diff --git a/internal/kmmmodule/kmmmodule.go b/internal/kmmmodule/kmmmodule.go
index df04f657..bd9f71a6 100644
--- a/internal/kmmmodule/kmmmodule.go
+++ b/internal/kmmmodule/kmmmodule.go
@@ -273,9 +273,11 @@ func (km *kmmModule) setKMMModuleLoader(ctx context.Context, mod *kmmv1beta1.Mod
 	}
 
 	// Use ionic_rdma as the main module (topmost module in the dependency chain)
-	// KMM's modulesLoadingOrder expects: [topmost module, then what it depends on, etc.]
-	// Dependency chain: ionic_rdma -> ionic -> pds_core -> tawk_ipc
-	// For unloading, KMM will reverse this order automatically
+	// KMM's modulesLoadingOrder expects: [topmost module, then soft deps it needs]
+	// ionic is a hard kernel dependency of ionic_rdma (handled by depmod/modprobe
+	// automatically) and must NOT be in modulesLoadingOrder — including it prevents
+	// KMM from unloading pds_core and tawk_ipc via the softdep reverse chain.
+	// Only soft dependencies (not tracked by depmod) belong in this list.
 	moduleName := networkDriverModuleName
 	var modulesLoadingOrder []string
 
@@ -289,13 +291,12 @@ func (km *kmmModule) setKMMModuleLoader(ctx context.Context, mod *kmmv1beta1.Mod
 		modulesLoadingOrder = mod.Spec.ModuleLoader.Container.Modprobe.ModulesLoadingOrder
 		kmlog.Info(fmt.Sprintf("Preserving existing modulesLoadingOrder for upgrade: %v", modulesLoadingOrder))
 	} else {
-		// New installation: use correct module loading order
-		// ionic_rdma is the topmost module, followed by its dependencies
+		// New installation: only list soft dependencies that depmod doesn't know about.
+		// ionic is omitted because it is a hard kernel dependency of ionic_rdma.
 		modulesLoadingOrder = []string{
 			networkDriverModuleName, // ionic_rdma (topmost module)
-			ionicModuleName,         // ionic (ionic_rdma depends on this)
-			pdsCoreModuleName,       // pds_core (ionic depends on this)
-			tawkIPCModuleName,       // tawk_ipc (pds_core depends on this)
+			pdsCoreModuleName,       // pds_core (soft dep)
+			tawkIPCModuleName,       // tawk_ipc (soft dep)
 		}
 		kmlog.Info(fmt.Sprintf("Using new modulesLoadingOrder for fresh installation: %v", modulesLoadingOrder))
 	}
diff --git a/internal/kmmmodule/kmmmodule_test.go b/internal/kmmmodule/kmmmodule_test.go
index c1301155..110937cb 100644
--- a/internal/kmmmodule/kmmmodule_test.go
+++ b/internal/kmmmodule/kmmmodule_test.go
@@ -331,7 +331,6 @@ var _ = PDescribe("setKMMModuleLoader", func() {
 		expectedMod.Spec.ModuleLoader.Container.Modprobe.ModuleName = networkDriverModuleName
 		expectedMod.Spec.ModuleLoader.Container.Modprobe.ModulesLoadingOrder = []string{
 			networkDriverModuleName,
-			ionicModuleName,
 			pdsCoreModuleName,
 			tawkIPCModuleName,
 		}
@@ -410,7 +409,6 @@ var _ = PDescribe("setKMMModuleLoader", func() {
 		expectedMod.Spec.ModuleLoader.Container.Modprobe.ModuleName = networkDriverModuleName
 		expectedMod.Spec.ModuleLoader.Container.Modprobe.ModulesLoadingOrder = []string{
 			networkDriverModuleName,
-			ionicModuleName,
 			pdsCoreModuleName,
 			tawkIPCModuleName,
 		}