On my '97 legacy 155K, at low speeds such as in a parking lot, the steering wheel will rotate back and forth about 1/4". No problem at high speeds.

 

Does this sound like a wheel bearing starting to fail? I haven't felt any excessive temperature build up in the front bearings.

usually indicates a tire out of round. when I used to do tires, when balancing, alot of tires are out of round, but that just balances out. the cheaper the tire, the higher the runout tolerance. if they are chinese tires, forget about runout "tolerances", they will sell it if it holds air:eek:

I use the original equipment replacement goodyear tires. I have rotated the tires and it doesn't change the steering rotation at slow speeds.

 

Any other guesses?

have you checked all the steering components? ball joints, tie rods, inner and outer.