1999 Honda Odyssey-Let it go or bring it back to life?

Driving home on Saturday, the smell of natural gas appeared in the car. Thought it was from the outside, but it was from the engine; something burning. Barely made it home. Engine would rev but the car would not move. Next day took it out and it went for maybe 500 feet. I was able to shift into reverse and drive home backwards. Next day, it starts fine. Can’t shift below highest drive gear, but it won’t move in any gear. Reverse does nothing. Push it out of my driveway and park it. I assume this is a transmission problem. The car has been serviced on schedule, timing belt replaced two years ago; a bit late, but the thing has only 124K on it. Repair guesstimate for transmission was about $4K. (BTW, there’s fluid in there) On the one hand, I don’t want to put more money in this car. On the other hand, buying a replacement is even more expensive. I’ve had to do other things besides regular upkeep to this thing and it is starting to look like a money pit. Thoughts?

These Odyssey transmissions are known to be problematic. I would get rid of it. Maybe put a used transmission in if you can do it for cheap to make it more saleable. Otherwise sell it for parts or scrap.

Try an independent shop if you haven’t yet. This is a common failure.