[shinrai]

Has anybody ever had their steering wheel jam while in a corner?

I have. And I had to fight it to get the car straight. I almost crashed.

I really believe it is because the crappy plastic upper bearing i.d. disintegrates and the pieces fall into the ignition lock mechanism. Many people have had luck with these workaround sleeves but the proper fix is to pull that upper bearing and clean out the plastic bits or better yet pull the column and clean it out and replace both bearings. It's a full day job but worthwhile with the peace of mind.