2003 GMC Yukon XL 1500: sudden loss of power

Filed Jun 16, 2016 · Electrical, Engine · 188,000 miles · AR

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 gmc yukon xl 1500. The contact mentioned that the previous owner of the vehicle experienced a failure with the reduced engine power warning indicator. The dealer replaced the throttle body, but the failure continued before the contact owned the vehicle. The contact experienced the warning light randomly flashing, which drastically reduced the speed to less than 20 MPH. The contact had to constantly turn off and restart the vehicle, but the failure continued to progress randomly. The dealer replaced the wiring, 02 sensor, the throttle body was replaced a second time, the battery, and the alternator. The repairs failed to provide a permanent solution and the warning light continued to illuminate for the reduced engine power. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 188,000.

Filed Jan 5, 2016 · Electrical, Engine · 250,000 miles · MA

Reduced engine power mode on hwy at 70 MPH

Filed Sep 28, 2015 · Brakes, Electrical · 168,260 miles · CA

While traveling to work my vehicles check engine light came on and the reduced power warning came on at which time I had complete loss of acceleration, complete loss of braking, and complete loss of steering power. I then had to coast to a stop and attempted to restart the vehicle 6 times before I was able to get the reduced power warning to go off and was able to drive although the check engine light stayed on. This is the 2nd time this has happened to me in 2 days with the loss of power. I have had the reduced power warning on numerous occasions years past but never have I lost total / absolute power to control the vehicle, this is a total death trap for anyone who has had this experience, especially on the freeway or highways at high speeds. I have read numerous accounts of this same issue affecting other gmc owners and have seen no resolutions or any recalls from gmc. I have already replaced the throttle housing and harness components, acceleration pedal sensor and yet the issue continues, someone is going to ( die ) because of gmc's lack of concern and responsibility to owners of their products. I will never ever own another gmc associated product.

Filed Sep 23, 2015 · Acceleration, Fuel system · MD · crash · 4 injuries

There is an error message that displays on the dash for myself and thousands of others who own gmc/chevy trucks with these motors. They have a defective throttle position sensor with the truck where it says "reduced engine power". I've found 2 technical service bulletins that somewhat address the issue, but many people take their trucks to mechanics and dealerships to get the issue fixed and spend thousands of dollars in repairs and troubleshooting to get the issue resolved, to no avail. The 2 technical service bulletins that I found were #pip3089b (dated 10/31/2006) and #pip3042a (dated 8/30/2004). I've seen on many many forum posts about this issue and possible fixes, which when I read deeper into them, seem to not be true fixes.

Filed Sep 15, 2015 · Acceleration, Engine · MD

I keep having the display say "reduced engine power". I'll be driving on the highway, doing 65 in rush hour traffic, when all of the sudden the accelerator no longer accelerates and it displays "reduced engine power" on the gauge cluster display. From what I've seen online it appears to be an issue with the throttle position sensor on thousands of other similar vehicles with the same engine, chevy suburban's, silverado's, tahoe's, etc. I replaced the throttle position sensor and the harness (because I heard the harness might also be an issue) and I am still having the same problem with my truck. It has done it over a dozen times on one trip back from work (80 miles for me). I have to pull over to the side of the road (if possible) and turn off the truck, then wait a short period of time, then turn the truck back on. This usually fixes the issue, but it did not help me when it happened to me in the tunnel and I was going 5 MPH (top speed during the "reduced engine power" mode, once your drifting stops (because you drift, it doesn't engage the brakes). I was extremely worried that I wouldn't make it out of the tunnel without get rear ended, and once I made it out, I was just outside of the tunnel awaiting roadside assistance, it was very frightening, with my daughter in the car.

Filed Feb 23, 2015 · Acceleration, Transmission · 106 miles · MI

Vehicle has been serviced several times since first occurrence in september 2014. "reduced engine power" and service engine soon signals appear on vehicle panel causing engine power to be reduced in a matter of seconds. Has happened to me going 10mph, 55mph, and 70mph on highway, causing a near rear collision because I lost power so quickly. I have had it serviced 6 or 7 times since september 2014 and this issue is not getting resolved. Throttle body sensor replaced twice, throttle body harness replaced, all wires, and sensors have been cleaned and thoroughly inspected. Reduced engine power occurs weekly even after being serviced.

Filed Mar 8, 2013 · Engine · 106,000 miles · MS

Driving down the highway and the engine shows reduced engine power light. Engine shuts down and not able to drive over 10 MPH. I understand that this is a widespread problem on gmc vehicles and in my opinion is a very serious safety hazard.

