diff --git a/bin/cros_run_vm_test b/bin/cros_run_vm_test
index 8c7f68f973..2bcdcf088c 100755
--- a/bin/cros_run_vm_test
+++ b/bin/cros_run_vm_test
@@ -31,8 +31,6 @@ find_common_sh
 . "${SCRIPT_ROOT}/lib/cros_vm_constants.sh" || \
   die "Unable to load cros_vm_constants.sh"
 
-MAX_RETRIES=3
-
 get_default_board
 
 DEFINE_string board "$DEFAULT_BOARD" \
@@ -88,8 +86,7 @@ done
 
 trap stop_kvm EXIT
 start_kvm "${FLAGS_image_path}"
-info "Checking for ssh access to virtual machine."
-retry_until_ssh ${MAX_RETRIES}
+retry_until_ssh
 
 if [ -n "${FLAGS_verify_chrome_version}" ]; then
   info "Verifying version of Chrome matches what we expect."
diff --git a/bin/cros_run_vm_update b/bin/cros_run_vm_update
index 04ca97b959..05a1d44afb 100755
--- a/bin/cros_run_vm_update
+++ b/bin/cros_run_vm_update
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ eval set -- "${FLAGS_ARGV}"
 
 trap stop_kvm EXIT
 start_kvm "${FLAGS_vm_image_path}"
+retry_until_ssh
 
 if [ -n "${FLAGS_update_image_path}" ]; then
   IMAGE_ARGS="--image=$(readlink -f ${FLAGS_update_image_path})"
diff --git a/lib/cros_vm_lib.sh b/lib/cros_vm_lib.sh
index 3a50a62705..1246baae39 100644
--- a/lib/cros_vm_lib.sh
+++ b/lib/cros_vm_lib.sh
@@ -100,10 +100,11 @@ function ssh_ping() {
 # shutting down and restarting kvm.
 function retry_until_ssh() {
   local can_ssh_into=1
+  local max_retries=3
   local retries=0
   ssh_ping && can_ssh_into=0
 
-  while [ ${can_ssh_into} -eq 1 ] && [ ${retries} -lt ${1} ]; do
+  while [ ${can_ssh_into} -eq 1 ] && [ ${retries} -lt ${max_retries} ]; do
     echo "Failed to connect to virtual machine, retrying ... " >&2
     stop_kvm || echo "Could not stop kvm.  Retrying anyway." >&2
     start_kvm "${LIVE_VM_IMAGE}"