Prius (Gen 2) :: Hybrid System Failure Icon - Car Suddenly Coasted To A Stop

The other day, I was driving my 2006 Prius on I-20 in Shreveport. As I came off the exit and approached route 80, my navigation display read "PROBLEM", and the car suddenly coasted to a stop. All of this occurred in about 100 feet, so I was lucky to be able to coast the car to the shoulder, because it just died where it stopped. If this had happened while I was on the highway, my whole family would have probably been killed, as there was no way we would have been able to safely get out of the way of the multitude of semi trucks that drive that road.

I attempted to re-start the car, and the red triangle warning appeared on the display, along with the little car with the exclamation point in the middle of it, otherwise known as the hybrid system warning icon. Needless to say, the car would not turn over.

I immediately called Toyota to see if they had any info to get the car going. Toyota was absolutely useless, and the customer service agent said the only recall showing on my model was a floor mat recall. I told him that I knew he was only doing his job, but it was a shame Toyota actually believes Americans are stupid enough to believe the floor mats are the problem. Luckily, we had AAA, so the car was towed home, after a two hour wait.

Diagnostics : I checked all fuses and relays, checked battery connections, and saw no apparent problems.