Instrument Panel problems of the 2001 Mercedes Benz E430

2001 mercedes E430. Maybe as much as two years ago the time and temp sections of my instrument cluster began losing lines or pixels so the time and temp could not be read. I had just gone out of warranty due to mileage and was told, on the phone by a merc. Service person, it could be fixed but not under warranty. I have seen many "forum" posts about others with the same problem making me think it is not an uncommon problem. I heard other models of the same year are being recalled for this same problem. Why not my model car?? this is a costly repair I don't feel I should pay for. Incident date below is approximate.