Lost power when driving? Comes and goes

CMASH

Member
Hi everyone, thanks in advance!

2.2L ecotec NA

I was on a drive, and about 45miles in I had some issues. I was going about 60mph and holding the pedal to maintain that speed. Suddenly it was like the engine just cut out (but still running) and the car was just coasting. I tried pushing the pedal further down with no response, until about 10 sec it KICKED back in and ran normal. However it did this about 5 times in a 4 mile stretch. At one point the engine ran at 4k rpm to maintain 60. Seems to be fine now (have only driven about another 3 miles).

My gauge cluster read "power steering" during all this.

Any suggestions? One thing to note is that at the start of my trip I topped of my 87 octane (about 3/8 full) with 89 octane. Never done this before. Maybe this was the cause?

Thank you,
Jake M
 
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Ross

Goblin Guru
My cluster gave me the "Power Steering" when my power steering motor wore out. Didn't do the engine cut out thou.
Did you pull engine codes from the OBDII port?
If your near NW Arkansas, we could hook it up to HP Tuners and see what the engine is doing...
I doubt that the octane change did anything, but if you got water in the fuel, and no ethanol, then that could cause this issue. Adding ethanol would allow the water to mix into the ethanol, and pass thru the engine.
 

CMASH

Member
Thank you for responding Ross. I checked codes, and there was nothing new. Just the typical evap codes. If/when it does it again, I will drain the fuel tank and fill up somewhere different. I live in central Indiana, unfortunately not too close to NW AR. Thanks for the offer though! Also not sure HP Tuners will work. Donor was an '05.
 

Ross

Goblin Guru
Hopefully it is just bad gas.
You are correct. In 2005 HP Tuners only worked on the 2.0L engine... not the 2.2L.
 

Briann1177

Goblin Guru
Bad gas shouldn't make power steering show up in the display. The high speed GMLAN wires run through the power steering module. If there are any issues in that chain, then I could see how that might cause reduced engine power. I'd check for loose wires, connectors, and grounds for the power steering unit.
 

CMASH

Member
Bad gas shouldn't make power steering show up in the display. The high speed GMLAN wires run through the power steering module. If there are any issues in that chain, then I could see how that might cause reduced engine power. I'd check for loose wires, connectors, and grounds for the power steering unit.
Thanks Briann1177! I will definitely check connections and grounds.
 

JSATX

Goblin Guru
I agree Sounds like a ground issue.

One thing (that’s super annoying) to keep in mind, the failure modes won’t show up in a scan once they’ve corrected themselves. You have to scan while the problem is happening to figure out what’s actually going on.
 

lksohm

Well-Known Member
I have had similar issues on my daily driver where a battery connection came loose. It sounds like a bad connection somewhere.
Did your gauges or other electronics go to zero when power cut out? This can help to pinpoint the issue. If every electronic dies at the same time it could be a battery or similar connection, but if it is just the engine cutting out and gauges still work it is most likely in the engine area.

Just my $0.02
 
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