Hi, I have a 2007 Pontiac Torrent that I recently bought. A few days ago while driving home from work all sorts of warnings came up on the dash. There is a text display on the dash and there were three things that came up in addition to the check engine light. It said that the Stabilitrak was off, that the Stabilitrak needed to be serviced and that there was reduced engine power. The car limped home, but was still running. The next day I had to drop my other car off for a state safety inspection and so I had to drive it a few miles to the place in order to not have to wait the two hours it took for the inspection. The check engine light remained on, but none of the other warnings came up and it drove like a champ. I let it sit the rest of the day and the following day I decided to try it again. When I turned it on there wasn’t even the check engine light. I thought it must have been a fluke, but halfway to my destination the original situation happened again. I made it to my destination and back, but I really had to fight with the car to get it up to speed. I’m borrowing a family member’s extra car at the moment in order to avoid driving my car. I’ve never encountered this before and any insight as to what it might be would be appreciated.
The presence of the illuminated Check Engine Light indicates that the car’s OBD system has detected a problem with the emission controls, or the ignition, or the fuel system. When the OBD system detects a significant problem–such as engine misfire–it will disable features like Stability Control, Cruise Control, and possibly other items, and will purposely reduce engine power in order to convince you to get the vehicle the needed attention.
It is unfortunate that you have chosen to “fight with it in order to get it up to speed”. The fact that that the problem has recurred is evidence of some underlying engine problems that must be addressed if you want to avoid expensive damage to the engine and/or the catalytic converter.
The first step is to have the stored trouble code(s) read, which can usually be done gratis at an auto parts
retailer. Once you have the code(s), then you can come back to this thread to report them. The format for the codes is similar to “P0123”.
In any event, I urge you to drive the car only as far as the auto parts store or to a repair facility.
I seem to be having the same problem,the Stabilitrak lights on the dash came on.took it to gm and the changed some sensors,Now i got the same problem again with the dash board lights coming on,Now the tell me its the EGR sensor.I’m really trying not to get upset now,i wanna know why they changed the other sensors and now their telling me its the EGR sensor that caused the problem.the worst part is i dont have a warrenty and this is killing me.can someone tell me if the EGR sensor is the cause.this car is really a lemon…stay away ppl.