I just recently got a 2003 coupe and although its based on driving it for about an hour so far. I am having trouble adjusting. I was driving a 2004 Mazda 3 before so I know its pretty big difference. One question I have also is when going at higher speeds does the steering wheel normally move around i had trouble keeping it where I wanted it too be. Again any tips or advice is greatly appreciated. I am only 20 btw and have minimal experience driving others cars.

 

Is it just the steering wheel that has play, or is the whole front end wandering? I had to replace all my tie rods and the rack and pinion to get mine to run straight again, but from my research there were no clear solutions that fixed the problem every time.

 

Yeah it also includes the front end I read on another forum a similar problem comparing it to driving drunk. I had a very hard time keeping it center within my own lane and i don't expect that to be that hard even though it is a bigger car and all.

 

If you check youtube there are a ton of videos showing how to check wheel bearings, outer tie rods, and inner tie rods. Then you can compare good and bad ones to see if that's part of your problem. Other possibilities could be rack and pinion or steering column. Along with other stuff I'm probably missing.

 

How many miles are on the car? And what part of Florida are you in? I'm in Fort Myers and I work for UPR Products. If you're within driving distance, I'll check out the car and let you know what's going on. If you need anything from UPR, I'll give you the discount code for our web store.

 

Not to add more fuel to the fire, but also check your steering shaft. If one of the u-joints is loose it can cause this problem. With the front wheels on the ground, have a buddy wiggle the streering wheel back and forth just enough to barely move the tires while you look under the hood at the steering shaft. It should rotate as unit. If there is any play in it, then it would cause your problem and you need to replace the shaft.

Also while your friend is wiggling the steering wheel back and forth with the wheels on the ground, climb underneath the car and check the inner & outer tie rods on both sides and see if they have any play in them. If they do, then the part needs to be replaced. Its rare for a rack-n-pinion to go out (although it does happen). More often then not its one of the simpler parts in the steering system like the steering shaft, tie rods, wheel bearings or the bushing used to mount the rack-n-pinion to the frame.

Good luck...