Car wont run

I have a 2005 Pontiac Vibe with less than 50xxx miles and my check engin light came on. I went to the mechanic to have the code read to see why the light was on. There machine showed failure to communicate, I went to two other shop and there machine read the same thing. I was driving the car and the car just died sitting at a light and could not get it started. Could the computer hve went out? Is it covered under the federal emissions law.