diff --git a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-tegra.c b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-tegra.c
index 9fd5ade774a0..c24b8de0a9c7 100644
--- a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-tegra.c
+++ b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-tegra.c
@@ -1666,8 +1666,10 @@ static int tegra_i2c_xfer(struct i2c_adapter *adap, struct i2c_msg msgs[],
 	}
 
 	ret = tegra_i2c_mutex_lock(i2c_dev);
-	if (ret)
+	if (ret) {
+		pm_runtime_put(i2c_dev->dev);
 		return ret;
+	}
 
 	for (i = 0; i < num; i++) {
 		enum msg_end_type end_type = MSG_END_STOP;