I put my $500 down and ordered my 06 GT with the X Plan and I have an idea of what the message center is and does, but can any one give my specifics about what exactly is it?
sure, you can change the display to read, trip/mileage, miles till empty/mileage/trip, avg MPG, avg speed, engine run time, MPG graph chart and when you run the system check will display a series of checks like passanger door closed, trunk closed, brake system OK.......ect. You also get 2 more gadges in the center between the spedo and tach, oil pressure and volts.
A lot of dealerships haven't done the upgrade. You can order from the site I gave you (if you want) and he'll send to you and your dealership can do the actual upgrade for you.
Or you can get it from the dealer if you want.
The part numbers are:
Cluster (V6, US/MPH): 5R3Z10849EB (GT cluster MIGHT work, too, replace EB with GB if you want that)
Switch (all models): 4R3Z10D889AAA
Supposedly, they have four different guages with the message center: V6/MPH, V6/KPH, GT/MPH, GT/KPH
Regardless, the switch is the same part for all of them.
A half hour labor won't do it. The computer has to be flashed too. My total labor charge, which includes reflashing the computer, was $120. I paid wholesale for the parts. Most dealers will cut you a deal especially if you are a regular customer. The guy on the web site referred to is great to deal with. However, make certain your dealer will install someone else's parts.
Even though I ended up ordering from the dealer, to not have to temporarily cover the core charge, my dealership would have installed the parts if I had gotten them from him.
My service shop will install any ford OEM part. As long as it's a Ford OEM part, they don't care where it came from.