eng pwr reduced

[Shawn]

I have a '07 Saturn Aura with 211K miles on it. I was driving on the highway earlier today with the cruise set on 70. Without warning the cruise disengaged, I heard a few "bongs," and my DIC was displaying ENG PWR REDUCED and SERVICE TRACTION (not sure if that's exact, but, it mentioned the traction). I noticed immediately that I only had about half of my usual acceleration. I pulled over, turned off the car, and waited a few seconds before restarting the engine. The same DIC messages appeared when I started the car again. I drove it the remaining 25 miles to work. When I got to work I shut it off and let it sit for about 10 minutes. I then started it back up and the messages didn't reappear.

I realize there are a great many things that can cause this condition. What's the best case scenario? What's the worst case scenario?

[Ed Pawlowski]

Post by Shawn
I have a '07 Saturn Aura with 211K miles on it. I was driving on the highway earlier today with the cruise set on 70. Without warning the cruise disengaged, I heard a few "bongs," and my DIC was displaying ENG PWR REDUCED and SERVICE TRACTION (not sure if that's exact, but, it mentioned the traction). I noticed immediately that I only had about half of my usual acceleration. I pulled over, turned off the car, and waited a few seconds before restarting the engine. The same DIC messages appeared when I started the car again. I drove it the remaining 25 miles to work. When I got to work I shut it off and let it sit for about 10 minutes. I then started it back up and the messages didn't reappear.
I realize there are a great many things that can cause this condition. What's the best case scenario? What's the worst case scenario?

Cars can go into a "safe mode" when things go wrong. You can drive, but
at reduced performance. Something is starting to go bad, it could be
something like the Throttle Position Sensor.

Get the codes read and it may tell you something. Cars don't fix
themselves so yu may be able to nab this before it happens again,
especially in a bad spot. Some auto part stores read the codes for free.

[Steve W.]

Post by Ed Pawlowski

Post by Shawn
I have a '07 Saturn Aura with 211K miles on it. I was driving on the highway earlier today with the cruise set on 70. Without warning the cruise disengaged, I heard a few "bongs," and my DIC was displaying ENG PWR REDUCED and SERVICE TRACTION (not sure if that's exact, but, it mentioned the traction). I noticed immediately that I only had about half of my usual acceleration. I pulled over, turned off the car, and waited a few seconds before restarting the engine. The same DIC messages appeared when I started the car again. I drove it the remaining 25 miles to work. When I got to work I shut it off and let it sit for about 10 minutes. I then started it back up and the messages didn't reappear.
I realize there are a great many things that can cause this condition. What's the best case scenario? What's the worst case scenario?

Cars can go into a "safe mode" when things go wrong. You can drive, but
at reduced performance. Something is starting to go bad, it could be
something like the Throttle Position Sensor.
Get the codes read and it may tell you something. Cars don't fix
themselves so yu may be able to nab this before it happens again,
especially in a bad spot. Some auto part stores read the codes for free.

http://wnep.com/2014/05/15/gm-announces-new-recall-of-2-7-million-vehicles/