the same thing as every other complaint take to dealer and spend over $100 just to get it looked at and the dealers say the same 3 things as all other complaints it could be three things.. Gas pedal sensor, brake pedal sensor, or the sensor on the hub assembly... Hmmmmmmmmmmm gm help... Ps after I got mad on phone gm agreed to pay a mere $90 of the bill which is gonna cost over $300 to fix....
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle surged forward slightly until the contact applied the brakes. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the pedal positioning sensor failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure continued to recur intermittently. The failure and current mileage was 64,867.
I rented a gm impala from enterprise rental car in florence, ky on march 28th. The gas pedal became detached from the bracket during normal driving. On march 28 or march 29th. It was reported to enterprise the evening of march 29th when it was discovered. Enterprise rental failed to take any action in a timely manner until the vehicle was returned. This is a safety complaint against gm for the gas pedal being able to fall off and enterprise rental for failure to react to a safety hazard condition. Luckily there was not accident related to this product failure.
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. He stated that the vehicle accelerated on its own while driving at any speed. He experienced the failure five times. The most recent failure occurred while driving 60 MPH when the vehicle accelerated up to 65 MPH on its own. He took the vehicle to the dealer and they refused to check it. Report 71-807159815 was filed with the manufacturer who agreed to contact the dealer. The contact will take the vehicle back to the dealer to be repaired. The failure mileage was 10,000 and the current mileage was 20,000.
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