I got this car after my first year of college: summer, 1998, so I've been driving it 10 years. Got it at 84,000 miles; we've got 215,000 now. I really feel like I have a personal relationship with this thing. I'll be sad when it goes.

Speaking of which, the deterioration is accelerating. Got the exhaust pipe replaced this summer, after it rusted in two and dropped onto the street. Tire rims are rusting. Power steering motor is failing. Got a valve job this summer too, once the engine started smoldering.

What's coming is the transmission, whose failure has been slowly building. My question is, how long does it have? How do I preserve it? I got the fluid flushed out last fall, which cleaned up the shifting a bit, but now winter is coming again, and we're having trouble staying in reverse, and getting from 1st to 2nd when the engine is cold. Now I'm noticing some trouble getting from 2nd to 3rd.

How long do we have left together? I need some Camry hospice. I'm not getting a new transmission.

 

Can not state how long the trans will last.

The trans typically fails after a time to shift into Foward or Reverse.