To answer a few questions....
1. TRD struts and/or springs will not void the warranty, dealer installed or not. It is an authorized Scion part. If you buy a set of spark plugs from the dealer and install them yourself, it would not void the warranty on your car. If that same plug were to crack and cause a misfire/engine damage, it woul dhave to be determined if it was a manufacturers defect or installer error. The oneus is on the dealer to determine this, not to just assume. Same goes for the TRD suspension.
2. Shocks and struts will normally last only 30-40K miles before the ride quality begins to degrade. Shock/struts should be replaced in the 70K range for OEM. Lowering your ride height should not affect the life of the strut/shocks, unless, you are bottoming out or have drastically change the linear geometry of travel.
3. You can get squeeks from replacement springs if you do not mount correctly in the spring perches. You may have also misaligned the geometry. of the upper strut mount. It mounts in a specific orientation. Some springs also come with a rubber slip to prevent noise between the coils under normal loading. A lil white lithium grease can help.
4. The Hotchkis lowering springs drop:
Front 1.7" (43mm) Drop 175 lbs/in (Stock 150 lbs/in)
Rear 1.97" (50mm) Drop 285 lb/in (245 lbs/in)
I have them and they work great.
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