Steering Intermediate shaft worn - will dealer deny warranty because of lowered vehicle?

Hello folks,

It's been a while since I have posted here - My beloved 2013 prius is having its first problem. The steering intermediate shaft is worn and I hear clicking when I move my steering wheel left to right. My buddy who works at Toyota as a technician diagnosed this. The car still tracks straight and drives normally. There's just a little bit of play in the feel of the steering wheel.

Unfortunately, he said he can't help me get a new part and this issue won't be covered under warranty since I lowered the car with coilovers. I read somewhere in the past that dealerships actually have to prove that the modification you've done caused the problem you are experiencing. So I left the dealership after my maintenance service / oil change and wondering what to do now

I'm sure if I bring this up next time and arrange to have it done, then the first thing they will tell me is that I've lowered the car and the different angle has caused stress on the components and therefore they won't cover the part.

And...I know all of you might say - it's your damn fault for lowering the car! Well I've only lowered it one inch, and....I know that the prius plus models come with 1" lowering already so I highly doubt that Toyota would offer TRD lowering springs on a car that wasn't meant to take it.

Any pointers on what to do from now would be nice.