Transmission Failure problems of the 2004 Ford Escape

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Escape. The contact was driving up a steep incline approximately 25 mph when the engine rpms increased abnormally and the transmission failed to respond. The vehicle was driven to a nearby authorized dealer for diagnosis where they informed the contact that the transmission would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 81,000.

Complete transmission failure at freeway speed. No accident, injuries, or property damage was involved. The vehicle a '04, Ford, Escape, 2wd, auto, had 5,104 miles and was less than 90 days old. Vehicle was towed to dealership, which promptly replaced defective transmission with a new one. Total time required was (6) working days. Most of the required time was waiting for the delivery of a new transmission. Dealership reported the transmission failure was due to the "planetary bearing". The "needle bearings" in the "planetary bearing" had failed. They disintegrated. Small metal fragments worked through out the transmission, resulting in excessive internal damage. Transmission was repaired under warranty. All costs for towing, repair, and loaner were paid by Ford motor CO. Repair work was performed by dick masheter - Ford and they did a good job. I did request a 3yr, 36,000 mile warranty for the new transmission. This was denied. I still have the original factory warranty of 3 yr, 36,00 miles; but I wanted the clock reset for the new transmission. This would have extended the warranty for the new transmission to 41,104 miles. A single failure may happen, since we don't live in a perfect world. I'm filing a complaint for informational purposes, so the NHTSA may track this type of failure and perhaps determine if it requires further investigation and/or a recall.