Here’s Why Your Chevy Malibu May Have Reduced Engine Power
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Some Chevy Malibu owners may notice that their vehicle has reduced engine power. Now, a possible cause for this issue has been identified, as has a possible fix to be performed by a GM technician.
According to a recent report from GM TechLink, some 2018 through 2022 Chevy Malibu vehicles may exhibit reduced engine power and one or more diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) as the result of the Charge Air Cooler (CAC) outlet tube separating from the throttle body. Affected units are equipped with the turbocharged 1.5L I4 LFV gasoline engine, which is rated at 160 or 163 horsepower at 5,700 rpm and 184 pound-feet of torque. In addition to reduced engine power, affected units may throw one or more DTCs, including:
- P0101 (Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor Performance)
- P0172 (Fuel Trim System Rich)
- P0299 (Engine Underboost)
- P0506 (Idle Speed Low)
- P1101 (Intake Air Flow System Performance)
GM recommends that units of the Chevy Malibu which exhibit these conditions be checked by a GM technician. Technicians are instructed to inspect the CAC outlet tube connection at the throttle body. If the tube is disconnected, the CAC tube, tube retainer clip, and throttle body should be checked for damage as well. In certain scenarios, the CAC tube or throttle may be damaged and require replacement. GM notes that the throttle body and mass airflow sensor associated with the DTCs listed above do not need replacement unless they are damaged, or found to be the root cause of the DTC in question.
Damage to the throttle body may include aberrant witness marks around the outer lip of the throttle body, or around the central ridge. Abnormal marks or damage may indicate that the throttle body requires replacement. Additionally, if the GM technician finds that the CAC outlet tube is disconnected from the throttle body, the tube end should also be checked for contact damage or a missing O-ring seal. The tube assembly will need replacement if the tube is damaged, or the O-ring seal is missing.
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Its a 1.5 4 banger…..it came with reduced power from the factory….BAM! ZING!
Actually I have 1.5 Malibu, its not bad….not thrilling…..but not bad.
Terribly adequate?
I have a 21 Malibu with 1.5 and I love mine. Smooth, quiet (car and engine) and very good MPG. Talking about quiet (or lack of), my next door neighbor has a 2022 Subaru Forrester. Talk about noisy when he starts that thing up! Then my other neighbors have 2 Toyota hybrids (both Rav4) and those things can be heard from a block away. It sounds like they have a bad water pump, especially when backing up. When I start my car, you can barely hear it.
Ours is a 2017, it is smooth and totally trouble free, it’s just sort of lifeless though. I’ve gotten 45mpg on a road trip with it, which is nice.
They do get great MPG. Just last week I drove 47 miles each way to my thanksgiving. Averaged 44.7 when checked by hand upon return.
I just bought a 2018 Chevy Malibu, which is my dream car, and I love mine too. Plan on keeping it till I literally can’t anymore, should take 10 to 15 years maybe.
Is GM going to pay for the repair on cars out of warranty?
My wife’s Nox 1.5T had this problem when new, just required a new/better snap ring and is fixed ever since. Actually, hers didn’t come lose but it was replaced on a recall in 2019.
i wonder how much dirt was sucked into the engine.
We have a 2017 Malibu with no issues so far at 32000 mi. We were sent a letter stating to watch for this issue with pretty much the same explanation. The letter also said coverage of the problem would extend to 10 years or 150000 mi. Hope we never have to use it.
I have a 2019 Chevy Malibu, AWFUL!!! Runs bad, check engine light is on, valve gas sensor, been fixed many times light still coming on. Now shift into park light comes on. Out of warranty!! Runs bad!! Car stereo sometimes does let me switch stations!! Just a bad vehicle!!!
Rhonda Good: Did you buy the car new? Have you taken the car into Chevrolet for these issues?
So there are flags in what you say that stand out to me. First, this is not the norm for these cars. So did you just get a bad one? You say it’s “been fixed many times light still coming on.” Who “fixed” it? If you are taking your car to a certified shop (preferred Chevy dealer) and they properly diagnose it, and then they replace a part (several times??) and the problem persists, then your bigger issue is where you are taking your car. In fact, I have not heard of a “valve gas sensor”. Is that just you saying the wrong thing or does the mechanic you are going to even know what they are doing.
