Steering Rack And Pinion problems of the 1996 Mazda 626

I was driving on I-10. I made a routine lane change. At that moment I lost complete control of my vehicle. My steering failed. I was rear-ended. I was shoved into another car on my driver side. I came to rest on a concrete barrier. The mechanic at the collision center said the rack and pinion fell apart. A private mechanic examined the Mazda and also concluded that the shaft in the rack and pinion unit failed due to a defective part.

Steering rack and pinion fell apart causing loss of control and vehicle collision, injury to consumer. Mjs.

An independent mechanic inspected the car and stated:inspect car at body shop and found a broken shaft in the rack and pinion unit. The car has no direct impact to any components related to the steering failure. The shaft failed due to a defective part. The body shop employee stated: the rack and pinion fell apart causing the accident to occur.

Brake failure- purchased used care 6/98, replaced brake pads 10/98, brakes failed 6/8/99 and had to replace brake pads and rotors (front) after accident. Transmission problems- the car began to jump while accelerating from 0-30mph, so I pulled over and parked (7/20/99) and when I put the car in drive it would not go. I had the car towed to a mechanic who told me that I was having transmission problems and advised me to drive the car w/the overdrive off and that is the only way the car moves in drive. I have been having problems with the hearing knocking noises when turning the steering wheel, and my mechanic told me that the rack and pinion needs to be replaced. Please advise me, because these are very expensive repairs for a car that does not even have 70k miles. Does the manafacturer have any responsibility, because it appears that there have been serveral simular complaints.