loss of low end power in '03 outback

[DumpAt3]

My condescending dealership says my car is fine, but....

This 2003 Legacy Outback with a 4 cylinder engine appears to have very
little torque below 3500-4000 rpm, at which point it becomes more
drivable.

The car does remain functional, except for an occasional stall and
overall annoyance.

My wife thinks it's the manual transmission 'cuz she's having a little
difficulty with the shifts, but I think that's just the lack of torque,
making it hard to smoothly release the clutch. Could the clutch make
it feel like the engine lacks power?? Seems to be the clutch would
either slip (it's not), or grab, but if it grabbed, I should be able to
compensate with a little more throttle.

The car has been driven twice by the dealership and all recommended
maintanance has been performed, including a change of fuel filter.

We've tried different fuel grades as recommended by the dealership and,
as I expected, it didn't help.

The car certainly was quicker when I bought it new (or am I just used
to the V6 Nissan I bought over a year ago?).

Seems like a hard problem to diagnose, in person or by email, but
thought I'd post this for any ideas anyone else has.

 

[Funkadyleik Spynwhanker]

Crazy as it may sound, you probably have a bad or flaky O2 sensor.

Same stuff happened to mine 01 before the engine light finally came on with
the "it's dead" code.

The O2 sensor will regulate air intake and cause all sorts of problems if it
is jacked up, including power level at shifting, low power level, extra
exhaust, difficulty accellerating, extra sensitivity to high moisture (it
will get worse when it rains) and shifting at odd times on a downhill coast.

The car is probably in "limp home" mode. (Dunno why that doesnt make a
code... but it didn't on mine.)

So have that checked out.