diff --git a/drivers/spi/mpc8xxx_spi.c b/drivers/spi/mpc8xxx_spi.c
index 44ab39dd3f..4e46041dff 100644
--- a/drivers/spi/mpc8xxx_spi.c
+++ b/drivers/spi/mpc8xxx_spi.c
@@ -124,6 +124,8 @@ int spi_xfer(struct spi_slave *slave, unsigned int bitlen, const void *dout,
 		 * len > 16               0
 		 */
 
+		spi->mode &= ~SPI_MODE_EN;
+
 		if (bitlen <= 16) {
 			if (bitlen <= 4)
 				spi->mode = (spi->mode & 0xff0fffff) |
@@ -138,6 +140,8 @@ int spi_xfer(struct spi_slave *slave, unsigned int bitlen, const void *dout,
 			dout += 4;
 		}
 
+		spi->mode |= SPI_MODE_EN;
+
 		spi->tx = tmpdout;	/* Write the data out */
 		debug("*** spi_xfer: ... %08x written\n", tmpdout);