The message screen on the dash suddenly went dim in the middle section (where the odometer and trip odo are displayed). The two narrow sides are fine, but the middle looks like it is 50% as bright as the rest. Has anyone seen this before?
Seems to be an annoyance that will probably cost $800 to repair, just like everything else.

 

for some reason my display got dimmer too just on the odometer though, oh well it doesn't bother me that much

It happened to me about 2 months ago

 

Have you guys checked your bulbs? When the bulb goes out you can still see the display but it will be very dim. The bulbs only a couple of dollars and are easy to replace on your own.

 

If your middle section of your LCD is dim, it is the booster bulb on the back of your gage cluster that is out. On my 97, there is a set of 6 bulbs behind the LCD. 3 are red and 3 are clear. The red boost the "fasten seat belt" et al, and the clear boost the temperature, odometer, and clock. One section dim means one bulb is out. They run about $4 each through on-line parts stores.

 

Does it ligth up right when the red messages appear? (fasten seat belt)
If so your clear bulb is burnt. Just replace it.

 

I have the same problem..

And for me .. it was NOT bulbs..
My display is getting dimmer in steps when it heated up while driving.
Its very hard notice the steps.. i noticed these steps while heating up the instruments whti a hair dryer..
With the help of a freind, some cooling spray and some instruments .. i think we found the error .. a small capasitor located between the bulbs for the display was changing when its getting hot. .

In currently looking for a replacementpart.. and will post the result here later.. hopefully this week

Regards kim