ok so my steering wheel has some play but its not with the steering but more of telescopic like. i can pull the steering wheel back and forth just enought to feel the gap. so every now and then i hit bumps on the road and you can feel the steering being loose. so since i never messed with airbags on a steering wheel, is this something i should try on my own to tighted up or should i go to the dealer? any tip would be great.

If you do decide to do this yourself, just yank the airbag fuse. This will prevent the bags from deploying. Then you can start to check and make sure that everything is tight.

I know the GMs were bad about that, mostly if you were in the habit of using the steering wheel to pull yourself in or out, after you stripped everthing down to the tilt section then there was three screws with like hourglass heads on them to tighten, needed special socket

Check the pinch bold on the end of the steering columb under the dash. Make sure it's tight.

thanks guys ill take a look at it this weekend!

I have a 4WD 2000 Xterra SE that has not had a single problem until recently. I am curious as to whether your problem with the steering has been resolved? It seem as though I have the exact problem and can't decide if it's always been this way or not. Can you give me some specifics on how it was fixed?
I have been endlessly searching forums for a like situation and am glad that I have found a similar problem. Car drives straight as an arrow and there is no play in wheel side to side but if the wheel is given a pull (such as when merging to see behind yourself or getting into car) the wheel moves towards me perhaps 1/8th to 1/4 of an inch.
As an aside, 70,000 miles so far - when should I change all the belts?
Thankyou

Timing Belt @ 60k