2016 Chevrolet Malibu VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Check engine light comes on and dash says reduced engine power
UNKNOWN While I'm driving my car will lose power and go into reduced engine power mode and slows me down to a crawl. I've almost been hit in the back many times for to this. The coffee is P2138
Out of nowhere, a notification pops up and it says “engine speed reduced” and all of a sudden you can feel the car losing speed. Took the vehicle to the dealership multiple times and either they always say it’s a fuel injection problem or they have no idea what’s causing it but when they perform that service on the vehicle, it still happens. Dealership even told me once that my car computer system needed to be updated and once updated I wouldn’t have the issue and I still have the issue. Each time the engine speed is reduced, a notification pops up that the StabiliTrak needs to be serviced. My safety and life is at risk because I’m going 65 mph down the interstate and all of sudden my engine speed is reduced like I’m not in the middle of traffic with cars going at speeds between 60-75 mph. I almost got ran over by an 18 wheeler because of the engine speed reduction. I had to swerve hard to the side of the road and risk flipping or crashing to get off the road so I wouldn’t be hit
While driving at a fast pace a hazard message pops up on dash that states engine power reduced and the car goes slow unable to accelerate past 20 mph. It doesn’t happen all the time but it’s been happening quite frequently and it’s dangerous. I’m assuming there has something to do with the speed and or fuel function. The vehicle has not been inspected. I am willing to bring it for inspection if needed. I feel like this is a malfunction and I’m requesting this to be fixed.
Our 2016 Chevy Malibu Hybrid intermittently began alerting of "Reduced Engine Power" and the accelerator would not allow the vehicle to accelerate. This happened twice, once on a busy highway that caused rapid deceleration of the vehicle. We brought the vehicle to the mechanic and there were a bunch of codes related to the accelerator position sensor. With parts and labor $415 to fix. Upon researching, there are a bunch of reports on car forums related to this. I believe there have been previous reports to the NHTSA. This problem needs to be fixed and a recall issued to have Chevy replace the Accelerator Position Sensor before someone gets hurt or killed. Once I pick up the vehicle, I will upload the invoice and see if I can get specific code numbers.
Code 2138 accelerator sensor popped up yesterday. After researching, I found out this is a common concern with Chevrolet Malibus for 2016. I'm sure you are well aware of this by now so I want to know what my options are at this point. Thank you.
Was driving home from a job interview about two hours away from home, traveling at 55 mph when the vehicle reduced speed rapidly to ~ 15 mph and on the dash a warning message appeared stating that I had reduced engine power. The situation was incredibly dangerous as there was snow piled on the shoulder, leaving me with no safe way to quickly get out of the way of fast-moving traffic. Once out of the way and after restarting the car and seeing no warning lamps, messages, or anything indicating there were ongoing issues, I turned my hazards off, my turn signal on and made my way back onto the roadway when there was enough distance between myself and the next oncoming car. Upon re-entering the roadway and reaching 24 mph, the car display the same message and reduced speed to max of 12 mph and I was nearly rear-ended by the driver I entered the roadway in front of (with more than ample time and distance to safely reach the speed limit). After several more attempts, I placed hazards on and continued on side of roadway as far as possible. Drove to an AutoZone where they were able to scan my car and informed me that the code I received (have printed doc of code being thrown with date of incident from AutoZone) was very common in the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu's and he recommended that I see if I can return the car to the dealership (had just purchased less than 60 days prior with 78,000 miles on it).
Driving along and Reduced Engine Power warning message came on said can not go above 20 mph but yet car still could be accelerated above 20mph. Pulled over when could. Stopped car and turned it off and on. message gone but engine warning light still on. OBD2 stated P2122 error. Upon reviewing internet there are class action lawsuits going on because can create a very dangerous scenario if car suddenly stops in the middle of the highway.
I have been getting many of notifications from my car stating that the engine power has been reduced and i am unable to accelerate past 40 max. I travel quite often and drive to work 7/7 days a week and the roads i take are heavily traveled so because of this i’ve almost gotten into many many accidents due to the accelerator failure.
