general problems of the 2003 Honda Odyssey

The transmission on my 2003 Odyssey just failed at 83,000 miles. 2nd and 3rd gears, mainly over 25 miles per hours, do not work predictably. When one would normally expect it to go to third gear, it slips. The car just started this today. From what I have read, the dealership will charge thousands of dollars to replace it. I am dropping it off tonight or early tomorrow morning. I hope it is only a part, and that I don't have to replace the whole transmission; I can't afford it. The car has had average maintenance by the dealership. This is a safety issue. I can't pull into and out of intersections predictably. Taking a left from a busy highway, such as the one I live near, is dangerous, because I don't know what the van will accelerate like. What if it slips out of gear, and I get stuck in a lane of oncoming traffic? I hope that Honda is required to fix or replace the transmission. No one expects this out of a six to seven year old car with 83,000 miles anymore. People may try to drive slowly anyway, because they cannot afford to replace the transmission. There are accidents waiting to happen, because the cars behind the van will expect it to accelerate, and it will get caught in the middle of intersections.