diff --git a/test/e2e/node/node_problem_detector.go b/test/e2e/node/node_problem_detector.go
index ec2cfff3197..1529229e6b6 100644
--- a/test/e2e/node/node_problem_detector.go
+++ b/test/e2e/node/node_problem_detector.go
@@ -360,6 +360,8 @@ func getNpdPodStat(f *framework.Framework, nodeName string) (cpuUsage, rss, work
 		hasNpdPod = true
 		break
 	}
-	framework.ExpectEqual(hasNpdPod, true)
+	if !hasNpdPod {
+		framework.Failf("No node-problem-detector pod is present in %+v", summary.Pods)
+	}
 	return
 }