[06malibuLS]

i recently had a power steering message pop up on radio and i for one one have no idea why. the car steers fine and theres no whining or any other noise. my first thought was it might be low on fluid or something but i was surpised to find that this car has no belt driven pump or any resivor to speak of this is the first time ive ever seen anything like it there is a lagre black cylinder right above the rack which i asume is some kind of electric pump of some kind but still no way that i can see of adding or even checking fluid levels, does anyone have any idea how this crazy system works or what could possibly be wrong?

 

[DrivenDaily]

That is EPS - Electronic Power Steering. It uses an electric motor to assist.

There has been at least one TSB out on EPS. My buddy at work had his 2003 or 2004 Cobalt repaired free at the dealer due to the issues he was having. Call your dealer and find out what they say. If they can't or won't, call another. Not all dealers like to actually help owners!

 

[misterhyde]

There was a recall a few months ago regarding power steering problems. My '06 v6 LT had the symptoms and I was actually just about ready to get the parts for the TSB that also fixed the problem.
The problem was that on occasion when accelerating fast, the power steering would receive too much voltage and shut down. My steering would lock and warning lights and dinging would go off. As soon as I stopped accelerating, things returned to normal.
The TSB added a ground cable the coil pack (where the spark plug wires plug into)
The recall replaced the entire steering column.