I find that the lcd panels glow too brightly compared to the rest of the gauges and buttons on the steering wheel. It was also too bright in my 08 Altima and it seems in most Nissans that use it.
So its probably just me...
But, does anyone know of a way to reduce the glow of the lcd panels in the cluster without having to bring the steering wheel and dash buttons down so low that they can't be seen??

Just trying to wrap my head around your question a bit.... are you talking about just turning the trip odometer to the left to dial down the gauge illumination? or independently reducing the illumination on the information display under the cluster?

Reducing the illumination of the info display independently. I find its just too bright almost washed out unless the gauge illumination is set to its lowest setting. Which then sets the back lighting on the interior switches too low. I see in the 2012 they changed the orange lcd info display to a full color display its much "crisper".

tint the plastic on your gauge cluster? maybe even a small square of tint to cover that area?