I've seen others post the same issue - this seems like a flawed product that Apple may not be addressing (i.e., recall on the obviously faulty part). Issue was also raised in https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250158516 with no solution.
MacBook Pro with Touch Bar
Thanks for reaching out about the touch bar on your MacBook Pro, DrBillC!
I see from your picture that part of the touch bar is just black, instead of displaying the icons to interact with. I'm happy to help!
There could be a few reasons for this to be occurring. To help rule out a software issue, try the following steps:
Should you continue to have trouble with the touch bar after that, you'll want to get in touch with Apple Support directly for additional assistance, as it may be hardware related. You can do that via one of the available methods here: Contact Apple Support.
Have a good day.
Same issue/failure in this post. Identical hardware failure it looks like. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251025687?answerId=251962479022#251962479022
Thank you. I've already eliminated all of those possibilities and would like to clarify that it's not just some icons missing in the Touch Bar, it's partially cutting off some as others have reported as well. See my additional screenshot below and a similar issue here: https://www.reddit.com/r/applehelp/comments/csmiqj/touchbar_issue_the_area_is_still_responding_to/
Touch Bar partially blank on 2017 13" Mac Book Pro
