2016 Buick Verano GS 1.5T – Sudden Power Cut in Normal Mode at ~3000 RPM

[FelixZhu]

Hi everyone,
I’m driving a 2016 Buick Verano GS 1.5T, and I’ve been experiencing a strange issue. I’d really appreciate any insights or similar experiences.

Here’s what happens:

• In Normal mode, when accelerating hard (for example, merging onto the highway), if I press the accelerator deeply, the engine reaches around 3000 RPM and then suddenly loses power.
• The engine does not stall, but the RPM starts to drop as if throttle input is cut.
• At that point, pressing the accelerator further does nothing.
• I have to fully release the accelerator and press it again to regain power.
• This issue mostly happens during hard acceleration. Light or moderate throttle usually does not trigger it.

What’s interesting is that:

• In Sport mode, the problem does not occur at all.
• The engine can rev smoothly to 5000–6000 RPM under hard acceleration in Sport mode.
• This suggests the engine itself is capable of producing power.

Additional information:

• The check engine light(yellow light) comes on sometime.
• A local mechanic scanned the car with a generic OBD scanner, but the fault codes they found did not seem directly related to throttle or boost issues, and nothing conclusive came out of it.
• The issue has been recurring rather than a one-time event.

I’m wondering:

• Is this a known issue on the 2016 Verano 1.5T? Or this is a protecting program in the ECU?
• Could this be related to torque management, boost control, or ECU protection logic that behaves differently between Normal and Sport modes?
• Are there specific sensors or systems (e.g. MAP sensor, boost control, fuel pressure) that are known to cause this kind of behavior?

Thanks in advance for any advice or shared experiences. Any input would be very helpful.

 

[MelsRegal]

Hi everyone,
I’m driving a 2016 Buick Verano GS 1.5T, and I’ve been experiencing a strange issue. I’d really appreciate any insights or similar experiences.

Here’s what happens:

• In Normal mode, when accelerating hard (for example, merging onto the highway), if I press the accelerator deeply, the engine reaches around 3000 RPM and then suddenly loses power.
• The engine does not stall, but the RPM starts to drop as if throttle input is cut.
• At that point, pressing the accelerator further does nothing.
• I have to fully release the accelerator and press it again to regain power.
• This issue mostly happens during hard acceleration. Light or moderate throttle usually does not trigger it.

What’s interesting is that:

• In Sport mode, the problem does not occur at all.
• The engine can rev smoothly to 5000–6000 RPM under hard acceleration in Sport mode.
• This suggests the engine itself is capable of producing power.

Additional information:

• The check engine light(yellow light) comes on sometime.
• A local mechanic scanned the car with a generic OBD scanner, but the fault codes they found did not seem directly related to throttle or boost issues, and nothing conclusive came out of it.
• The issue has been recurring rather than a one-time event.

I’m wondering:

• Is this a known issue on the 2016 Verano 1.5T? Or this is a protecting program in the ECU?
• Could this be related to torque management, boost control, or ECU protection logic that behaves differently between Normal and Sport modes?
• Are there specific sensors or systems (e.g. MAP sensor, boost control, fuel pressure) that are known to cause this kind of behavior?

Thanks in advance for any advice or shared experiences. Any input would be very helpful.

Need to know the exact codes and we're they taken while the problem occurred?
Is this a US market car with a 1.5?

 

[FelixZhu]

Need to know the exact codes and we're they taken while the problem occurred?
Is this a US market car with a 1.5?

No, This is a China Market car with 1.5 T. Engine Model is : LFV

Sorry I forgot the exact code produced by OBD scanner, but it is more about the throttle singal or something,