Allen_B

Beyond pissed...

Driving in normal conditions, 35 MPH and the throttle went unresponsive. DIC indicated "Reduced Engine Power" and "Service Traction Control". Pulled into a driveway and shut her down. No change on restart.

- Pulled the battery leads to reset, restart and immediately get the same fault.
- Normal idle but zero throttle response.
- Battery is solid, about 2 years old and kept fully charged on a tender.
- 2009 stock LS3/M6 2LT and "base" suspension with zero mods other than a Borla axle-back exhaust.

Has it towed to the dealership that I purchased (used) from and no scanner to pull engine codes.

Still very frustrated but thinking of possibilities but zeroing on maybe a faulty throttle position sensor?

Man I am beyond pissed... Even managed to drop the stupid convex locking nut for the negative battery lead and lost it.

Bad day...


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Allen

unixcorn

Life is way too short to get pissed over issues with a mechanical device as complex as a Corvette. Remember all the enjoyment you get from the car and take comfort in the fact that you will get it fixed and be enjoying it once again very soon.

Allen_B

Yes, you are correct but the timing is always the killer. Working through a military move that is pending and since the car is now out of warranty the timing is impeccable...

Hoping it is something like a loose connection; the same dealership replaced the harmonic balancer last fall and I hope it is something simple. They are a Buick/GMC shop but a good bunch that seem to be above board.

Envision a $500 bill for a $30 part, and that is being my usual "Optimistic" self...


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Allen

WhiteDevil828

I had the same issue but I created the problem. I replaced my standard gas pedal with the aluminum pedal and while compressing the pin into the accelerator post, I somehow cracked the switch that the wiring harness is connected to. When I went to pull it back in the garage, I got the same message. I was pissed to say the least but it was actually an easy fix. Removed the 2 bolts and wiring harness and installed a new accelerator pedal. Cost me about $150 for the replacement. It's an easy DIY project. I would say check that, you never know when a switch might fail.

AORoads

Speaking of the gas pedal, that is one place where the problem could be. Reduced engine power can be traced to one of the two sensors attached to the gas pedal. It isn't a 40 part, nor is the labor, but it's less than 500.

Allen_B

Haven't been rooting around in the floorboards nor in the engine bay recently, but having worked most of my adult life troubleshooting electronic and computer stuff the symptoms would seem to point to the FBW system. Pointed there since the idle is perfect and the initial onset was a total loss of throttle response along with a completely dead throttle.

Just annoys me to not have the opportunity to troubleshoot anything myself but I had to have it towed somewhere and played to odds- the dealership made more sense than my yard since I only get one tow!


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Allen

23/C8Z

time to google all combinations of the problem. should put you in the ballpark of what's the cause..

billyboy47

great advice, until it happens to us. i understand the op's frustrations all too well. matter of fact we all do. when a nice day suddenly turns into a nightmare we all tend to get a little annoyed. that is human nature. good luck to the op, i hope things turn out well.

AORoads

Say Allen, I do understand. And those are the symptoms of what happened to me. Just like it gave way on the highway, no warning, suddenly went from 65 or 70 to 40. Glad it was daytime but it was a busy highway---no fun. I thought it was going to die on me and kept the accel pedal about half way or more so it wouldn't! They'll (dealer) put the Tech 2 or whatever they use on it and diagnose the problem. Even tho I was covered by warranty when it happened, I asked about the cost if I had to come out of pocket. Answer was around $250. I hope yours is less. In case this isn't the issue, come back on and tell us what it was.

Allen_B

Close but no matter what I do with the accelerator, no response. The car runs perfect but only at idle.

This has to be a bad sensor- it throws the error immediately on startup telling me that it is failing the initial POST due to a failed component or a fuse I don't know about.

I am up early and heading to the dealership just so I can get into the car and check the connectors and fuses before they open.


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Allen

Arkay

> I am up early and heading to the dealership just so I can get into the car and check the connectors and fuses before they open.

Good luck... please keep us posted

FortMorganAl

No $50 code reader?

With a hard fault like that a code reader should identify the specific part that is bad. But without a code reader it is like diagnosing a computer software problem with no monitor.

Good luck at the dealer.

Allen_B

No, I didn't have a code reader available. Not sure if you thought I was implying the dealership didn't have a reader...

Anyway, nothing obvious found in the light of day and the only logical fuse I could identify was fune 9 under hood for the fuel system (fuse SAT).

Talked to the service dept and they will take a look at it later today. They are not a Chevrolet shop (again, Buick and GMC) but have a master tech and they have been excellent in the past. Hoping for the best, bracing for a potential royal PITA...


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Allen

Allen_B

On a related note...

Are there any know issues with the FBW system, more specifically are there any TSB's out realted to this?


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Allen

FortMorganAl

I am not aware of any even minor issues with the FBW system. Most owners don't have a clue that it isn't just old mechanical linkage.

You can find recalls and TSBs here - http://www.automd.com/tsb/chevrolet_m/corvette_mm/

And, BTW, yes, I did think you meant the dealer. There are a lot of those out there in the used market you know. Just buy 'em and flip 'em specialists who don't have a clue how they work.

ILS07

I feel your pain. This happened in my 2010 Silverado just a couple of months ago while I was on my way to Tulsa, OK. I was passing someone in the left lane (had cruise on) and it felt like I hit an 80 MPH headwind out of nowhere...everything went nuts after that with "ENGINE POWER REDUCED", "TRACTION OFF" and "SERVICE STABILITRAK" messages on the DIC, and it also went into V4 mode and wouldn't come out of it (that was the most annoying thing).

I limped to Jim Norton Chevy in Broken Arrow and it turned out to be the TPS. There was a "special" recall for it, and by special the guy said that it was a known issue, but GM said it was not a big enough issue to recall the fleet for replacement parts. I'm really glad they were open on a Saturday.

Best of luck on the quickest, least expensive solution.

Allen_B

Wow that sucks...

Especially since my other (primary) vehicle is a 2010 Silverado...


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Allen

ILS07

You may be in the clear at this point. The guy said that as far as he knew from what he pulled up on it, it was a sporadic issue and not grouped to a certain range on VINs. It was issued somewhere around early 2012 if I recall, so he was surprised it took so long for the issue to manifest on my truck.

Allen_B

My truck only has about 18k miles on it though...


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Allen

JOEMC08C6

The same thing happened to me when the wife and I were leaving a Burger King as I pulled out and started to accelerate. The reduce power immediately shut down response and the Service Active Handling came on the DIC. I was able to get it cleared and we resumed our way home. Being pretty new to the car at that time, I didn't really realize the impact completely when I was able to clear it.

To shorten this story, I finally took it in to the dealer since I had the GMPP, and they diagnosed it to the BCM module. Replaced that and it's been good ever since. Don't know the cost, but I suspect it wasn't cheap. Just a thought........... the tech said it looked like the module got hot.

Good Luck gettin' her fixed!!!