Explorer Eddie Bauer 4.6L

• Automatic transmission
• 102,000 miles

I had bought an extended warranty and had noticed intermittent slippage before the warranty ran out, however, the mechanic said there was a small leak from a seal. Unfortunately they would have to lower whole transmission to fix leak. Was told it wouldn't be a problem. Within the last month, noticed it slipping more & just sounded different on highway. Took to dealership & turns out a band broke & damaged the casing. Am now having to spend over $3500 to replace whole transmission. The mechanics indicated this was a common problem in the 2003 explorer. Did some research and turns out there are a high number of transmission failures on this model at low mileage with consistent reports of "faulty box". Apparently Ford knows about this problem and will only say it's a good transmission, just doesn't last long. Why didn't they do a recall? I'm a 43 year old female and drive my explorer very carefully (no hotrodding, excessive acceleration, etc) and there is no way that a transmission should consistently fail at less than 100,000 miles. If it does, there is a problem & Ford should have stood behind their product...especially if they want people to buy more of their vehicles. In today's economy, I would think that would be a major concern for Ford (but apparently it isn't). I sent them a complaint, however, have never received any acknowledgment!!!