came to visit me this morning. '07 LS 5-speed, 3,300 miles on the odometer (I hardly ever drive it).

Went out to the convenience store this AM for coffee and the newspaper. Driving about 20 mph and approaching a stop sign, I hear a click. The yellow engine icon is lit continuously and the DIC reads "engine power reduced".

And boy, do they mean it!

Drove it home and parked it. My son came to visit me this afternoon and I suggested we pop the hood and take a look around to see if anything obvious was loose. The Ecotec was purring like a kitten. Took it for a spin around the block and the "engine power reduced" message was gone and so, apparently, was the reduced power.

We disconnected the negative battery post (at the battery) and after a few minutes, we reconnected it. The ECU reset itself (according to my son, who knows far more about modern cars than I do) and the engine icon was no longer illuminated. Another test drive. It's like nothing ever happened.

I hate when that happens. "Cause if it happened once, it can certainly happen again. I'm wondering if I should have the dealer check the wiring harness behind the driver's side kickplate if they cannot get it to fail this way. From reading previous posts on this subject, it seems that corrosion of the wires behind the kickplate has been one of the main culprits.

I enjoy my HHR more than any other vehicle I have ever owned in my 42 years of driving (except for my 1963 Hillman Super Minx!). I don't ever want to lose that feeling.

 

i would take it to the dealer and have them run a scan tool on it, whatever caused the problem will still be stored in the comp.

 

Chaffed wire in the engine harness or poor pin connection at the ecm connector could be the problem.

 

I think there was a post about a wire rubbing against something and they had to zip tie it away and retape the wire. I will see if I can find it. Take a look at this.
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/show...=reduced+power
hope this helps you out.