My chevy hhr when the air temperature gets below 5 degrees will lose power. To elaborate i can leave my house in morning and drive to work and as soon as i let off the accelerator and let it coast(slow down) to turn into work the service engine light with come on and the traction control light come on. it will occasionally do this while driving down the road if im driving into the wind without slowing down. had one place tell me its the throttle body freezing up on it, basically gelling up like a diesel. anyone else have this problem or have an idea to fix this issue?
thanks ahead of time

 

You pull any codes??? and the traction control issue, did it say "SERVICE TRACTION" in the DIC or is the light just on steady? you may have a faulty wheel speed sensor...

as for 5 degrees? the colder the air, the more power the engine creates. Unless your having cold start issues?

you shouldn't lose power for most things if the CEL is on...

Go to an autozone or any autoparts store and have them pull the codes for you, and let us help you with them

 

Yep I agree you have to get the codes read then post them on here and we wil try a steer you in the right direction. I have never heard of a throttle body gel like diesel fuel.

I did have a dodge dynasty that the throttle blade would freeze when it sat over night at very cold temps. But all that would happen was you could not push down on the throttle pedal until it engine warmed up some.

 

And by the way welcome to the site

 

to the forum, and X3 on getting the codes pulled.

 

I'll just throw this in from the owners manual. Not sure if it pertains to your problem or not.

ENG (Engine) PWR (Power) REDUCED
This message displays to inform you that the vehicle
has reduced engine power to avoid damaging the
engine. Reduced engine power can affect the vehicle’s
ability to accelerate. If this message is on, but there
is no reduction in performance, proceed to your
destination. The performance may be reduced the next
time the vehicle is driven. The vehicle may be driven
at a reduced speed while this message is on, but
acceleration and speed may be reduced. Anytime this
message stays on, the vehicle should be taken to
your dealer/retailer for service as soon as possible.

 

Being that it's temperature related, I'm wondering if that's the trigger for a failing component to act up. But without the codes, it's a shot in the dark.

I did consider the possibility of the throttle body icing up, but with intake charge working its way through the "Woolly Worm", then the airbox, and finally down to the throttle body. It's probably seeing air temps around 20 degrees warmer than the ambient outside air.

 

Brake fluid sensor?

 

Hey faintinggoat,

Sorry to hear about the concerns you are experiencing. You mentioned that you had your vehicle looked at, was this at one of our dealerships? If this is something that you would like me to follow up with you on, please feel free to send us your full name, contact information, VIN, current mileage and the name of your involved dealer. We look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,

Jonathan A.
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

I have been having this issue for some time. It used to be once in a while when it was cold (-5) or lower. The code is PO1516. It appears it is something wrong with the throttle body and has issues in cold weather....at least that is my experience....It has been the best car I have ever owned...very few problems takes a tremendous amount of abuse and keeps on rolling!!! I am ordering one and will replace it next week will let you know the result.