BTW, this doesn’t just hold true for Chevy. This is the same for any brand and I’d say the same thing if you were driving a Toyota.
As for the stations thing, often there is a flash or computer update that fixes items like that. One more reason why is sounds like your car is being serviced by the wrong people/dealer.
Sounds like maybe it got wet. I would never buy a late model vehicle from anyone but a dealer or a known individual.
Carl: Exactly. That’s why the first thing I asked is did they buy the car new? So many times people buy a used car and sadly they don’t realize that they purchased a salvage title car or one that may have been in a floor and wasn’t flagged by the insurance. Anyhow, the story just has too many holes in it to be credible IMO. And yes, I’d say that for any brand.
My 2019 Malibu RS with the 1.5 Has a bog down hesitation issue when you try to accelerate quickly from a dead stop. Making a quick left turn into traffic is next to impossible. Any Ideas ?? Otherwise I love the car 🙂
check the firewall,connector for corrosion or bent pin.
Thank You I will have it looked into 🙂
I had the same issues and first it was the air pipe blowing off the throttle body so I stuck that on with hairspray and zip tied it down and it went away. Then it came back and I changed the turbo boost sensor. Then it came back again and I replaced the entire throttle body and it went away. Finally, I ended up changing the oil and spark plugs and the problem hasn’t come back since.
The most common causes for that Malibu are the throttle body issue I mentioned and the gas pedal sensor going bad. Which are the two easiest things to fix and you can figure out how to do on YouTube. That’s what I did if you need any other help let me know.
My 2019 was doing the same thing and I found there was a TSB out about a software update that was supposed to cure that issue. It cost me $80 to have the ECU reprogrammed with the latest software, but the problem has NOT returned. The hesitation on take off was so bad. Was really a safety concern for me.
I just ordered a new 2024 Malibu 2LT Red Line Edition. If it has this same hesitation problem I will let the dealer know about your fix. Thanks!
we have a 2019 and this car has given us trouble we were in town and came to a light and took off and the car died had to push it off the street notice a hose had come loose put it in as best as we could to it right away to dealership they couldn’t find out what was going on they had to recreate the same senerio to find out what caused it we supposibly it was a spark plug misfire. the car ran fine then we had just left home heading to work and the car totally died again and you don’t have steering brakes nothing just stops and this time didn’t start. had the vehicle towed to nearest dealership and they kept it for about two months motor froze. gm replaced the motor they had to put a new battery fuse box, starter and alternator it worked great for about 4 months then again we going out if town came to the stop light again and the darn car dies again had to push it off to the side street. Finally got it started everytime it dies it gives a sec code and the low fuel light comes on. again it’s in the shop but the car has to creat the senerio again. This is so frustrating love the way the car drives. The only thing we feel unsafe in the car cause who knows if you are going down the freeway and it dies and you don’t have control of anything and you have big trucks or other vehicles in front or behind you. we also have kids that we travel with. something is totally wrong and they cannot find out what it is. has anybody had this same thing happen to you. we bought this car brand new with only 200 miles on it and now it has 50,000 miles on the old motor and about almost a 1500 or less on the new motor and if course they saying certain parts are out of warranty
I have 2 late model Malibus with the 1.5 engine. No problems with either of them. They aren’t as quick as my new 22 Premier with the 2.0 but they are more than adequate. I haven’t had any issues with any of them or the 19 I traded in on the 22. I’m just sad that 2023 is going to be the last year for the gas powered Malibu. If you want a new Premier with a 2.0 you better grab a 2022 while they’re still available. The 23’s only offer the 1.5.
Have 2020 Chevy Malibu lt at times my car stall as if it don’t wanna go then it catches or something starts to run good also at times when I’m trying to pass a person it stalls RPM goes up to 3 stay there but never really catch speed think the CVT is bad or not sure
Clean the mass air flow sensor and throttle body and make sure the turbo boost hose isn’t becoming disconnected.
