Steering Tie Rod Assembly problems of the 2007 Mazda CX9

While driving on the highway coming home from a trip I noticed that every time I hit a small bump the front end would move one direction and then come back hard the other way. When I returned home I took the car to my mechanic who informed my that my lower ball joints were extremely loose (1/2" of movement) and that I was lucky they did not fall out. He also said it was so bad that it wasn't even safe for him to test drive the car. Both sides had to have the following replaced: outer tie rod, lower control arm/ball joint, and the sway bar link. I feel very fortunate that I did not have a wheel come off while driving on the highway with my family as others have experienced with this same issue.