My '05 does not have a message center down near the floor. It has a
couple of messge lines in the lower right side of the dash. Messages
are bright enough to read with no problem. By the way, I rented a
Toyota 4Runner last summer with a message center that was almost
impossible to read in any kind of bright light. Apparently Ford is
not alone in having this problem.

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 18:42:29 GMT, "wth" > wrote:

>Same here, you can't read it on a sunny day. Big question is: Has ford fixed
>it yet on the '05's?
>wth
>
>"Dave Hollis & Penny Williams" > wrote in message
.. .
>> The message center in my 02 Eddie Bauer is dim. I can't see it on sunny
>> days. It is readable on cloudy days and nights. It is much dimmer than
>> the
>> radio readout, for example.
>>
>> Has anybody had this problem and fixed it or had it fixed? Are all 02s
>> like
>> that? I don't think it was like that when it was new.
>>
>> The dealer says the only fix is to replace the entire instrument panel
>> (speedo etc.).
>>
>> Observations: At night, when I switch on the headlights, the message
>> center
>> dims
>> more and the dash panel brightness knob dims and brightens the message
>> center too.
>> I seems like it is always dimmer than the speedo and the radio, etc.
>>
>> Please let me know if anyone has had this problem. It sure would be nice
>> to
>> be
>> able to read the message center during the day.
>>
>> Dave Hollis
>>
>>
>