diff --git a/cmd/geth/main.go b/cmd/geth/main.go
index 5b5aa11b627ee..d1abdca47e9e2 100644
--- a/cmd/geth/main.go
+++ b/cmd/geth/main.go
@@ -394,7 +394,7 @@ func startNode(ctx *cli.Context, stack *node.Node, backend ethapi.Backend) {
 		}
 		ethBackend, ok := backend.(*eth.EthAPIBackend)
 		if !ok {
-			utils.Fatalf("Ethereum service not running: %v", err)
+			utils.Fatalf("Ethereum service not running")
 		}
 		// Set the gas price to the limits from the CLI and start mining
 		gasprice := utils.GlobalBig(ctx, utils.MinerGasPriceFlag.Name)