Error 1554 - Help Please

[davidcarne]

hi all, I have just won a mk 1 Prius on eBay and hope I have made a good choice - not having seen the car! There is an error code: 1554 which apparently is why the power steering isn't working - does anyone have any ideas? Collecting car on Wednesday and am very excited!

[chinni]

I am not sure whether the error code 1554 exists.

There is one error code which might be a close match to yours. ie. P1455 which could be because of detection of vapor reducing fuel tank system leak.

Problem could be anywhere in the following locations : hose and pipe, heated oxygen sensor, fuel system, VVT system, Ignition system, Mass air flow meter, ECM

Well, that's what the error code chart which i have says.

hi all, I have just won a mk 1 Prius on ebay and hope I have made a good choice - not having seen the car! There is an error code: 1554 which apparently is why the power steering isn't working - does anyone have any ideas? Collecting car on Wednesday and am very excited!

[Grumpy Cabbie]

I understood that the gen1 was prone to power steering failure and replacement is very expensive. Does the steering behave itself or is that a wobble or judder at certain turns of the wheel?

Also, is it definitely a gen1 (2001-2003) you have bought or a grey import from Japan of the very original Prius (1997-2001) which was never sold here officially?

[davidcarne]

I understood that the gen1 was prone to power steering failure and replacement is very expensive. Does the steering behave itself or is that a wobble or judder at certain turns of the wheel?

Also, is it definitely a gen1 (2001-2003) you have bought or a grey import from Japan of the very original Prius (1997-2001) which was never sold here officially?

Hi the car was sold as X plate '2000' year so I guess is a grey import. That is a bit of a blow as I now assume this will be a big problem!

I am told the power steering has failed completely and Toyota gave him a printout with this failure message.

More thoughts, help will be most welcome!

Kindest regards,

David

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Sounds like a grey import. Easy way to tell (in most cases) is; Is the rear number plate square or a normal long one? If it's a square one and you have an add on rear fog then it sounds pretty much like an import.

Is it a problem? Hmmm, depends on your mechanical experience but it wasn't officially imported outside of Japan and pretty much all documentation will be in Japanese. The car looks very similar to the gen1 Prius which was officially sold here but that is pretty much where any similarity ends. The engine, the transmission and even the batteries and voltages are all different.

There is a small club for these cars and you might also find that you could buy an accident damaged one from eBay and put them together to make a good one. Also, you need to treat the batteries a little more carefully than the later Prius and I believe they need equalizing by a special plug in unit once in a while and I understand there is someone in the UK who can do this.

Hope you find what you're looking for and get the old girl going again. When running it'll make a good cheap hybrid.

[davidcarne]

Sounds like a grey import. Easy way to tell (in most cases) is; Is the rear number plate square or a normal long one? If it's a square one and you have an add on rear fog then it sounds pretty much like an import.

Is it a problem? Hmmm, depends on your mechanical experience but it wasn't officially imported outside of Japan and pretty much all documentation will be in Japanese. The car looks very similar to the gen1 Prius which was officially sold here but that is pretty much where any similarity ends. The engine, the transmission and even the batteries and voltages are all different.

There is a small club for these cars and you might also find that you could buy an accident damaged one from ebay and put them together to make a good one. Also, you need to treat the batteries a little more carefully than the later Prius and I believe they need equalizing by a special plug in unit once in a while and I understand there is someone in the UK who can do this.

Hope you find what you're looking for and get the old girl going again. When running it'll make a good cheap hybrid.

Hi many thanks for this reply.

I am now very confused as Toyoya tell me it is a UK car and a London Toyota dealer has history back to 2003 (2003-2009).

What now??????!

Kindest regards,

David

[davidcarne]

Have just looked at a pic of this car as I don't collect until Wednesday:

There is no add on fog light & the number plate is a normal UK one!

Maybe this is a genuine car?

Thanks, David

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Then it does sound like a UK car - which is a good thing. They are still prone to power steering failure and it can be expensive to repair. Let Bob Wilson on PriusChat know it's a genuine gen1 Prius (they call them classics in the US) and he will be able to advise on what to do or try.

It's still worth trying to keep it on the road though as it's a gen1 and will still have value.

[davidcarne]

Hi thanks that is really helpful, though I don't like the sound of expensive bills! How do I find Bob Wilson on Prius Chat?

Thanks David

[Grumpy Cabbie]

He answered to your post on that forum. What he doesn't know about the gen1 Prius isn't worth knowing. He knows them inside out. He might even be able to offer advise on how to bodge the system into letting the steering work - though at your own risk.

You really need to check the error codes and the exact steering fault. Is it completely dead or does it work but judder etc?