diff --git a/kernel/rcu/refscale.c b/kernel/rcu/refscale.c
index afa3e1a2f690..1970ce5f22d4 100644
--- a/kernel/rcu/refscale.c
+++ b/kernel/rcu/refscale.c
@@ -1031,7 +1031,7 @@ ref_scale_cleanup(void)
 static int
 ref_scale_shutdown(void *arg)
 {
-	wait_event(shutdown_wq, shutdown_start);
+	wait_event_idle(shutdown_wq, shutdown_start);
 
 	smp_mb(); // Wake before output.
 	ref_scale_cleanup();