ok so i drove home from work in d mode for the 1st time ever and although were gettin like 2-4 inches of rain as i type the d mode actually drives much better than the s mode !! gotta try it in the dry but it seemed better in the slow speeds !!

on a side note the wife's 3.0 also does the slow shift from 1-2 gear when its cold usually just the 1st couple o times then it goes away !!

I think I'm experiencing what you're describing (but I only drive in D mode, not S).

Starting from a standstill it quickly climbs to 5th or 6th and we're talking speeds of only 30-40 mph @ only 1100-1400 RPM. So if I want to accelerate it always kicks down and as soon as I let go of the gas pedal (after reaching desired new speed) it quickly goes back up to 5th/6th with low RPMs and low torque... It sucks because I feel like I never have enough power/torque at the gear I'm in because it always has to down-shift for it to pull. Kind of surprising for a supposedly smooth and powerful 4.8 V8 engine.

Being a new X5 owner, I don't know if this a normal or a problem??

Normal. Apparently it's to save gas. However, there's a way you can reset the tranny to re-learn your driving tendency. I forgot how, so do a search and I'm sure you'll find it easy.

TwinsPoppa - do you mean resetting throttle adaptation via the 10 seconds on, 10 seconds off trick, or are you talking about something else?

LiX5, This could be your problem!!! I know with my 740iL, you do not want to drive in Sports mode all the time and you dont want to never put it in Sports mode..... doing either of these will surely kill the transmission. I take the same follows for the X5. On the most I drive in regular mode, but some days more than others, I will pop it in sports mode at lights and run threw the gears, once I am up to a nice crusing speed I will pop it back in normal mode. I have done this with my 7, and have over 300K miles on the original transmission. and I now have over 101K miles on my X on the original trans.

There was a period where I almost had some serious issues with my 740 from running hard on the autobahn in sports mode, I was pushing 150mph in sports mode for a good 30 mins and a cloud of white smoke bellowed out the rear of the car. Upon pulling over I could hear the trans boiling. After getting the car to the dealer and explaining what happened, the car was given good checking over with no malfunctions found and I was briefed on my error for running it in sports mode... They instructed me to only run in sports mode for brief periods when I am wanting that extra kick, otherwise run it in regular mode. They also told me not to fear sports mode because I need to use it often, just do not keep it there for long periods....

I believe so, yes, that's it.

EDIT: That's not it. Here's the what I was talking about.

http://www.xoutpost.com/466823-post6.html

First to answer your question, yes I hate the trans in the 4.8is.

What you have to understand also is that the 4.8 trans is a 6 speed unit, whereas the old one was a 5 speed. The 5 speed had totally different shift points, and the first gear was much different. The 5 speed for me felt much more torquey, and felt so much better off the line... The 6 speed plain sucks. All in the name of economy.

Honestly, I would love to yank a 5 speed out of a 4.6 and stick it in my 4.8 and be real happy with it.