How important are struts on a car

It seems too soon to me. There are lots of MUCH older vehicles on the road with original struts.

Struts have more to do with mileage…not years. If the op puts miles on like I do…then his 2001 will have about 200k miles, so the struts are probably bad.

op - Do NOT take it to the dealer for this. Find a good independent mechanic. They’ll be done a lot cheaper with as good or BETTER parts.