REDUCED ENGINE POWER WARNING CAME ON WITH ENGINE LIGHT CAUSING VEHICLE TO SLOW DOWN ABRUPTLY; CODE P2138 READS ON ENGINE DIAGNOSTIC
MY ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND 'ENGINE POWER REDUCED ' APPEARS ON THE DASHBOARD. THE CAR'S SPEED DROPS & I CAN ONLY DRIVE AT 20-25 MPH. I RESTART THE CAR AND IT DRIVES FINE FOR 2MINS AND THEN GOES INTO LIMP MODE. IT'S A DANGEROUS SITUATION B/C I'M ON THE HIGHWAY DOING 60-65 AND THIS HAPPENS. I'M THANKFUL I DIDN'T GET INTO AN ACCIDENT. CODE P2138 IS WHAT MAKES THE ENGINE LIGHT COME ON. THROTTLE/PEDAL ACCELERATOR .
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would not accelerate above 60 mph, with the accelerator pedal depressed. The contact stated that the engine power reduced warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with the accelerator pedal sensor needing to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 26,000.
WHEN I'M DRIVING I GET A MESSAGE SAYING 'ENGINE REDUCE POWER' AND I CAN'T GO OVER 25 MPH
WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 40 IN THE CITY I GOT AN ERROR STATING ENGINE POWER REDUCED. LOST SPEED QUICKLY AND HAD LIMITED ABILITY TO ACCELERATE COULD NOT GO OVER 30 MPH OR ACCELERATE UP STEEP HILLS.
SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK MY CAR WILL SUDDENLY GO INTO "ENGINE POWER REDUCED" MODE AND GO INTO LOW SPEED. IF I GET OUT OF THE CAR, LOCK IT, AND UNLOCK IT 30 SECONDS LATER IT WILL RESET AND THEN BE OKAY FOR A FEW MINUTES. THIS POWER REDUCTION IS EXCEEDINGLY DANGEROUS WHEN MOVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND SUDDENLY NEEDING TO PULL OVER. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WILL COME ON BUT THEN DISAPPEAR SOMETIMES THE SAME DAY AFTER HAVING PARKED FOR A WHILE. TYPICALLY THE CAR GOES INTO THIS "REDUCED POWER MODE" AFTER ABOUT 45 MINUTES OF DRIVING. I WAS ABLE TO CAPTURE THE FOLLOWING ERROR CODES: P1101 (INTAKE AIR FLOW SYSTEM PERFORMANCE), P2122 (THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR D CIRCUIT LOW INPUT), AND P2138 (THROTTLE/PEDAL POSITION SENSOR/SWITCH D/E VOLTAGE CORRELATION). REALLY HOPING THIS WILL BE REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY INSTEAD OF HAVING TO GET IT FIXED MYSELF!
I PURCHASED MY CAR IN 2017 AND HAVE HAD TO REPLACE MY PEDAL SENSOR NOW WHAT WILL BE 3 TIMES. EVERY TIME I HAD THE PEDAL SENSOR REPLACED IT WAS DUE TO A MESSAGE 'ENGINE POWER REDUCED' THAT WOULD COME UP ON THE DASHBOARD. THE CAR WOULD LOSE POWER VERY QUICKLY WHETHER I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY OR MAIN STREETS WHICH WOULD REQUIRE ME TO PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY TO TURN THE CAR OFF AND THEN TURN IT BACK ON. SOMETIMES THE MESSAGE WOULD CLEAR OUT, BUT NOT TOO MUCH LONGER WHILE DRIVING, THE MESSAGE WOULD POP BACK UP AND I WOULD LOSE POWER AGAIN. EACH TIME THAT I HAD TO REPLACE THIS PART, IT WAS NEVER COVERED UNDER MY WARRANTY. THIS DEFECT IS BEYOND DANGEROUS AND CAN CAUSE HARM NOT JUST TO THE DRIVER, BUT OTHERS ON THE ROAD AS WELL. THE CAR'S ENGINE POWER REDUCES TO 20-25MPH FROM 60-70MPH IN A MATTER OF SECONDS WHICH COULD HAVE CAUSED ME CAUSE TO BE REAR ENDED.
