2017 Chevy Malibu won’t start. pops on saying service stabilitrak and engine reduced power mode

Asked by alexisericksonn Jan 21, 2020 at 01:47 PM about the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu LT FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a 2017 Chevy Malibu that I bought about a
year ago. it has 76,000 miles on it. It started going
into engine reduced power mode once winter
started and it got cold, it did it once last winter after
i bought it and then didn’t do it all summer, until lile
i said it got cold out... now it does it every time i
drive. i ordered the accelerator pedal sensor as
that’s what i was told would fix the limp mode
issue.. today my car wouldn’t start. the radio and
lights and everything come on and it says service
stabilitrak and engine reduced power mode. I tried
jumping it and that didn’t work and my battery
should be good. It sounds like it wants to start it
just can’t. It basically just turns over for a couple
seconds and then shuts off.  Any ideas what it is?

5 Answers

200

I've been having this problem for months, my car recently has been doing it more often, no low power mode because I paid for the gas pedal assembly to be replaced over a year ago. The car clicks with bo connect over and over for about 5 to 10 seconds before shutting down and saying service stabilitrak system. Eventually I can get the car to start recently it began shutting down and not restarting after auto stopping leaving me stuck in the middle of the street. I finally got in contact with someone at chevy saying they believe there is a bulletin on the issue now, and that it is a computer update. This car is scary and not knowing if it will restart every time it auto stops is absolutely awful. 2017 Chevy Malibu LT 93k miles

20 people found this helpful.
200

I took my 2018 Chevy Malibu in because as I was driving on the highway I got an alert saying “Reduced Engine Warning” and it said to service the Stabilitrack. My speed went from 60-20mph in the matter of seconds which was very dangerous!! When I took it in to get it serviced I received a call back saying that I had a cracked piston in my engine and it was going to be over 6k to repair. They suggested I get a new vehicle and trade it BUT they were only going to compensate me for only $500 maybe $1000. Are you kidding me? This is a 2018 with about 60,000 miles and I paid it off and I’m only getting compensated for that amount? I went on to get a 2nd opinion from a close friend that knows about car engines. He came to a conclusion that all it was Mass Air Flow Sensor. That was only a $50 repair. All he did was clean it and unplug everything and reset the codes and now my car works just fine. First check to see if you get a compression reading on your engine. Second, unplug the Mass Air Flow Sensor, clean it and reset the codes before you plug it back in. My car works just fine now and is back to running smooth. If they say you have a cracked piston buy a camera and look doing the spark plugs to see if you have a cracked cylinder. That’s how we solved our problem.

20 people found this helpful.
70

Our 2017 Malibu Premier just towed minutes ago same reasons. Only 15,000 miles. Lights on dash Stabilitrack, weird noise from speakers even though the radio is off.

3 people found this helpful.
90

The battery needs replaced!!! Your vehicle requires A LOT of power from your battery in order to engage StabiliTrack, power brakes, and power steering! Replace your battery, preferably with one that is rated for colder weather. You’re welcome!

9 people found this helpful.
70

We've had the battery replaced. Then it started in again, engine lights. They took it for awhile, and did some transmission sensor replacement. It's back doing it again, and like a lot of Chevy issues, can't do anything until the engine light or it pops another code. If you search this issue, it's been going on for years now with Malibus. This is her first Chevy, and it's likely to be replaced soon with another Toyota.

4 people found this helpful.

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