DAVE & PENNY,
I have had the same problem and will detail what I went thru and my
observations.
1. Total denial at Service Dept where I bought it - Maxwell Ford in Austin
TX.
Service Manager held a paper service floor mat over dash and said 'I see
it OK'.
Of course we were under the canopy at the time as well.
After I continued the pursuit that if you drove it outside and removed
the floor mat
you could not see it, he relented and agreed that it was not
reasonable light intensity.
His conclusion was that the dash light control on the left was faulty
and he wanted to
replace it, and was sure it would fix the problem. Did...did not. At
that point it was
just 'sorry it is all we can do'.
2. I took the email address from the Owners Manual for the District Office.
Sent an email and no reply. After what I recall being about 4-6 months
I had an apologetic
phone call from a person saying that they had had a change in personnel
and she was new
to the job and would attend to it.
Here were my arguments:
a. I carry grandchildren and the only warning about 'DOOR AJAR'
is in that panel and
absolutely unreadable. One or more 'lost grandchildren' and
Ford could be DEAD too.
b. The only way to tell 'MILES TO EMPTY' is in that little
panel.
c. The only way to tell 11.1 miles to exit is in that little
panel.
d. ie. It is a safety hazard and major inconvenience and poor
design.
3. I noted a person with an '02 Mercury Mountaineer at the Post Office and
his panel was
perfectly readable. How different can it be ?
4. They replaced (at their expense to be fair) the panel with one from
another vehicle and it
is only slightly better.
5. My only reasonable action is that I have decided that I will never have
another Explorer EB
(have had a '91, 95, and the '02) and presently looking at the
Chrysler T&C minivan.
After all the frustrations and denial of problems I have no more
time to spend on it.

....you are not alone with this problem...

Roger


"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
>
>
>