Thread: Car shuts off when pressing gas

Hello, I own a 2007 pontiac grand prix with the stock v6 motor 100,000km on the odometer and when I was driving today and went to press the accelerator to complete a turn, the engine and the whole car completely shut off on me while still in drive. The car starts up fine ( Has 2 month old battery) and idles okay, but when the rpms are low like when coming to a stop when I press on the accelerator the whole car just shuts off, and I tried to restart it about 5 times before it finally would accelerate in drive (reverse works fine as far as I can tell). I had a full tank of gas but does anybody know what the problem could be? Thanks for the help.

Probably not what's going on, but as a shot in the dark what's the fuel pressure while accelerating?

Could be the crank position sensor. Had same issue on my 2000. Just random stall outs. Often on turns.

Originally Posted by wstefan20

Probably not what's going on, but as a shot in the dark what's the fuel pressure while accelerating?

I am not sure how to measure that.

I know very little about cars so where is this valve located?

Originally Posted by Grandprix2007

Hello, I own a 2007 pontiac grand prix with the stock v6 motor 100,000km on the odometer and when I was driving today and went to press the accelerator to complete a turn, the engine and the whole car completely shut off on me while still in drive. The car starts up fine ( Has 2 month old battery) and idles okay, but when the rpms are low like when coming to a stop when I press on the accelerator the whole car just shuts off, and I tried to restart it about 5 times before it finally would accelerate in drive (reverse works fine as far as I can tell). I had a full tank of gas but does anybody know what the problem could be? Thanks for the help.

When it shuts off, does the engine light come on?

I have a 04 Pontiac Grand Prix and had a similar problem. I'll be driving and once I go over 35 or 40mph it'll shet off. I can't really remember how I fixed the problem but the main thing I do remember is that I replaced the gas peddle. That can go bad as well.

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Originally Posted by Grandprix2007

I am not sure how to measure that.

Rent a fuel gauge from autozone or buy one from harbor freight, hook it up and look at the readings at key on engine off, when removing the vacuum line to the regulator, with the car running, and when you open the throttle. That will usually tell you how the fuel pump is performing and would be an easy way to start without having a scan tool to measure the fuel trims.

Acceleration Peddle Position Sensor (Gas Peddle), that's what it was. I also remembered replacing my throttle body because 'Reduce Engine Power' will pop up on my dash. Went to the Junk Yard for both items being cheap. But it worked ha

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Originally Posted by showtastiik

When it shuts off, does the engine light come on?

I have a 04 Pontiac Grand Prix and had a similar problem. I'll be driving and once I go over 35 or 40mph it'll shet off. I can't really remember how I fixed the problem but the main thing I do remember is that I replaced the gas peddle. That can go bad as well.

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No lights that I can remember, but I just took it for a drive and everything worked perfectly, could it possibly be something in the fuel causing a stall?

Ok thank you very much for your help, I just took it for a drive and everything worked perfectly so it seems like an isolated incident, could something bad in the fuel cause a problem like this?

I am sorry but I have no idea how to do any of that but it seemed like an isolated incident so could something in the fuel have caused that or should I just take it to a mechanic who knows what he is doing.

Originally Posted by Grandprix2007

I am sorry but I have no idea how to do any of that but it seemed like an isolated incident so could something in the fuel have caused that or should I just take it to a mechanic who knows what he is doing.

I highly doubt it's an isolated incident and unless someone is dumping some pretty toxic into the gas where you are, it won't cause this. It will happen again. Unfortunately, be prepared for a heafty bill, since they're going to charge you $100+ an hour for diagnosis, plus the fix, and most likely they won't find the correct fix the first time. I was quoted $800 for the sensor replacement.

If you want to save yourself some money, and learn and have fun fixing your own car, then strap in and grab some basic hand tools. All the "special tools" you need to fix this you can rent at autozone. I'm not a fan of replacing the crank sensor unless you know that's the issue, but unfortunately, you need a scan tool to really do that.

Reason I'm recommending starting checking the fuel pressure is that it can cause these symptoms, it's incredibly easy, and you can rent the tool for free. From there, I'm with Scotty.

There's tons of videos and tutorials on how to change the sensor and it's really not that hard, and it'll save you a ton of money. Four years ago, I couldn't change my own oil, since then I've done almost every repair imaginable and taught myself to rebuild engines and transmissions and I did it without anyone physically there and most of what I learned came from Haynes manual and youtube. Trust me, anything is possible.

That being said, no one here will judge you if you decide not to fix it yourself, just know we're all here if you need help and decide to troubleshoot it yourself. Good luck either way!

Originally Posted by wstefan20

I highly doubt it's an isolated incident and unless someone is dumping some pretty toxic into the gas where you are, it won't cause this. It will happen again. Unfortunately, be prepared for a heafty bill, since they're going to charge you $100+ an hour for diagnosis, plus the fix, and most likely they won't find the correct fix the first time. I was quoted $800 for the sensor replacement.

If you want to save yourself some money, and learn and have fun fixing your own car, then strap in and grab some basic hand tools. All the "special tools" you need to fix this you can rent at autozone. I'm not a fan of replacing the crank sensor unless you know that's the issue, but unfortunately, you need a scan tool to really do that.

Reason I'm recommending starting checking the fuel pressure is that it can cause these symptoms, it's incredibly easy, and you can rent the tool for free. From there, I'm with Scotty.

There's tons of videos and tutorials on how to change the sensor and it's really not that hard, and it'll save you a ton of money. Four years ago, I couldn't change my own oil, since then I've done almost every repair imaginable and taught myself to rebuild engines and transmissions and I did it without anyone physically there and most of what I learned came from Haynes manual and youtube. Trust me, anything is possible.

That being said, no one here will judge you if you decide not to fix it yourself, just know we're all here if you need help and decide to troubleshoot it yourself. Good luck either way!

Thank you very much sir, I would try to fix it myself but I am busy with my university studies and dont have much free time. Luckily I know a mechanic that is a family friend that shouldnt charge much but I definetly want to get it fixed as stalling right in the middle of an intersection scared the crap out of me. Thanks to everyone who helped out on this thread.😁

Originally Posted by Grandprix2007

Thank you very much sir, I would try to fix it myself but I am busy with my university studies and dont have much free time. Luckily I know a mechanic that is a family friend that shouldnt charge much but I definetly want to get it fixed as stalling right in the middle of an intersection scared the crap out of me. Thanks to everyone who helped out on this thread.

No problem! I completely understand. I'm taking full time courses in engineering and working a research assistant job at my university so I understand being busy! It's always good to have a good mechanic in your corner. After everything I've done, there's still some issues that I have to default to a mechanic (usually because I don't want to buy a $3000 scan tool...). Even though you're getting this problem fixed, I encourage you to stick around! This forum is a lot of fun for both people who know a lot, or people who are just starting! Plenty of ideas to take up your free time! Good luck and please post what the solution was so that others can learn too!