I’ve got 2019 Malibu. I have already changed AC compressor and AC condenser. It cost a lot of money. I aso have faced the engine power reduced issue twice.
This problem is not just for new malibu’s. I have a 2014 and it stalls after going into auto stop. I’ve taken to numerous dealers and they all “guess” what the issue is and “fix” what they think is wrong. Needless to say after thousands of dollars, the issue is still there.
Hi I have a 2014 Malibu as well and am going thru the EXACT problem. As soon as my car tries to use the auto stop mode it stalls out and it started telling me engine power reduced error messages. Were you ever able to find the actual cause of this problem?! I love this car but am afraid of replacing all I can and still having the same issues.
The auto stop (is) the car shutting off to save gas. It is designed to do that when in drive but not in low on the shifter. Is that the problem you are talking about or something extra like another stall when you attempt to go again? There would be that slight delay if you stop and go quickly when the car restarts in drive when you take your foot off the brake and press the gas peddle again.
I have a 2004 Malibu, I have the same message displayed on my panel. Is it possible that is the problem with my car?
In Feb of 2022 I had to take my 2017 Malibu LT without supercharged engine in for this. They replaced the gas pedal assembly no questions asked at no charge. On 12/23/22 I once again got the error message on my dash with fluctuating gas mileage and no reduction in engine power…..best car ive ever had but this is getting tiring
In Feb of 2022 I had to take my 2017 Malibu LT without supercharged engine in for this. They replaced the gas pedal assembly no questions asked at no charge. On 12/23/22 I once again got the error message on my dash with fluctuating gas mileage and no reduction in engine power…..best car ive ever had but this is getting tiring
I live in a cold region and am constantly having issues with the CAC and reduced engine power, and repairs are going to cost me $2500. Why is this not covered by a recall like the 2019 model? It is the exact same part having the exact same issue. Further, the repairs were obviously necessary from the time I purchased the vehicle. Feels like I’m getting a big F you from GM and the GM dealer I bought this car from. I don’t understand how this possibly couldn’t be recalled. You sold me a shotty car!!!
I have a 2018 Malibu LT and this is exactly what I’m going through. This car runs extremely smooth, makes no noises and starts right away unfortunately when I drive the car this thing on my screen pops up saying “power engine reduced” and only when that thing pops up the car just doesn’t let me go more than 25mph. What I did was unplugged the battery until this car gets fixed but a few weeks later I plug the battery in again and nothing popped up anymore the car ran just fine again. I was running it for a good 15 min and all the speeds were fine like nothing ever happened. I’m afraid one day this is going to happen again and that’s why I’m here for advice or any thoughts. Does anyone know what this could be ? I think it’s some type of sensor but I’m not sure I need help. I really doubt its a major thing because of that was the case my car wouldn’t even start or run this well without that thing popping up on my screen. I did checked the engine light code P0697 GENERIC SENSOR REFERENCE VOLTAGE CIRCUIT/ OPEN. I hope anyone is family with this code.
I have a 2018 Chevy Malibu, I’ve had it for almost three years and the last two months it has been in the shop 3 times, and I only take it to Chevy dealerships. I live in Columbus OhioIn April, a message appeared on the dash ENGINE POWER REDUCED I took it to Ricart GMC/Chevy on Billingsley, they said the issue was the oil cylinoid (could’ve been spelled wrong) I paid 600 bucks to fix that issue, not even 2 weeks later it had a battery issue stating BATTERY POWER REDUCED I took it to Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet of Worthington and they said the alternator was the issue, luckily that was still under the extended warranty so I paid the standard deductible of 200 bucks. Now today 6/9 is has the ENGINE POWER REDUCED MESSAGE AGAIN!!! Literally what is going on!! I love my car but now it’s starting to become a headache!! As it will have to go back in the shop this is getting out of hand is there some kind of recall on my vehicle? I am so frustrated 3 shop repairs within 6 weeks, I’ve never been in an accident in this car I keep up on the oil changes and any other maintenance!!!