How's the pad look?
It's a wear item. It wears when you use it. It wears more with aggressive driving. Pads can be killed in 5k miles or 25k miles. Your driving habits will affect your brake pad longevity.
FWIW I took my springs out (thus losing the auto open) due to the springs putting so much preload on the struts, they would come off the ball-head on the hatch while driving and I was worried what would happen if both came off at once.
I had to utilize springs to get my trunk to open even without a wing...but it was violent. People made fun of me, calling it a trebuchet, so the springs were removed. If you want to pay for shipping, I have the blue springs listed in this thread just sitting around.
Otherwise, the red 90mm ones...
Im not the quoted person, but I'll butt my way in per my reputation.
I use them with my UCW swan and while it doesn't auto open anymore (removed springs), it stays open and doesn't give me surprise guillotine vibes.
Cobb county Toyota in Marietta is probably your best opportunity for a friendly dealership. I have some friends there and their Supra techs are competent.
I've transitioned to doing most of my services myself.