I have been getting a sporadic loss of power steering (along with the warning display) It will go out here and there. I either have to pull over and restart the car for it to go away, other times it happens when I'm parked. I only see a recall for the 2010 cobalt, so I'd be surprised if my 2006 is covered. What is the main culprit of these issues? Is it the motor itself or something in the steering column?

 

I have the exact same thing happen and have seen multiple cases of this happening to other people. Mine likes to do it when I autocross but it's not because of autocross driving. It will act up before I even go through my first run. For daily driving it never does it. Doesn't make any sense to me as there shouldn't be anything different on autocross days before the first run. Sometimes it will just be the dash (low fuel, power steering, no tach, no gas, no speedo). Other times it will be the dash AND I will lose power steering until it corrects itself. It is very annoying and concerning but as far as I know no one has figured out the cause. I wonder if it could be some sort of gremlin in the BCM module.

 

My 08 was covered as well as the Key Cylinder

 

I have an 07 and that was covered

 

I have an 06 and I had the recall work done as well. However, this problem is new and seeing as I had the recall work done surely it's not the same issue as what sparked the recall?

 

What did they replace on the recall? Never had to take a car in for a recall believe it or not. Do they check the vehicle's VIN to see if the replacement was done? I bought the car used a couple of years ago. The previous owner kept receipts of the work done including the key cylinder, but nothing on the power steering.
jdbaugh, I've heard of people having a reoccurring issue with a component after a recall, some weren't so lucky to have a part replaced again for free. From what I've read, the power steering issue can either come from the motor itself, or the steering shaft. I suppose it's worth a try to see if they'll fix the issue for free. When did you have the recall work done?

 

I had the steering recall done a long time ago. I assumed they replaced the power steering motor but I'm not for sure. Since then I have had the ignition recall as well as the gas tank recall completed.

 

Gas tank recall? I’ve had the ignition and steering recall done. There was also an airbag sensor recall but I wasn’t eligible for that one haha. ****** idiots charged me for diagnosis

 

The top of my gas tank around the pump cracked and was leaking fuel. It's a recall but they only honor it if the Cobalt was sold in certain states that see temperature extremes.