When the friction coating wears off you need the new follower. Yours was not that bad but you did need a new one for sure once that happens.

 

I replaced my Cam follower at 125k. It was pretty beat up, and had some small chips that had started to form on the surface. Also Diggs, you don't want to have a harder follower than the cam. Its much cheaper to replace the follower.

 

i was told that there had been a recall in the UK on some of the 2.0 engines because of the follower. I don't know the specifics. Although failures are not common, it does not hurt to replace the part. You really don't want to be one of the few that have to deal with a failure, since not catching it early can lead to expensive damage.