Thread: Sputtering similar to fuel cut at 4,200 RPM while cold and in park

Hello all. I'm a new owner of a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix GT, with 165,000 miles. I test drove it yesterday while warm and noticed no problems at all. I purchased the car today, let it sit until my wife came home and fired it up. While cold, the engine sputters when the accelerator is pressed and RPMs reach 4,200 and will not go above; the sputtering is very similar to what most engines feel like when they reach the factory fuel cut mechanism. I took her for a short ride around the block and noticed no sputter while under load. Granted, the blacktop was wet and tires lost grip quickly, but it definitely had more load than while in park. If you have experience or have any suggestions, please advise.

Originally Posted by GAFF

In park car will not go over 4k

Gaff, thanks for your reply. I suspected this may be a factory feature and searched the forums, but found no results. I then did a Google search and found this to be a standard feature. Thanks again.

Originally Posted by KeithGTP03

^ Rev limiter. Why would you want it to go that high in park?

I may resell this car and won’t do so unless I am completely confident it is in perfect working order, or unless I am aware of any issue that I can disclose to the new owner. Some cars display symptoms when cold and not hot, thus I was revving the engine “cold,” just to see that I could.

Also, I was showing my wife what I had just purchased and wanted to prove to her it’s capable of safely and reliably hauling our twins around town, should I decide to keep it.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

Must have been trying to blow it on the first day. GM thought ahead and limited it.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

Please.. think about what you typed.

I tried to rev my car past 4K rpm cold.

BillBoost, thanks for your well thought out reply and I appreciate all you have to offer.