Prius (Gen 2) :: 2006 - Car Keeps Loosing Acceleration

I purchased my Prius in late September of last year. I never had to run the A/C at the time before winter came along. The car has 102,000 miles on it when I purchased. It has run great and I really can't complain as I've put another 10,000 miles on it.

Last week during the hotter part of the day (3:30pm at 93 degrees) I pulled out of a small parking lot and pulled forward 25 yards to a stop sign. The car literally lost all acceleration as I pulled away from the stop sign. My A/C was running at the time. There were no red or orange exclamations on the dash. It just wouldn't go anywhere. I hit the stop button shutting off the car.

When I started again there was still no acceleration and the hybrid battery fan was working overtime to move air. I turned off the A/C, parked for a moment to the side, stopped and started the car, it started to move but was sputtering a little. I was only getting power from the gas motor even though I had 4-5 bars on the hybrid battery. The hybrid battery fan was still running high as I went down the road. I didn't turn the A/C back on and instead rolled down my windows.

Now we move to yesterday where I drove the 15 or so miles home from work (90 degrees at 3:30pm). My wife hopped into the car and was heading back in town when suddenly on the freeway she lost all acceleration and coasted off the next freeway exit. She shut the car off on the side of the road and waited a short while. It again had some sputtering but she was able to drive back home.

Similar scenario today. Left work around 3:30, a/c was on, temp around 87, plenty of charge on the hybrid battery. I make my usual little u-turn before backing into my space in front of the house. When I placed the car in reverse it again lost all acceleration power. The radio doesn't turn off, I still have dash lights, etc.