Two related questions:

1. My '01 Ody (150k Miles) is having tranny problems. I bought it used in '12 for $5500, and had the trans remanufactured after it failed in '15. I spent $2700 on it thinking it would last me a long time once properly repaired. But it's been slipping between 1st and 2nd again last couple of years and seems to be getting worse with rough shifting (up and down) between 1 and 2.  2 to 3 and 3 to 4 are fine and still smooth. Took it back to the tranny guy last year and he says it needs to be remanufactured again, another $2-3K. I said no way am I spending that much on this vehicle not even worth that much.

Should I keep driving it, could it last me another say, 5 years? I can live with the rough shifting but is it going to leave my family stranded on a road trip somewhere in limp mode? Basically do I need to replace it imminently?

2. If so, I really would like to buy a plug-in hybrid. I think the Pacifica hybrid is a terrific idea, since most of my daily driving is in the city and the gas mileage on the van is so bad but a necessary evil of needing to have the vehicle to haul the family around, especially road trips. And I love the utility of the minivan. I'm not sure I'd buy another newish minivan since the gas mileage is so bad, and I plan to drive this next vehicle into the ground. So the PacHy seems to be best of both worlds, where I can drive it in the city now and later after kids are gone, and meanwhile use it for hauling the family when needed. Plus there is a local incentive that sweetens the deal. I can scrap my Ody for $3K. But after some research, you said that chrysler is a piece of junk and not worth it.

So, I'm left with:

1) keep the ody as long as possible (do I risk stranding my family in middle of nowhere?)

2) buy a used older sienna (04-10) model... (but not easy to find a clean title, good condition one, low mileage one?)

3) buy a 3 yr old PacHy (how realistic is it to hope that Chrysler's hybrid minivan is more reliable than its other products?) hoping it will last a good 10-20 years...

4) bite the bullet and buy a 3 yr old Sienna (lots of these in the market) for a good chunk of change, and trade in for a PHEV sometime down the road...

Appreciate your thoughts and advice, thanks.