diff --git a/drivers/watchdog/renesas_wdt.c b/drivers/watchdog/renesas_wdt.c
index 84bb9d328180..0d74c3e48979 100644
--- a/drivers/watchdog/renesas_wdt.c
+++ b/drivers/watchdog/renesas_wdt.c
@@ -231,6 +231,7 @@ static int rwdt_probe(struct platform_device *pdev)
 	watchdog_set_drvdata(&priv->wdev, priv);
 	watchdog_set_nowayout(&priv->wdev, nowayout);
 	watchdog_set_restart_priority(&priv->wdev, 0);
+	watchdog_stop_on_unregister(&priv->wdev);
 
 	/* This overrides the default timeout only if DT configuration was found */
 	ret = watchdog_init_timeout(&priv->wdev, 0, &pdev->dev);