Chevy Engine Self-Disables

tony906
Tue, 25 Jun 2013 23:51:22 +0000
Maintenance/Repairs

Two weeks ago, my '05 Malibu suddenly shut off as I started up from a light. I was low on gas and assumed that was the problem. I went straight to a gas station & filled up, and it seemed like everything was ok. However, twice in the last 3 days, it has happened again (with plenty of gas in the tank)–once going uphill on a highway and once rolling along at 30 mph on a city street. The engine and traction control lights come on and the message center says “Engine disabled” or “engine power reduced”. I tried driving slowly with “power reduced” but it immediately switched to “disabled” and shut off. So far, if I pull over, shut everything off, and wait for a minute, I can start it again and drive on with no problem.

My dad has an '04 Impala with a somewhat similar problem, but instead of shutting off, it won’t start. Nothing happens when you turn the key. If you wait about 20 minutes, it will often start and run fine. He had the engine computer replaced and it was great for a few months, but now the problem is back. He can often tell when it’s going to have an ‘episode’ because either the security or traction control message will come up. Is this the same issue my Malibu has? What issue does my Malibu have?

4 posts - 4 participants