Toyota Repair: Toyota Camry V6 LE -- strut leaking, toyota camry v6, life time warranty

Question
Hi,

I bought a new Camry V6 LE in year 2000 and it has about 41k miles on it now. When I went to an auto service shop to get the 45k mile service done last week, I was told that one of the front struts is leaking and would need to be replaced. The other strut will also need to be replaced soon (even though it is not leaking currently). And that while replacing struts, they will have to replace the links? as well. The total cost would be around $600!

I have been regularly getting the required maintenance services done on the car (per maint. manual) and did not expect to see this kind of repair work in less than 5 years of owning the vehicle (especially since Toyota is known for it's quality)! I haven't had any repair work needed on the car until this one.

My questions --
1. Is there any warranty provided by toyota on parts like struts? I went to their site and found life-time warranty on some parts that they replace which include struts...
2. Should I get this fixed at Toyota Dealership instead of an independent service store OR does it matter?
3. Is it normal to expect this kind of repair work in less than 5 years & 41k miles on a car like Camry?

Thanks for your help!  

Answer
I suggest that you do not go back to the repair shop that tried to sell you new struts, I would suggest this, have a toyota dealer look at the struts to see if they really need to be replaced.
There is no lifetime warranty from toyota for struts, the warranty is 3yrs/36000 miles.
Toyota struts normally last well into the 80,000 mile range or more.