I was out in my car (E61 535D) today and noticed that when driving with the transmission in manual mode, it will still change down in auto if it thinks I'm in too high a gear for the road. It doesn't change up if you pull away in manual and put your foot down, just down as you're cruising.

Can anyone tell me if this is normal?

 

It sounds normal, it will downshift if you are running in what the car thinks to be a to high a gear, it will also up shift for you if you get to close to the revlimiter.

 

Ok, thanks for the swift reassurance.

 

Its normal, mine does it too.

 

+1 .. .. even in "manual mode" technology over-rides humans to avoid drive-train or engine damage.