diff --git a/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go b/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go
index 321d0a9ec2..9adf964c34 100644
--- a/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go
+++ b/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go
@@ -119,13 +119,14 @@ const (
 )
 
 var (
-	registryMirror   []string
-	dockerEnv        []string
-	dockerOpt        []string
-	insecureRegistry []string
-	apiServerNames   []string
-	apiServerIPs     []net.IP
-	extraOptions     cfg.ExtraOptionSlice
+	registryMirror           []string
+	dockerEnv                []string
+	dockerOpt                []string
+	insecureRegistry         []string
+	apiServerNames           []string
+	apiServerIPs             []net.IP
+	extraOptions             cfg.ExtraOptionSlice
+	enableUpdateNotification = true
 )
 
 func init() {
@@ -290,13 +291,7 @@ func runStart(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 	validateFlags(driver)
 	validateUser(driver)
 
-	v, err := version.GetSemverVersion()
-	if err != nil {
-		out.WarningT("Error parsing minikube version: {{.error}}", out.V{"error": err})
-	} else if err := drivers.InstallOrUpdate(driver, localpath.MakeMiniPath("bin"), v, viper.GetBool(interactive)); err != nil {
-		out.WarningT("Unable to update {{.driver}} driver: {{.error}}", out.V{"driver": driver, "error": err})
-	}
-
+	_ = getMinikubeVersion(driver)
 	k8sVersion, isUpgrade := getKubernetesVersion(oldConfig)
 	config, err := generateCfgFromFlags(cmd, k8sVersion, driver)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -927,6 +922,17 @@ func validateNetwork(h *host.Host) string {
 	return ip
 }
 
+// getMinikubeVersion ensures that the driver binary is up to date
+func getMinikubeVersion(driver string) string {
+	v, err := version.GetSemverVersion()
+	if err != nil {
+		out.WarningT("Error parsing minikube version: {{.error}}", out.V{"error": err})
+	} else if err := drivers.InstallOrUpdate(driver, localpath.MakeMiniPath("bin"), v, viper.GetBool(interactive)); err != nil {
+		out.WarningT("Unable to update {{.driver}} driver: {{.error}}", out.V{"driver": driver, "error": err})
+	}
+	return v.String()
+}
+
 // getKubernetesVersion ensures that the requested version is reasonable
 func getKubernetesVersion(old *cfg.Config) (string, bool) {
 	rawVersion := viper.GetString(kubernetesVersion)
diff --git a/cmd/minikube/cmd/update-check.go b/cmd/minikube/cmd/update-check.go
index ec519cae35..5fab5cfe05 100644
--- a/cmd/minikube/cmd/update-check.go
+++ b/cmd/minikube/cmd/update-check.go
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ var updateCheckCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "update-check",
 	Short: "Print current and latest version number",
 	Long:  `Print current and latest version number`,
+	PersistentPreRun: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		// Explicitly disable update checking for the version command
+		enableUpdateNotification = false
+	},
 	Run: func(command *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 		url := notify.GithubMinikubeReleasesURL
 		r, err := notify.GetAllVersionsFromURL(url)
diff --git a/cmd/minikube/cmd/version.go b/cmd/minikube/cmd/version.go
index 00c61efd88..a7cb944d0d 100644
--- a/cmd/minikube/cmd/version.go
+++ b/cmd/minikube/cmd/version.go
@@ -26,6 +26,10 @@ var versionCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "version",
 	Short: "Print the version of minikube",
 	Long:  `Print the version of minikube.`,
+	PersistentPreRun: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		// Explicitly disable update checking for the version command
+		enableUpdateNotification = false
+	},
 	Run: func(command *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 		out.Ln("minikube version: %v", version.GetVersion())
 		gitCommitID := version.GetGitCommitID()