diff --git a/hypershift-operator/controllers/hostedcluster/karpenter.go b/hypershift-operator/controllers/hostedcluster/karpenter.go
index 7aa958deba54..339266948a57 100644
--- a/hypershift-operator/controllers/hostedcluster/karpenter.go
+++ b/hypershift-operator/controllers/hostedcluster/karpenter.go
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import (
 	controlplanecomponent "github.com/openshift/hypershift/support/controlplane-component"
 	"github.com/openshift/hypershift/support/k8sutil"
 	karpenterutil "github.com/openshift/hypershift/support/karpenter"
+	"github.com/openshift/hypershift/support/statuspatching"
 
 	appsv1 "k8s.io/api/apps/v1"
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
@@ -48,16 +49,18 @@ func (r *HostedClusterReconciler) reconcileKarpenterOperator(cpContext controlpl
 			return fmt.Errorf("failed to reconcile karpenter component: %w", err)
 		}
 
-		// When Karpenter is disabled, clear stale node-counts from the HCP.
-		// HCP.Status.AutoNode holds NodeCount/NodeClaimCount written by the karpenter-operator
-		// while it was running. Since the karpenter-operator only runs when enabled, it cannot
-		// clear this itself.
-		if cpContext.HCP.Status.AutoNode != (hyperv1.AutoNodeStatus{}) {
-			patch := client.MergeFrom(cpContext.HCP.DeepCopy())
+		// Clear stale node-counts from the HCP. HCP.Status.AutoNode holds NodeCount/NodeClaimCount
+		// written by the karpenter-operator while it was running. Since the karpenter-operator only
+		// runs when enabled, it cannot clear this itself.
+		// No pre-check on cpContext.HCP.Status.AutoNode here: it's a cache read from earlier in the
+		// reconcile loop and can be stale relative to the live object, silently skipping the patch.
+		// PatchStatus re-fetches and no-ops via DeepEqual when there's nothing to clear, so the guard
+		// only adds a staleness risk without saving real work.
+		if err := statuspatching.PatchStatus(cpContext, cpContext.Client, cpContext.HCP, func() error {
 			cpContext.HCP.Status.AutoNode = hyperv1.AutoNodeStatus{}
-			if err := cpContext.Client.Status().Patch(cpContext, cpContext.HCP, patch); err != nil {
-				return fmt.Errorf("failed to clear AutoNode status: %w", err)
-			}
+			return nil
+		}); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to clear AutoNode status: %w", err)
 		}
 		// Also delete the taint ConfigMap — it is only valid while Karpenter is enabled.
 		if _, err := k8sutil.DeleteIfNeeded(cpContext, r.Client, &corev1.ConfigMap{
diff --git a/hypershift-operator/controllers/hostedcluster/karpenter_test.go b/hypershift-operator/controllers/hostedcluster/karpenter_test.go
index e6e6ccb23922..5ba307e6d3cd 100644
--- a/hypershift-operator/controllers/hostedcluster/karpenter_test.go
+++ b/hypershift-operator/controllers/hostedcluster/karpenter_test.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	karpenterv2 "github.com/openshift/hypershift/control-plane-operator/controllers/hostedcontrolplane/v2/karpenter"
 	karpenteroperatorv2 "github.com/openshift/hypershift/control-plane-operator/controllers/hostedcontrolplane/v2/karpenteroperator"
 	"github.com/openshift/hypershift/support/api"
+	controlplanecomponent "github.com/openshift/hypershift/support/controlplane-component"
 	karpenterutil "github.com/openshift/hypershift/support/karpenter"
 
 	appsv1 "k8s.io/api/apps/v1"
@@ -459,3 +460,72 @@ func TestReconcileAutoNodeEnabledCondition(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func TestReconcileKarpenterOperator(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name          string
+		staleAutoNode hyperv1.AutoNodeStatus
+		wantAutoNode  hyperv1.AutoNodeStatus
+	}{
+		{
+			name:          "When karpenter is disabled and AutoNode status is stale, it should clear the status",
+			staleAutoNode: hyperv1.AutoNodeStatus{NodeCount: ptr.To[int32](5)},
+			wantAutoNode:  hyperv1.AutoNodeStatus{},
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "When karpenter is disabled and AutoNode status is already empty, it should no-op",
+			staleAutoNode: hyperv1.AutoNodeStatus{},
+			wantAutoNode:  hyperv1.AutoNodeStatus{},
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			g := NewWithT(t)
+			ctx := context.Background()
+
+			hcp := &hyperv1.HostedControlPlane{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+					Name:      "test-hcp",
+					Namespace: "test-ns",
+				},
+			}
+
+			fakeClient := fake.NewClientBuilder().
+				WithScheme(api.Scheme).
+				WithObjects(hcp).
+				WithStatusSubresource(hcp).
+				Build()
+
+			// Set stale AutoNode status after creation (WithObjects doesn't persist status).
+			hcp.Status.AutoNode = tc.staleAutoNode
+			g.Expect(fakeClient.Status().Update(ctx, hcp)).To(Succeed())
+
+			r := &HostedClusterReconciler{
+				Client: fakeClient,
+			}
+
+			hcluster := &hyperv1.HostedCluster{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+					Name:      "test-cluster",
+					Namespace: "clusters",
+				},
+				// Spec.AutoNode is zero value — karpenter disabled.
+			}
+
+			cpContext := controlplanecomponent.ControlPlaneContext{
+				Context: ctx,
+				Client:  fakeClient,
+				HCP:     hcp,
+			}
+
+			err := r.reconcileKarpenterOperator(cpContext, hcluster, "image", "image")
+			g.Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+
+			updated := &hyperv1.HostedControlPlane{}
+			g.Expect(fakeClient.Get(ctx, crclient.ObjectKeyFromObject(hcp), updated)).To(Succeed())
+			g.Expect(updated.Status.AutoNode).To(Equal(tc.wantAutoNode),
+				"stale AutoNode status should be cleared when karpenter is disabled")
+		})
+	}
+}