What does it mean when the check engine light come on and "reduced engine power" comes on the radio display?

Your engine is in self-protect mode.It could be something as simple as timing belt( or plastic sprocket) missing a tooth, making the engine out of time. The Anti knock sensor, oil pump pressure,or even a bad O2 sensor can cause this. The first thing to do is to get a scan tool pluged into the OBD II port under your dash.By running a simple scan, you can determine if you want to take on the job yourself or take it into a shop.I have seen a bad seal on a gas cap, put a Chevy pick-up in this mode.

Thanks dobermann. since the time this happened, i hooked it up to a diagnostic, got the codes and brought it to the dealership at which i work. by the time I got the car here, the check engine light had gone out, so they wouldn't work on it. It has run fine ever since. I saved the codes and talked to my girl's dad about it, he is giving them to one of his buddies who is a pontiac tech. Thanks for the reply though, and i'll keep you posted. Turns out it was the throttle computer and an 02 sensor. both have mysteriously gone away.

"I was driving and the reduced engine power ligth message and I can not accelerated more the engine light is turn on and also service traction control started to appear what happened"

I don't have an answer--but a question about my Pontiac g6 2005 my engine light is been on for about 3 weeks took it to Autozone and I was told it's a defective thermostat. what can I do to get it fix myself. my car one time stop working because the thermostat was loose once tight it work perfect and never stop again

That just happened to me yesterday. Car also stalled 5 times driving 15 miles on the way home. It was very cold though so this morning I let the car warm up a good 10 minutes before driving. The check engine light went away and so did the power/traction message. I must admit, this car is turning out to be a major lemon for me. I literally have major engine repair every year.

Just FYI, My Experience with this experience is. Take the car to a Certified GM Dealer. I have a 2008 G-6 2.4L 4 cylinder Engine. 65,000 miles. The "Service Traction" Message and the "Traction Off" is the computer generated response to a miss-fire in the Engine. Thus Irrelevant. The Issue is What is Causing the Miss Fire. My case it was Miss Fire INJECTOR #1 (Not Cylinder) The actual location of the miss fire is very Important. Injector!!!!!!! or cylinder!!!! Injector #1 seat was corroded and the Injector was dirty. This caused the car to flutter during Idle and acceleration. Throwing the Check Engine Light, consenquently causing the computer to send the car into Traction Control Mode. And kinda like your laptop, it needs a reboot. In Short Order. The Injectors needed cleaning, The throttle body and plate was inspected and cleaned. Cost $250.00 Bucks and the car is running like new again. Furthermore, A Miss-Fire in the Cylinder is Very Different. That could range from a simple Spark Plug to Timing or even a dreaded head or head gasket seeping water into the cylinder. So, Again my advice spend the $150.00 Buck at your GM Dealer for a proper diagnostics, and if they make the repair the waive the dyno fee. I understand we all like to save a buck. But don't ignore the problem it will not fix itself. Sure the light will go away and car runs fine for a couple days. But the problem exsist and needs repair

Hello I have a Pontiac G6 GT 2007 and my service traction has been on for 2 weeks , it makes a very loud noise especially when shifting it into reverse, then when I get up to 30 or 40 mph it also jerks.

My car went into Reduced ENG PWR while driving on a crowded freeway. Turning it off and on fixed it ... until it happened again. I can't believe GM would produce such a dangerous feature. I was lucky not to have been rear-ended before pulling to the shoulder. Now it's in the shop waiting for an expensive Throttle Control Module. If that doesn't fix it, I will junk the car. I've spend thousands on this car and it's always something. GMs are garbage. I've had lots of cars without major problems ... until I ended up with a Pontiac. It's a freakin' death trap.

My son HAD a Pontiac GS 2010 until last night. when he turned the key(did not even start the car yet) smoke rolled from the dashboard then flames ignited sending the entire vehicle into flames. The entire car burned and blew up leaving nothing but the frame by the time the rescue got there. Thank God him & his girlfriend and her little sister got out of the vehicle. Has anyone else ever heard of electronic fires in the Pontiac gs. ??

I had this engine power reduced happen to me a few months ago and the mechanic that was working on my car stated that it could be a bad switch but sometimes it just needs to reset itself and I was told to turn off my car for a while then turn it back on. This worked and now I am reaching the point where this happens almost everyday. I am going to take my 2007 Pontiac G6 to auto zone to have them run a diagnostic on it. Are these fixes typically really expensive?

Okay so I have a 2006 pontiac by and the service engine light came on but nothing displayed on the screen where the time is And when I go 70mph or lower and make a turn or get into the next lane it goes off, but comes back on working 15 min. Does anyone know what that might be????

I have a 2008 Pontiac G6. I can rev the motor and it will rev high but putting in gear an holding the brake itll only rev to just under 2000 rpms. In the highway take off isn't horrible but itll only run 60 mph. Any ideas?