My prius lost its power while driving this morning!

kidding, just can't figure out what would make it come to a sudden stop?

 

Report it to NHTSA
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/Complaint.cfm

 

excellent! very happy to hear your problem is over!

 

Yes, do this so it is documented. Also, if I understand you correctly, your electronics were on (dash lights, speedo, Nav, etc.) but you lost engine power. Did you lose ALL steering also?

 

I don't think that is possible unless there is a catastrophic failure of some mechanical component in the steering system. I have turned my car completely off while going down the highway and the steering works just fine, it does require a little bit more effort especially at low speeds.

The car has a pretty normal mechanical rack and pinion steering system with an electric motor for assist. It's actually easier to turn when power fails than a normal hydraulic power steering system without power because you don't have to move fluid through the system with the steering wheel.

Definitely not "steer by wire". No car has that, thankfully.

 

I see. I was thinking steer-by-wire. If that's the case he definatly should have been able to pull over.

 

Yes, you will definitely have both brakes and steering without power. Maybe a bit more effort required but even a person that's not very strong would easily be able to maintain control, pull over and stop the car. Of course to pull over you have to have enough velocity left for the car to be able to coast to the side the road.

 

The only thing completely "by wire" on the Prius is the throttle. I suppose you could also consider the transmission by wire since the mechanical path becomes useless if you remove power from the electrical portion. The air conditioner too, but now we are getting away from basic control systems.

Tom

 

Bit late to this thread but a very similar thing happened to me. Coasting down a hill around 45 when I lost acceleration. Brakes and steering fine, dashboard still lit up but engine indicator bar was empty (as if in neutral). Coasted to a stop (TGI wasn't on the freeway!), restarted the car and it worked fine.
Dealer was zero help. Said without "check engine" light they can't pull any codes to help them figure out what's wrong. He suggested I accidentally bumped the shifter (gimme a break - I wouldn't have noticed that??). Or, more intriguingly, that sometimes the car can pause when transitioning between electric and gas motors. I've felt a lag before, but this time it conked right out.
Thinking there's something wrong with the "handoff" between electric and gas engines - can anyone shed a clue? Want to tell my dealer what to look for, since they obviously aren't interested in finding the problem.