diff --git a/drivers/ata/libata-eh.c b/drivers/ata/libata-eh.c
index c7336a0a884d..b80e68000dd3 100644
--- a/drivers/ata/libata-eh.c
+++ b/drivers/ata/libata-eh.c
@@ -1817,9 +1817,7 @@ static unsigned int ata_eh_speed_down(struct ata_device *dev,
 	verdict = ata_eh_speed_down_verdict(dev);
 
 	/* turn off NCQ? */
-	if ((verdict & ATA_EH_SPDN_NCQ_OFF) &&
-	    (dev->flags & (ATA_DFLAG_PIO | ATA_DFLAG_NCQ |
-			   ATA_DFLAG_NCQ_OFF)) == ATA_DFLAG_NCQ) {
+	if ((verdict & ATA_EH_SPDN_NCQ_OFF) && ata_ncq_enabled(dev)) {
 		dev->flags |= ATA_DFLAG_NCQ_OFF;
 		ata_dev_warn(dev, "NCQ disabled due to excessive errors\n");
 		goto done;