diff --git a/system/sysctl b/system/sysctl
index 54f116c6c11..050c2effb1c 100644
--- a/system/sysctl
+++ b/system/sysctl
@@ -189,8 +189,9 @@ class SysctlModule(object):
         else:
             # system supports reloading via the -p flag to sysctl, so we'll use that 
             rc,out,err = self.module.run_command([self.sysctl_cmd, '-p', self.sysctl_file])
-            
-        return rc,out+err
+
+        if rc != 0:            
+            self.module.fail_json(msg="Failed to reload sysctl: %s" % str(out) + str(err))
 
     # ==============================================================
     #   SYSCTL FILE MANAGEMENT