diff --git a/packages/system/vertical-pod-autoscaler/templates/vpa-for-vpa.yaml b/packages/system/vertical-pod-autoscaler/templates/vpa-for-vpa.yaml
index 73df18b0d..04118e71f 100644
--- a/packages/system/vertical-pod-autoscaler/templates/vpa-for-vpa.yaml
+++ b/packages/system/vertical-pod-autoscaler/templates/vpa-for-vpa.yaml
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ spec:
     kind: Deployment
     name: {{ dig "vertical-pod-autoscaler" "nameOverride" "" .Values.AsMap | default "vertical-pod-autoscaler" | trunc 63 | trimSuffix "-" }}-recommender
   updatePolicy:
-    updateMode: Auto
+    updateMode: Recreate
 ---
 apiVersion: autoscaling.k8s.io/v1
 kind: VerticalPodAutoscaler
@@ -82,5 +82,5 @@ spec:
     kind: Deployment
     name: vpa-for-vpa-recommender
   updatePolicy:
-    updateMode: Auto
+    updateMode: Recreate
 {{- end }}
diff --git a/packages/system/vertical-pod-autoscaler/tests/vpa_test.yaml b/packages/system/vertical-pod-autoscaler/tests/vpa_test.yaml
index baabe393f..b2e50905d 100644
--- a/packages/system/vertical-pod-autoscaler/tests/vpa_test.yaml
+++ b/packages/system/vertical-pod-autoscaler/tests/vpa_test.yaml
@@ -28,3 +28,18 @@ tests:
     asserts:
       - hasDocuments:
           count: 0
+
+  # updateMode Auto is deprecated since VPA 1.4 (an alias for Recreate that will
+  # be removed in a future API version). Pin the vpa-for-vpa
+  # VerticalPodAutoscalers to the explicit, non-deprecated Recreate so the bump
+  # does not leave a deprecated value behind.
+  - it: pins the vpa-for-vpa VerticalPodAutoscalers to updateMode Recreate
+    template: templates/vpa-for-vpa.yaml
+    documentSelector:
+      path: kind
+      value: VerticalPodAutoscaler
+      matchMany: true
+    asserts:
+      - equal:
+          path: spec.updatePolicy.updateMode
+          value: Recreate