diff --git a/test/e2e/storage/BUILD b/test/e2e/storage/BUILD
index 56e4bd1f96b..a4361e764ac 100644
--- a/test/e2e/storage/BUILD
+++ b/test/e2e/storage/BUILD
@@ -66,6 +66,8 @@ go_library(
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/serviceaccount:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes/typed/core/v1:go_default_library",
+        "//staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/tools/cache:go_default_library",
+        "//staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/tools/watch:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/cloud-provider/volume/helpers:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/component-base/metrics/testutil:go_default_library",
         "//test/e2e/framework:go_default_library",
diff --git a/test/e2e/storage/csi_mock_volume.go b/test/e2e/storage/csi_mock_volume.go
index 74fad8c24e0..7d706c89db2 100644
--- a/test/e2e/storage/csi_mock_volume.go
+++ b/test/e2e/storage/csi_mock_volume.go
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/wait"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/watch"
 	clientset "k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes"
+	cachetools "k8s.io/client-go/tools/cache"
+	watchtools "k8s.io/client-go/tools/watch"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/controller/volume/scheduling"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/test/e2e/framework"
 	e2epod "k8s.io/kubernetes/test/e2e/framework/pod"
@@ -821,7 +823,20 @@ var _ = utils.SIGDescribe("CSI mock volume", func() {
 
 				ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), csiPodRunningTimeout)
 				defer cancel()
-				pvcWatch, err := f.ClientSet.CoreV1().PersistentVolumeClaims(f.Namespace.Name).Watch(ctx, metav1.ListOptions{})
+
+				// In contrast to the raw watch, RetryWatcher is expected to deliver all events even
+				// when the underlying raw watch gets closed prematurely
+				// (https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/93777#discussion_r467932080).
+				// This is important because below the test is going to make assertions about the
+				// PVC state changes.
+				initResource, err := f.ClientSet.CoreV1().PersistentVolumeClaims(f.Namespace.Name).List(ctx, metav1.ListOptions{})
+				framework.ExpectNoError(err, "Failed to fetch initial PVC resource")
+				listWatcher := &cachetools.ListWatch{
+					WatchFunc: func(listOptions metav1.ListOptions) (watch.Interface, error) {
+						return f.ClientSet.CoreV1().PersistentVolumeClaims(f.Namespace.Name).Watch(ctx, listOptions)
+					},
+				}
+				pvcWatch, err := watchtools.NewRetryWatcher(initResource.GetResourceVersion(), listWatcher)
 				framework.ExpectNoError(err, "create PVC watch")
 				defer pvcWatch.Stop()
 
@@ -889,12 +904,14 @@ var _ = utils.SIGDescribe("CSI mock volume", func() {
 				ginkgo.By("Checking PVC events")
 				nodeAnnotationSet := false
 				nodeAnnotationReset := false
+				watchFailed := false
 			loop:
 				for {
 					select {
 					case event, ok := <-pvcWatch.ResultChan():
 						if !ok {
-							framework.Failf("PVC watch ended prematurely")
+							watchFailed = true
+							break loop
 						}
 
 						framework.Logf("PVC event %s: %#v", event.Type, event.Object)
@@ -913,10 +930,8 @@ var _ = utils.SIGDescribe("CSI mock volume", func() {
 						case watch.Deleted:
 							break loop
 						case watch.Error:
-							// Can this occur when the apiserver is under heavy load?
-							// If yes, then we should bail out of the test here early and
-							// skip further checks instead of treating it as a test failure.
-							framework.Failf("PVC watch failed prematurely: %v", event.Object)
+							watchFailed = true
+							break
 						}
 					case <-ctx.Done():
 						framework.Failf("Timeout while waiting to observe PVC list")
@@ -932,7 +947,13 @@ var _ = utils.SIGDescribe("CSI mock volume", func() {
 						}
 					}
 
-					if test.lateBinding {
+					switch {
+					case watchFailed:
+						// If the watch failed or stopped prematurely (which can happen at any time), then we cannot
+						// verify whether the annotation was set as expected. This is still considered a successful
+						// test.
+						framework.Logf("PVC watch delivered incomplete data, cannot check annotation")
+					case test.lateBinding:
 						gomega.Expect(nodeAnnotationSet).To(gomega.BeTrue(), "selected-node should have been set")
 						// Whether it gets reset depends on whether we have topology enabled. Without
 						// it, rescheduling is unnecessary.
@@ -941,7 +962,7 @@ var _ = utils.SIGDescribe("CSI mock volume", func() {
 						} else {
 							gomega.Expect(nodeAnnotationReset).To(gomega.BeFalse(), "selected-node should not have been reset")
 						}
-					} else {
+					default:
 						gomega.Expect(nodeAnnotationSet).To(gomega.BeFalse(), "selected-node should not have been set")
 						gomega.Expect(nodeAnnotationReset).To(gomega.BeFalse(), "selected-node should not have been reset")
 					}