2009 Chevy Malibu wont accelerate

I drive a 2009 Chevy Malibu. While driving it sometimes feels like when you push the gas pedal it doesn’t want to gain speed. Finally you’ll feel a shift and it’ll start to climb speed. Sometimes it won’t accelerate over 50 and when it does my traction control light comes on and esc warning. Any ideas on how to fix this?

• If the RPM are climbing higher and not moving the car accordingly then it would appear the transmission is slipping. How high does the RPM go without moving the car significantly? If the problem is transmission related, the cheapest/easiest thing to try would be to add a little transmission fluid if it is low.
• Perhaps the Catalytic converter is plugged. It’s been known to happen.

Source: Drunken Elvis

• If one of the cats is plugged, usually you can tell by letting the car idle for 20-30 minutes. The plugged cat should be very hot, they will even get hot enough to glow red in the dark if they run long enough. You could try checking it after a long drive, see if one is noticeably hotter. (Use an infra red temperature gun for testing temperature of converter, do not touch)

Source: SBUBandit