diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/legacy-cloud-providers/azure/azure_managedDiskController.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/legacy-cloud-providers/azure/azure_managedDiskController.go
index 19049409dd0..877971df113 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/legacy-cloud-providers/azure/azure_managedDiskController.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/legacy-cloud-providers/azure/azure_managedDiskController.go
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ func (c *ManagedDiskController) CreateManagedDisk(options *ManagedDiskOptions) (
 	klog.V(4).Infof("azureDisk - creating new managed Name:%s StorageAccountType:%s Size:%v", options.DiskName, options.StorageAccountType, options.SizeGB)
 
 	var createZones *[]string
-	if len(options.AvailabilityZone) > 0 {
+	if len(options.AvailabilityZone) > 0 && options.AvailabilityZone != "0" {
 		zoneList := []string{c.common.cloud.GetZoneID(options.AvailabilityZone)}
 		createZones = &zoneList
 	}
@@ -161,13 +161,16 @@ func (c *ManagedDiskController) CreateManagedDisk(options *ManagedDiskOptions) (
 	model := compute.Disk{
 		Location: &c.common.location,
 		Tags:     newTags,
-		Zones:    createZones,
 		Sku: &compute.DiskSku{
 			Name: diskSku,
 		},
 		DiskProperties: &diskProperties,
 	}
 
+	if createZones != nil && len(*createZones) > 0 {
+		model.Zones = createZones
+	}
+
 	if options.ResourceGroup == "" {
 		options.ResourceGroup = c.common.resourceGroup
 	}
diff --git a/test/e2e/framework/providers/azure/azure.go b/test/e2e/framework/providers/azure/azure.go
index 18463db7774..4ddd7fb33e1 100644
--- a/test/e2e/framework/providers/azure/azure.go
+++ b/test/e2e/framework/providers/azure/azure.go
@@ -72,10 +72,14 @@ func (p *Provider) CreatePD(zone string) (string, error) {
 		PVCName:            pdName,
 		SizeGB:             1,
 		Tags:               nil,
-		AvailabilityZone:   zone,
 		DiskIOPSReadWrite:  "",
 		DiskMBpsReadWrite:  "",
 	}
+
+	// do not use blank zone definition
+	if len(zone) > 0 && zone != "0" {
+		volumeOptions.AvailabilityZone = zone
+	}
 	return p.azureCloud.CreateManagedDisk(volumeOptions)
 }