Control Arms

[Oatsmack]

My 2007 6 wagon is squeaking for attention. Bad squeak and if you ask me, I'd say power steering, or ps belt. It squeaks when you turn the wheel, traveling or standing still. Small bumps in the road causes the squeak too even when traveling straight. It cost me $90 to tell me it was the front left lower control arm, and $450 to replace. Which I did, and the squeak is still there. Dealer only charged me $350 cause he didn't fix the problem - thank you very much. Now he's going to change the right front lower control arm. He's only going to charge me $200 this time. It is an authorized dealer so I would expect that they would be my best choice for trouble shooting and repairing. I don't mind paying for a repair. But I'm not in the mood to hand over cash as he continues to replace parts that might not be bad. Never heard of a part like this going bad. Car has 65,000 miles on it. All highway. No Tokyo drifts. Anyone else have any similar problems. It's not a mouse squeak, maybe more like a large crow squawk. It's loud. Something is ready to go.

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[Oatsmack]

Dealer just called back. He replaced the right front control arm and swears all noises went away. Wife is picking up the car now, and I'll believe when I don't hear it. $640 to replace both front control arms. I'm still scratching my head as to how a part like this can go out after 65K miles. This is my 4th Mazda and I never had any problems with the first 3.

[Oatsmack]

Two control arms and $640 later, squeak was still there. I left the car with the dealer again. They tore apart the entire front end. Problem was a ball joint. They found a high spot on the casting. Ground it down, put it all back together, and the problem is solved. Dealer gave me a check back for $350. I am very satisfied. But still confused as to how a high spot could develop on a casting 65K miles into the life of the car??? For whatever it's worth, I hope this description of the problem and the solution is of value to someone else down the road.