Odyssey Transmission

The transmission on our 2002 Odyssey EX went this past Saturday at 98,365 miles. We had the car towed to a mechanic we trust, who said he could replace the transmission for between $3,500 and $3,700. He mentioned that some other customers had experienced similar problems with their Odysseys and recommended that we contact the company to see if it would cover any of the repair costs. We called Honda Customer Service and were told by a rep named Charles that the car was outside the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty period and therefore Honda would not cover the repair. We mentioned the widespread problems with the transmission and confirmed that our car had been inspected in response to a recall in July 2004. Charles then said that Honda would only consider providing “assistance” if we had the car diagnosed at an authorized dealership first. He was not very encouraging, but we thought we would get the diagnosis ($65) and see what Honda had to offer. We’re having the car towed from our mechanic to the dealership today for that purpose. In the meantime, our mechanic contacted a friend of his who is a mechanic at the dealership; the friend said the dealership is required to replace the power control module (PCM) when they replace the transmission, which brings the repair bill up to $6,000. Our mechanic thinks the transmission can be replaced without replacing the PCM, and we tend to believe him, but we would like to hear from other Honda owners/mechanics who have faced this situation. Does the PCM really need to be replaced with the transmission? Thanks.