chevy cruze "engine power is reduced" message

Engine Power is Reduced Chevy Cruze [Main Causes & Fix]

One of the most common issues with the Chevy Cruze is the vehicle losing power, followed by an “engine power is reduced” message on your dashboard.

I had a couple of Chevrolet Cruze come into my workshop with this problem. In this article, I will go over the possible causes and solutions for engine power being reduced on a Chevy Cruze, Let’s get to it.

What Does Engine Power Is Reduced Mean on a Chevrolet Cruze?

The engine power is reduced message on your Chevy Cruze, indicating that the ECU detected an issue in the vehicle and the engine power is being limited to prevent further damage to the engine.

This is usually caused by a faulty accelerator pedal sensor or a bad throttle body.

What Causes Chevy Cruze’s “Engine Power is Reduced” Fault?

From my experience, there are various causes for this error, but after working on a few Chevy Cruzes I have trimmed it down to a few main causes:

1. Faulty Accelerator Pedal Sensor

The most common cause for “engine power is reduced” on a Chevy Cruze is a faulty accelerator pedal sensor. As the name suggests this is a sensor found on the accelerator pedal.

The accelerator pedal sensor is an important component in my vehicle’s electronic throttle control system. It monitors how far I press down on the gas pedal and sends signals to the car’s computer.

This information helps the car’s computer determine how much fuel to provide the engine so that it can respond precisely to your speed demands.

If the accelerator pedal sensor is faulty, you may experience inconsistent engine response, reduced fuel efficiency, and an “engine power is reduced” message.

2. Faulty Throttle Body

The throttle body is another common cause of “engine power is reduced” on a Chevy Cruze. A throttle body is an important component of an engine’s air intake system.

It is a tube-shaped housing containing a flat valve (butterfly) that is rotated to control the amount of air entering the engine.

In traditional spark ignition gasoline engines, the throttle body controls the amount of air based on the input given by the driver via the gas pedal.

Other Possible Causes

Now, that I spoke about the main causes, I can confidently say that 90-95% of the time an “Engine power is reduced” message on the dashboard of a Chevy Cruze is due to one of these two things.

However, there are still some other possible causes that can lead to this problem.

Bad Battery:

A bad battery can cause the electronics on your Cruze to malfunction, including the throttle.

If the battery is not charging properly, then it may not be able to send enough current to the engine control unit (ECU) and other electronics in your car. This would result in a loss of power output from your engine.

Clogged DPF (Diesel Engines):

For the Diesel Chevy Cruze engines, the Diesel Particulate Filter can get clogged over time by soot and other particulates that are produced by the engine. This can cause your Cruze to run poorly, and can trigger the “Engine Power is reduced”

How to Fix an Engine Power is Reduced on a Cruze?

The first thing I recommend that you do is to get an OBD2 scanner and scan the vehicle, this will give you a clear idea of what the problem is.

If you get P2138/2128 codes then it’s the brake pedal sensor that needs to be replaced. If you get any throttle-related codes then the throttle body is the culprit and you will need to replace it.

If you don’t have an obd2 scanner, you can take your chevy to any dealership or mechanic and have them scan the car. They’ll be able to tell if you have any throttle-related codes, or brake pedal sensor codes.

Additional Sources:

https://my.chevrolet.com/content/dam/gmownercenter/gmna/dynamic/manuals/2019/Chevrolet/cruze/19_CHEV_Cruze_OM_en_US_U_84169515A_2018JUN25%20(1).pdf

https://www.hella.com/techworld/za/Technical/Sensors-and-actuators/Accelerator-pedal-sensor-3851/

https://www.yourmechanic.com/estimates/chevrolet/cruze/throttle-body-replacement

https://www.carparts.com/blog/bad-throttle-body-symptoms/

 

2 thoughts on “Engine Power is Reduced Chevy Cruze [Main Causes & Fix]”

  1. I have a 2018 cruze showing reduced engine power. I took it to the dealer and they want to charge me $3,900 to open the engine to find out the problem. They said it has several misfires coming from the left piston?

  2. My Chevy Cruze is acting like someone is massing the puddle when it’s in park in it’s going dead in start back up but it is just like the video it always stays on 1 besides 0 like am pressing the gas when am not ran hot one time got it fix not it’s doing this

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