diff --git a/pkg/frontend/admin_openshiftcluster_vmresize_pre_validation.go b/pkg/frontend/admin_openshiftcluster_vmresize_pre_validation.go
index 56e1c5b043f..422fb387cc3 100644
--- a/pkg/frontend/admin_openshiftcluster_vmresize_pre_validation.go
+++ b/pkg/frontend/admin_openshiftcluster_vmresize_pre_validation.go
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/go-chi/chi/v5"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+
 	configv1 "github.com/openshift/api/config/v1"
 	operatorv1 "github.com/openshift/api/operator/v1"
 
@@ -104,10 +106,23 @@ func (f *frontend) _getPreResizeControlPlaneVMsValidation(
 		}
 	}
 
+	if err := k.CheckAPIServerReadyz(ctx); err != nil {
+		return nil, api.NewCloudError(
+			http.StatusInternalServerError,
+			api.CloudErrorCodeInternalServerError, "kube-apiserver",
+			fmt.Sprintf("API server is reporting a non-ready status: %v", err))
+	}
+
 	var wg sync.WaitGroup
 
 	wg.Go(func() { collect(f.validateVMSKU(ctx, doc, subscriptionDoc, desiredVMSize, log)) })
-	wg.Go(func() { collect(validateAPIServerHealth(ctx, k)) })
+	wg.Go(func() {
+		if err := validateAPIServerHealth(ctx, k); err != nil {
+			collect(err)
+			return
+		}
+		collect(validateAPIServerPods(ctx, k))
+	})
 	wg.Go(func() { collect(validateEtcdHealth(ctx, k)) })
 	wg.Go(func() { collect(validateClusterSP(ctx, k)) })
 
@@ -124,7 +139,7 @@ func (f *frontend) _getPreResizeControlPlaneVMsValidation(
 		}
 	}
 
-	return json.Marshal("All pre-flight checks passed")
+	return json.Marshal(map[string]string{"status": "passed"})
 }
 
 // defaultValidateResizeQuota creates an FP-authorized compute usage client and
@@ -218,8 +233,9 @@ func quotaCheckDisabled(_ context.Context, _ env.Interface, _ *api.SubscriptionD
 	return nil
 }
 
-// validateAPIServerHealth verifies that the kube-apiserver ClusterOperator is
-// healthy (Available=True, Progressing=False, Degraded=False).
+// validateAPIServerHealth verifies that the kube-apiserver ClusterOperator is healthy
+// (Available=True, Progressing=False, Degraded=False).
+// Note: API server reachability is checked earlier via CheckAPIServerReadyz
 func validateAPIServerHealth(ctx context.Context, k adminactions.KubeActions) error {
 	rawCO, err := k.KubeGet(ctx, "ClusterOperator.config.openshift.io", "", "kube-apiserver")
 	if err != nil {
@@ -241,13 +257,83 @@ func validateAPIServerHealth(ctx context.Context, k adminactions.KubeActions) er
 		return api.NewCloudError(
 			http.StatusConflict,
 			api.CloudErrorCodeRequestNotAllowed, "kube-apiserver",
-			fmt.Sprintf("kube-apiserver is not healthy: %s. Resize is not safe while the API server is degraded.",
+			fmt.Sprintf("kube-apiserver is not healthy: %s. Resize is not safe while the API server is unhealthy.",
 				clusteroperators.OperatorStatusText(&co)))
 	}
 
