diff --git a/src/go/k8s/pkg/resources/statefulset.go b/src/go/k8s/pkg/resources/statefulset.go
index a207e81adcd7..0af5659d9b1f 100644
--- a/src/go/k8s/pkg/resources/statefulset.go
+++ b/src/go/k8s/pkg/resources/statefulset.go
@@ -516,7 +516,9 @@ func (r *StatefulSetResource) obj(
 		},
 	}
 
-	if featuregates.MaintenanceMode(r.pandaCluster.Spec.Version) && r.pandaCluster.IsUsingMaintenanceModeHooks() {
+	// Only multi-replica clusters should use maintenance mode. See: https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda/issues/4338
+	multiReplica := r.pandaCluster.Spec.Replicas != nil && *r.pandaCluster.Spec.Replicas > 1
+	if featuregates.MaintenanceMode(r.pandaCluster.Spec.Version) && r.pandaCluster.IsUsingMaintenanceModeHooks() && multiReplica {
 		ss.Spec.Template.Spec.Containers[0].Lifecycle = &corev1.Lifecycle{
 			PreStop:   r.getPreStopHook(),
 			PostStart: r.getPostStartHook(),