ocy9

I have a 2013 Maxima (Canadian if that makes any difference at all). I was revving my engine today trying to diagnose a dashboard rattle and accidentally revved up to 7k RPM, which is within the redline region. Why was I able to do this? Is there a rev limiter in our cars? If so, why didn't it kick in?

ocy9

Anyone? Couldn't find anything in the manual.

maxud

are you confusing rev limiter with speed limiter?
Were you revving in idle?
I don't thing anything will prevent you redlining the car though.
Manual does not cover stuff like that, if anything, it could be in the service manual.

ocy9

Yes, I was revving in park.

This is news to me. I had always been under the impression that the ECU would prevent the driver from revving the engine past a certain point (whether in park/neutral or drive) to protect the internal components.

maxud

well, redline is just a danger zone, but its not like the car explodes immediately once you redline it. Similar with temperature gauge, the car does not shut off if your engine is overheating, unless it seizes up.
So, in short, redline is just a danger zone on a RPM gauge, take it as my opinion only and not a fact.

maxud

actually did some reading, so yes, cars do have rev limiters, not sure if Maxima does or not. If the car does have a limiter, it would be closer to the end of the gauge range or even slightly beyond it.

CorollaULEV

Pretty much all if not truly all fuel injected vehicles since late 1980's early 1990's have a rev limiter. Usually the rev limiter is set a few hundred rpms over redline.

Redline is the point where the engine's power starts to fade off and there's no benefit from revving over that rpm. Rev limiter is the point where stuff starts to be damaged if exceeding that rpm. If you were able to peg 7K rpms, then I guess the VQ35DE has a 7K rpm rev limiter.