I have put about 2K miles on my car at this point. I have noticed in several situations where I have the car in "manual" mode (but not shifting manually) that the tranny seems to shift down to 3 fairly quickly going up a hill, then when I get to the crest it stays there a bit long, then goes to 4 for a brief second and on to 5. It seems to be downshifting to 3 when it is not needed and then wants to jump right past 4 to 5.

Anyone experienced this or have any thoughts. I know my e60 was a very different set up but I never experienced shifting that seemed inappropriate.

 

My 550i with Sport Auto doesn't have those issues. In the full manual mode (indicated as M1-M6) it won't downshift until nearly stopped (or floored), nor upshift until redline. In sport mode (indicated as S1-S5) it just seems to hold gears quite long. But I don't use sport mode for long, I go straight into manual mode.

 

Something tells me, as Richard implies, that the OP isn't really in manual mode...

 

From the normal drive position I push the shifter over to the left, which gives me the M1-M5 sport mode (without pushing the sport button behind the shifter). This is the mode where I am experiencing the issue.

I have noticed like Richard that this mode does not downshift until you almost stop.

 

On mine, just pushing the lever to the left, puts it in sport or "S" mode. It would show S4, S5, etc on the dash. It will downshift and hold the gears on a hill as described by the OP. if you then push the lever forwards or backwards (or use the paddles if equipped), it enters "M" mode showing M3, M4, etc. At that point, it won't upshift until redline or downshift until nearly stopped.

Note that in "D" mode, using the paddles puts it directly in "M" mode but only temporarily. Unless you come to a stop and then it will stay in M mode requiring manual upshifts until back up to speed.

 

Yes, exactly how mine works. The issue is when it is in "S" mode it seems to be shifting to S3 when not necessary and holding it too long, then when it goes to S4 for a brief second it goes right to S5. It just seems to be out of shift timing compared to my previous car.