Filed Jun 2, 2012 · Brakes, Engine · FL · 1 injury

Http://townhall.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f0e807e/115 http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f31/2003-yukon-xl-reduced-power-issue-help-90910/ http://www.justanswer.com/gm/5bfxf-gmc-2003-gmc-yukon-5-3-motor-code-p1518.html http://www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php?topic=43119.0;wap2 please check out these links as I have been searching for a fix for my "reduced engine power" issue with my yukon. I've come across several others with the same issue. Most of which have taken the issue back to gm dealers, who get no support for the problem from the home office. I believe this could be a very dangerous issue. The issue itself is the truck kicks into "reduced engine power" mode and then it does not go any faster than idle which means it all of the sudden reduces the speed to 5 MPH maximum as well as the power steering goes out and the ABS brakes. That is very dangerous if you are on the highway. People have been troubleshooting the issue with no solid fixes from what I can find. I believe gm should come up with a fix so that isn't a dangerous hazard to consumers and owners of what looks like there 2003 model years, it seems to be mostly there 2003 model years. Gm doesn't seem to want to recognize this as an issue. Please help us consumers out, we would just like this problem solved. Thank you very much.

Filed Apr 26, 2012 · Acceleration · 105,000 miles · MD

When starting my 2003 gmc yukon the dash says reduced engine power..it won't go over 15 MPH....it happens everyday! I have to keep restarting it and let it get warm before I can go anywhere. If this happens while I am driving it, and someone hits me I will sue gm, as I have been a loyal gm customer for 35 yrs...if you read all the complaints on the web about the same problem then you would definitely issue a recall before someone gets killed.

Filed Sep 20, 2011 · Acceleration, Electrical · 160,000 miles · TX

When traveling at any rate of speed, the reduce engine power light comes on at I lose all power. I must try and pull over at a safe place, stop the car, turn off ignition and wait 10-15 second before starting and just hope it will return to normal mode. This can happen many times in one day and then it may not happen at all for long periods of time. Very dangerous! I have been driving 70 MPH and had to immediately try and pull over out of speeding traffic, onto a shoulder and stop my car with my children.

Filed Jun 11, 2011 · Engine · 72,494 miles · TX

This is the second time for this problem to occur with this vehicle. I filed a complaint ( 10398842 ) with your department on 05/03/2011. Since that date, we drove the vehicle to dallas, tx for a convention with no vehicle problems. Then on june 5th, we were returning from houston when the vehicle without any warning gave a message that the engine was going to reduced power while we were driving in traffic. We had to work our way to a safe area to park because we were a hazard to other drivers. This afternoon I called general motors to get some response to this problem. I was told again that the engine was protecting itself from damage. Again, I asked if it was more important to protect the engine than the occupants, the representative was rather testy about the issue. There was no response when I said that no automobile in america should shut down in traffic for a non emergency. Especially since the driver looses control of the operation of the vehicle. I have a picture of the instrument cluster during the reduced power interval which shows that all gauges were normal so there was no reason to expect any issues with the vehicle. The engine was at 500 RPM and would not gain speed. This is causing us to fear driving this vehicle. In any case, I cannot see any reason for any vehicle on the american roads to be under the control of itself while in traffic. The passengers should be the primary concern. I hope you can get to the bottom of this before an accident occurs with this vehicle. If there isn't a current recall on this vehicle for this problem, should there be? This is a low mileage well maintained vehicle.

Filed Sep 6, 2006 · Electrical · 83,000 miles · ME

I pulled out of my driveway in my 2003 gmc yukon xl and only went a short distance when I noticed the engine was very sluggish and the dic showed "reduced engine power". I turned around and went home. I shut the vehicle off. When I started it up a little while later it was fine. I called the dealership where I purchased it and they said that this was common and it was due to refueling with the vehicle running or a loose gas cap...neither of these had happened in my case. The next day I had my three children in the vehicle and was driving south on rt. 95 when the vehicle just shut down. I lost all ability to maneuver the vehicle. The vehicle would not start and had to be towed. The mechanic that towed it read the dtc's and found the following: -class 2 data link malfunction. - body control module. - PCM to tac module serial data connection. I placed a call to gmc on 9/2 to report the problem and the danger it had placed my family in. They told me it had to go to a dealership for an official diagnosis. After researching this issue I have found that the same problem has occurred numerous times w/ other yukons as well as 2003 chevy avalanches. After reading the technical service bulletins regarding this issue it is very apparent that gmc is fully aware of this very serious safety issue but has chosen to ignore it putting millions at risk every day. Someone needs to address this before more people get hurt.