My steering has become all loosey-goosey, there is lotsa play in my steering wheel, and when at higher speeds my steering will tug harshly in whichever direction i am steering. It has become a nightmare to drive on the highway. I just replaced the idler arm bushings with very little improvement. I know I need to replace my struts and shocks but certainly there must be something else wrong with the steering system. One more symptom, My Front DS Tire squeals when I go around a right turn.

 

Common issues on these cars...

Check tire pressure first, tie rod ends, pitman arm, etc...when you complete all this, get it alligned.

Its best to spend the money and do it all at once that way you only pay for 1 alignment.

 

Yeah, lift it up and start shaking things. My car has the same issues. I've replaced everything except wheel bearings (but I did tighten them slightly) the pitman arm, the ball joints and any bushings. I tightened the steering box and checked the air pressure on my crappy tires. I would say I saw the most play in the idler arm and the wheel bearings. The car is much better now, but still not where you'd like it to be.

my $0.02

 

I put in new wheel bearings and after a day or two, the wheel got loose so I tightened them and they've been fine ever since.

I wish Mazda had a better method of tightening the wheel bearings than tighten them until they won't move or are tight then back them off.

I prefer, like a Chevy (I know sacrilege) they at least say, tighten the wheel nut to x amounts of foot lbs and back of x amount of turns.

 

Mine did the same when I got it. A whole new front end is the best fix and good insurance. The Idler arm is the main culprit (As everyone else has said), but don't forget the pitman arm and, most especially, the tie rod ends, mainly the outers. Check your ball joints too. Order from Rockauto and you can get an entire front end (idler, pitman, tie rods, ball joints and bar links) for less than $200 and that's with quality parts.