diff --git a/cmd/kubelet/app/BUILD b/cmd/kubelet/app/BUILD
index a837a646d64..5e9cf6fc816 100644
--- a/cmd/kubelet/app/BUILD
+++ b/cmd/kubelet/app/BUILD
@@ -113,6 +113,7 @@ go_library(
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/api/core/v1:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1:go_default_library",
+        "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/runtime:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/sets:go_default_library",
diff --git a/cmd/kubelet/app/server.go b/cmd/kubelet/app/server.go
index 69f0e35d0a9..420c585fdaf 100644
--- a/cmd/kubelet/app/server.go
+++ b/cmd/kubelet/app/server.go
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import (
 	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strconv"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/coreos/go-systemd/daemon"
@@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ import (
 	v1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types"
 	utilruntime "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/sets"
@@ -757,6 +759,11 @@ func buildKubeletClientConfig(s *options.KubeletServer, nodeName types.NodeName)
 			return nil, nil, err
 		}
 
+		// use the correct content type for cert rotation, but don't set QPS
+		setContentTypeForClient(certConfig, s.ContentType)
+
+		kubeClientConfigOverrides(s, clientConfig)
+
 		clientCertificateManager, err := buildClientCertificateManager(certConfig, clientConfig, s.CertDirectory, nodeName)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, nil, err
@@ -764,7 +771,6 @@ func buildKubeletClientConfig(s *options.KubeletServer, nodeName types.NodeName)
 
 		// the rotating transport will use the cert from the cert manager instead of these files
 		transportConfig := restclient.AnonymousClientConfig(clientConfig)
-		kubeClientConfigOverrides(s, transportConfig)
 
 		// we set exitAfter to five minutes because we use this client configuration to request new certs - if we are unable
 		// to request new certs, we will be unable to continue normal operation. Exiting the process allows a wrapper
@@ -836,7 +842,7 @@ func buildClientCertificateManager(certConfig, clientConfig *restclient.Config,
 }
 
 func kubeClientConfigOverrides(s *options.KubeletServer, clientConfig *restclient.Config) {
-	clientConfig.ContentType = s.ContentType
+	setContentTypeForClient(clientConfig, s.ContentType)
 	// Override kubeconfig qps/burst settings from flags
 	clientConfig.QPS = float32(s.KubeAPIQPS)
 	clientConfig.Burst = int(s.KubeAPIBurst)
@@ -930,6 +936,21 @@ func InitializeTLS(kf *options.KubeletFlags, kc *kubeletconfiginternal.KubeletCo
 	return tlsOptions, nil
 }
 
+// setContentTypeForClient sets the appropritae content type into the rest config
+// and handles defaulting AcceptContentTypes based on that input.
+func setContentTypeForClient(cfg *restclient.Config, contentType string) {
+	if len(contentType) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	cfg.ContentType = contentType
+	switch contentType {
+	case runtime.ContentTypeProtobuf:
+		cfg.AcceptContentTypes = strings.Join([]string{runtime.ContentTypeProtobuf, runtime.ContentTypeJSON}, ",")
+	default:
+		// otherwise let the rest client perform defaulting
+	}
+}
+
 // RunKubelet is responsible for setting up and running a kubelet.  It is used in three different applications:
 //   1 Integration tests
 //   2 Kubelet binary
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/types.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/types.go
index eb284eac279..3d3ebe5f9d1 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/types.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/types.go
@@ -41,9 +41,8 @@ type TypeMeta struct {
 }
 
 const (
-	ContentTypeJSON string = "application/json"
-	ContentTypeYAML string = "application/yaml"
-
+	ContentTypeJSON     string = "application/json"
+	ContentTypeYAML     string = "application/yaml"
 	ContentTypeProtobuf string = "application/vnd.kubernetes.protobuf"
 )