A bug just got reported as a result of this for mac80211 drivers.
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=459399
The basic problem is that since taking the device down clears the keys
from the driver on many mac80211-based cards, and since the mode gets
set _after_ the keys have been set in the driver, the keys get cleared
on a mode switch and the resulting association is wrong. The report is
about ad-hoc mode specifically, but this could happen when switching
from adhoc back to managed mode.