I just bought this in a pinch when my Nissan pickup died and am having a bit of difficulty with several items. There is a display panel above the CD player/environmental controls. It is not identified in the owners manual but it displays outside temp, compass heading and other info. However it is almost unreadable in daylight and I even created a shade taped above it but is still difficult to read in daylight. I can't find any mention of it and how I might increase the brightness, if possible.
I often wonder about designers that create these things and don't even beta test them.

Another item that is no big deal but frustrates me it sometimes the door chime sounds continuously when the door is opened and key is NOT inserted. Nothing on the panel to indicate something not right. But often is does not do this.

I was also going to use the keyless door code and change it to my own code but can't find the factory code. It is not in the back of the user manual nor is there a decal over the brake pedal. I contacted the local Ford dealer that sold me the car and they said it would cost $200 to get the code. WTH?

 

The display panel is a LCD display if memory serves and they are just crappy when sunlight hits them, you may have the cluster on dim and that could be contributing to the issue.

The door chime issue sounds like the ignition switch thinks there is a key in the ignition even when there is not, it could be something else but without seeing the vehicle I cannot say.

The keyless entry code I believe will be on the back of the interior fuse box, called a smart junction box in your vehicle, its on the pass side of the center console, I think you would need to remove the center console to get to it.
You may be able to pressure the sales dept into paying service dept to get the code if you recently bought the vehicle, you may have to cause a scene for that to work though.
At my dealer we charge a half hour to retrieve this code which comes to approx $70, I agree $200 is way to much for simple retrieving the code, you could see if there is another dealer in the area who does it cheaper.
Another option would be to research ForScan to see if it has the capability to retrieve the keyless entry code, if so I imagine the software and hardware would still be cheaper then $200, I do not know if it has this capability though.

 

Your suggestion about the door chime is correct I believe, as I would put the key back in and wiggle it and the chime stopped with key out.
I had 2 times in the last 2 weeks where the battery was near dead and I had to jump it to start. Then last night I came home and the interior lights would not go out so I believe that is what happened before to drain the battery. I suspect this is also related to the ignition key assy, do you think so?
I looked on Youtube and replacing the switch didn't look hard at all. This is the switch not the cylinder lock. Is my suspicion possibly the issue?

 

Yes that is the ignition switch.
Its possible thats the issue of your battery drain.

 

Thanks Scott, I will try replacing that.

 

FYI, changing the key switch (dealership did it no charge) fixed the problem of the door chime and interior lights staying on thus draining the battery. Found the keyless code inside the fuse box as told. So now most issues that came with the car bought from a Ford dealer are resolved. Hope it lasts me a long time now.

 

turn the headlights on this will make the display brighter.