WITHIN APPROXIMATELY TWO YEARS OF PURCHASING THE CAR I EXPERIENCED SEVERAL OCCASIONS OF INABILITY TO ACCELERATE. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER BUT IT DID NOT HAPPEN WHILE THEY WERE DRIVING IT SO THEY SENT THE CAR HOME. AROUND A YEAR OR SO LATER I RECEIVED A NOTICE FROM GM OF A RECALL FOR ACCELERATION PROBLEMS. IT SAID ONLY TO TAKE THE CAR IF I WAS HAVING PROBLEMS, WHICH I WAS NOT AT THE TIME. RECENTLY I EXPERIENCED ACCELERATION PROBLEMS AGAIN AND TOOK THE CAR IN. THEY SENT ME HOME AGAIN SAYING TO BRING IT BACK IF THE LIGHT COMES ON THE DASHBOARD SAYING LACK OF POWER. I CANNOT FIND THE RECALL NOTICE I RECEIVED BUT WANT MY CAR FIXED. ALTHOUGH THIS ONLY HAPPENS OCCASIONALLY, IF IT HAPPENS ON THE FREEWAY OR ON A HILLY ROAD THIS COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS.
WHILE DRIVING ON I-285,AT A SPEED OF AROUND 70MPH, THE VEHICLE DISPLAY SHOWED 'REDUCED ENGINE POWER.' ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CAR IMMEDIATELY SLOWS DOWN TO A SPEED OF 40 THEN LESS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC. THANKFULLY, I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER OFF SHOULDER. HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED SINCE IT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE TO AN APPROPRIATE SPEED. *TR
EVERY COUPLE MONTHS I WILL BE DRIVING MY 2016 CHEVROLET MALIBU ON THE HIGHWAY AND IT WILL SUDDENLY WARN ME THAT THE ENGINE POWER HAS BEEN REDUCED. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WILL ILLUMINATE AND THE CAR WILL DROP FORM 50-7MPH TO ABOUT 20-30MPH. THIS HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND CODE ALWAYS DISAPPEAR BEFORE I CAN GET IT REPAIRED, BUT THE PROBLEM KEEPS OCCURRING AND IS INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS. *TR
I ALREADY REPLACED THE PEDAL POSITION SENSOR ONCE AND WITHIN 6 MONTHS IT DID IT AGAIN. I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY WHEN MY CARS CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND IT GAVE A MESSAGE ON THE DASHBOARD THAT READ 'ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED'. IT SLOWED ME TO 44 MPH & WAS STUCK AT 3000 RPM. I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY MANEUVER THE VEHICLE OFF THE FREEWAY BUT I AM SERIOUSLY WORRIED ABOUT MY OWN SAFETY & THE SAFETY OF OTHER VEHICLES IF I CONTINUE TO DRIVE THIS CAR. LIKE I MENTIONED, THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN FIXED/REPLACED ONCE & NOW IT HAS HAPPENED AGAIN.
DRIVING AT 65 MPH, CAR FLASHED WARNING OF "DECREASING ENGINE POWER." CAR BEGAN TO SLOW TO A SPEED OF BETWEEN 20-30 MPH. THIS OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING ON THE GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE WITH MANY LARGE TRUCKS AND OTHER VEHICLES BEHIND ME. SOME HAD TO SWERVE TO MISS HITTING ME UNTIL I COULD FIND A SAFE SHOULDER TO GET THE CAR OFF OF THE ROAD.
ENGINE POWER REDUCED. CAR SUDDENLY SLOWED DOWN ON FREEWAY
ADAPTIVE CRUISE DISABLES WHILE DRIVING AND THEN ERROR MESSAGE IS 'ADAPTIVE CRUISE TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE'. THE VEHICLE WAS ON INTERSTATE WITH CRUISE SET AT 70 MPH. IT WAS GOING STRAIGHT.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 CHEVROLET MAILBU. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED INTERNAL THROTTLE PEDAL FAILURE, WHICH CAUSED THE SPEED TO DECREASE DRASTICALLY WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE OCCURRED TWICE. ON BOTH OCCASIONS, THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DENOOYER CHEVROLET (127 WOLF RD, ALBANY, NY 12205) WHERE THEY REPLACED THE PEDAL ASSEMBLY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 105,680.
THE VEHICLE UNEXPECTEDLY GOES INTO REDUCED ENGINE POWER MODE WHILE DRIVING. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS REPLACED. THE ISSUE CONTINUED AFTER IT WAS REPAIRED. IT CREATES A DANGEROUS SITUATION BECAUSE IT HAPPENS AS I'M DRIVING THE CAR.
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Quick Summary
The 2016 Chevrolet Malibu has 38 VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.