diff --git a/drivers/watchdog/via_wdt.c b/drivers/watchdog/via_wdt.c
index d2cd9f0..56369c4 100644
--- a/drivers/watchdog/via_wdt.c
+++ b/drivers/watchdog/via_wdt.c
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@
 static void wdt_remove(struct pci_dev *pdev)
 {
 	watchdog_unregister_device(&wdt_dev);
-	del_timer(&timer);
+	del_timer_sync(&timer);
 	iounmap(wdt_mem);
 	release_mem_region(mmio, VIA_WDT_MMIO_LEN);
 	release_resource(&wdt_res);