I bought my 2001 Prius used about a year and a half ago and had no problems until the past couple of months. On three occasions now, the triangle warning light has come up on the screen while I was driving and the car wouldn't accelerate when I pushed the gas pedal. Fortunately, the I was able to coast to the side of the road on each occasion, and when I turned the car off and restarted it, it worked fine. The first two times, it happened on the freeway after a lengthy drive and while traveling at about 70 mph. Today it happened on a surface street, but after I had been on the freeway (in gridlock) for nearly an hour. I should have dealt with this sooner, but somehow every time it has happened, it was on the weekend and/or when I was out of town, so I couldn't immediately take it to a shop, and since the car started back up immediately and ran fine after each occurence, it didn't seem urgent. I am going to take it to a dealer or Prius mechanic ASAP now, but can someone give some idea of common causes for this problem? I have seen some posts about similar problems related to gas pedal sensor issues. Is that the most likely cause, or are there other possible issues here?
Most common cause would be the main hv traction battery. Getting a scan for the codes will tell for sure.
