Hey there. I hope I can get some advice, at least regarding what to look at/replace first.

My car, a 2006 (not 2016)sedan, had been running normally today, as it has for a long time, when I started losing power.

I was in the correct gear, and the car seemed to be a bit 'uneven' so I wondered if I'd picked up a nail and had a slow leak in a tire. That happens a lot in Tucson. The car kept slowing down no matter what I did, and kept losing power. I pulled over to the side of the road and looked for flats. One of the tires was a bit low but not enough to act like a flat.

I got back in and started up. The engine started just fine and power was good till I got near home, maybe five more miles of city driving. Then I lost power again. Again I checked the gears. The clutch was engaged properly, no trouble in shifting. I turned it off again, waited a moment, started again, and got going. It lagged a bit then the accelerator worked normally again. I pulled into my carport. I'm at a loss as to what could be wrong, and Google searches don't help like they once did.

Facts about my vehicle:

It's high mileage and has seen some rough use. Roughly 177,000 miles.
2.6 liter 4 cylinder with a standard transmission.
Alternator is new as of this winter.
Plugs are from a couple years ago and are good new titanium.
Relatively new battery.
Oil not low.
Engine air filter new.
MAF sensor working.
Temperature shows as normal.

Was running just fine till today. I had a lot of stop and go traffic and the fuel level is a little low but no where near starvation.

It's a hot day though and I had more stop and go traffic than usual.

I may have been noticing a little bit of power loss up until now but nothing major.

So, I throw this into your court. Does anyone have suggestions?

 

This is what I would call a cheap shot !

Try a container of "dry gas- seafoam " in the gas tank.
It's easy to do and doesn't cost much, but if there is an accumulation of water in there it might help, can't hurt.

 

Okay, that's an interesting suggestion! I highly doubt that there's any water in the tank. (The flood it survived was roughly two and a half years ago and just mentioned because this is usually one tough little car.) Thanks for responding!

 

Hmmmmm, I like shooting in the dark.

What if the fuel pressure is dropping? It could drop when the fuel filter is clogged, or when the power to the fuel pump has to overcome rising electrical resistance.

What if the catalytic converter is falling apart inside and the crumbs block the muffler?

Have you tried to read the computer for trouble codes and pending trouble codes?