Hi Scott, 

Firstly Thank you for your videos. They are always helpful! I have 2006 Mazda Tribute. It has 174500 mileage on it. I am the second owner of the car. And It was purchased from a private party. While I was driving, engine stopped, and also while driving engine reacts weird such as losing acceleration, ( when this happens, anti-theft light becomes solid red. After couple seconds, becomes normal) when I lock the car, anti-theft light blinks every 2 second. 
I went to mechanic and the mechanic told me, oxygen sensor and right front needs to be replaced. So we did. Unfortunately problem is not solved.  The mechanic told me you had very low oil level, most likely it is the problem. (According to him, pistons damaged and that causes the engine killing and slow down engine running-like rpm goes down). Therefore, the mechanic told me that either I need to sell my car, which it will be very cheap price, or I need get another engine, which is estimated 2500$ Cost. Since I am a student, I am looking for the most convenient way to solve the car’s problem. 

So my first question, is it possible that one of the pistons can be damaged? If so, how come the car runs normal some time? 

The second question is that can anti-theft malfunction causes the these kind of problems? ( My keys are original keys and right before start, the anti-theft light on and About 30 sec. later goes off.) 

Thank you in advance for your time and help! I greatly appreciate it! 

Respectfully