Yep, I get this, I started noticing it when I started driving "gently" to save on gas.
With the wife's car I can take my feet off the gas once I turn into the street and that last push of the pedal coasts me all the way to the garage....

With the X? Nope, it downshifts as if I am trying to use the engine as a break. I put it down to how a BMW drives...?? It is not a violent downshifting though...

On the bright side, it reduces the gaddem break dust by slowing the car down!

+1

yup, mine's the same way, it actually lets me step on the brake much much less frequently while driving in the city so I kind of like it.

I only feel this in DS mode (not manual)... and figured it was normal for a sports feature.

Unlike RH71, I definitely get this in standard D mode (i.e. non-sport) on my 4.8i. I also recall it occuring on the 3.0si in standard D mode during test drives. I only have 1200 miles on my car, so perhaps this does go away after a longer break-in (as RH71 suggested previously). Though that would be pretty strange, since this seems like the way the transmission is designed to operate for whatever reason.

It is .. I have to say I was very Impressed with my 4.6 E53 X5 when I was towing a trailer down a steep hill, when for the very first time I noticed.....after a good few years of owning other automatics, it actually changed down a gear :excited: ... to increase engine braking .. good idea I thought ... but the BMW engineers have taken it to a stupid level to reduce emissions with the E70, the sad fact is, it increases them as the engine is locked in a lower ratio for longer and you look like an idiot whilst it does so:( and the end result is a stupid transmission set up that doesnt work unless you thrash it .. soo no surprises at the fuel consumption then.. idiots .. who comes up with this stuff and designs these gearboxes ?? :clueless: :clueless:

Have noticed that it stops this behavior somewhat if the HVAC unit is fully off. If your weather permits, try driving without the HVAC and see if it makes a difference. Obvious question is why it would make a difference.

the most definite solution is to drive in manual mode. it will hold gear as long as the rpm is above threshold (then it auto downshifts).