NHTSA Complaint #11500677 — 2017 FORD ESCAPE

Driving my 2017 Ford Escape on a freeway about one hour from home. All of a sudden, I get the transmission warning message to take it to a dealer for service. (Vehicle had 49,000 miles on it and I had no fluid leaks or warnings prior to this incident). I immediately head to a Ford dealership in area until the vehicle refuses to move forward at a busy intersection. I have it towed to the dealer and they tell me they can't look at it for another month (Not enough trans service guys employed). I had it towed back to a transmission repair facility closer to my home. Their findings: Torque converter went bad and threw metal throughout transmission. Transmission facility contacted local Ford dealer in Vero Beach, Fl to see if they would cover any parts.....Nope! I needed the vehicle so I paid the $4,390 to replace the torque converter and rebuild the transmission. I recently visited the the same Ford dealership to plead my case. Service tech said he understood my problem and admitted torque converters on various Ford vehicles are going bad but there was no recall. This vehicles powertrain warranty ended in prior year, but a transmission should definitely last longer than 49k miles! Ford is aware of these issues and there are all kinds of similar complaints on the internet.