 	return nil
 }
 
+func validateAPIServerPods(ctx context.Context, k adminactions.KubeActions) error {
+	const (
+		kubeAPIServerNamespace = "openshift-kube-apiserver"
+		kubeAPIServerAppLabel  = "openshift-kube-apiserver"
+	)
+
+	rawPods, err := k.KubeList(ctx, "Pod", kubeAPIServerNamespace)
+	if err != nil {
+		return api.NewCloudError(
+			http.StatusInternalServerError,
+			api.CloudErrorCodeInternalServerError, "kube-apiserver-pods",
+			fmt.Sprintf("Failed to list pods in %s namespace: %v", kubeAPIServerNamespace, err))
+	}
+
+	var podList corev1.PodList
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(rawPods, &podList); err != nil {
+		return api.NewCloudError(
+			http.StatusInternalServerError,
+			api.CloudErrorCodeInternalServerError, "kube-apiserver-pods",
+			fmt.Sprintf("Failed to parse pod list: %v", err))
+	}
+
+	var apiServerPodCount int
+	var unhealthyPods []string
+	for _, pod := range podList.Items {
+		if pod.Labels["app"] != kubeAPIServerAppLabel {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		apiServerPodCount++
+
+		if healthy, reason := isPodHealthy(&pod); !healthy {
+			unhealthyPods = append(unhealthyPods, fmt.Sprintf("%s (%s)", pod.Name, reason))
+		}
+	}
+
+	if apiServerPodCount != api.ControlPlaneNodeCount {
+		return api.NewCloudError(
+			http.StatusConflict,
+			api.CloudErrorCodeRequestNotAllowed, "kube-apiserver-pods",
+			fmt.Sprintf("Expected %d kube-apiserver pods, found %d. Resize is not safe without full API server redundancy.",
+				api.ControlPlaneNodeCount, apiServerPodCount))
+	}
+
+	if len(unhealthyPods) > 0 {
+		return api.NewCloudError(
+			http.StatusConflict,
+			api.CloudErrorCodeRequestNotAllowed, "kube-apiserver-pods",
+			fmt.Sprintf("Unhealthy kube-apiserver pods: %v. Resize is not safe without full API server redundancy.",
+				unhealthyPods))
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+func isPodHealthy(pod *corev1.Pod) (healthy bool, reason string) {
+	if pod.Status.Phase != corev1.PodRunning {
+		return false, fmt.Sprintf("phase: %s", pod.Status.Phase)
+	}
+	for _, cond := range pod.Status.Conditions {
+		if cond.Type == corev1.PodReady {
+			if cond.Status != corev1.ConditionTrue {
+				return false, "not ready"
+			}
+			return true, ""
+		}
+	}
+	return false, "Ready condition not found"
+}
+
 // validateEtcdHealth verifies that the etcd ClusterOperator is healthy.
 // Resizing takes a master offline, so all etcd members must be healthy.
 func validateEtcdHealth(ctx context.Context, k adminactions.KubeActions) error {
diff --git a/pkg/frontend/admin_openshiftcluster_vmresize_pre_validation_test.go b/pkg/frontend/admin_openshiftcluster_vmresize_pre_validation_test.go
index f18175ceba7..a46cb4a4d29 100644
--- a/pkg/frontend/admin_openshiftcluster_vmresize_pre_validation_test.go
+++ b/pkg/frontend/admin_openshiftcluster_vmresize_pre_validation_test.go
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"go.uber.org/mock/gomock"
 
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 
 	"github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-go/sdk/resourcemanager/compute/armcompute/v7"
@@ -77,11 +78,52 @@ func healthyEtcdJSON() []byte {
 	})
 }
 
+func fakeAPIServerPodListJSON(pods []corev1.Pod) []byte {
+	podList := corev1.PodList{Items: pods}
+	b, _ := json.Marshal(podList)
+	return b
+}
+
+func healthyAPIServerPod(name, nodeName string) corev1.Pod {
+	return corev1.Pod{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+			Name:      name,
+			Namespace: "openshift-kube-apiserver",
+			Labels:    map[string]string{"app": "openshift-kube-apiserver"},
+		},
+		Spec: corev1.PodSpec{
+			NodeName: nodeName,
+		},
+		Status: corev1.PodStatus{
+			Phase: corev1.PodRunning,
+			Conditions: []corev1.PodCondition{
+				{Type: corev1.PodReady, Status: corev1.ConditionTrue},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+func healthyAPIServerPodsJSON() []byte {
+	return fakeAPIServerPodListJSON([]corev1.Pod{
+		healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-0", "master-0"),
+		healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-1", "master-1"),
+		healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-2", "master-2"),
+	})
+}
+
 func allKubeChecksHealthyMock(k *mock_adminactions.MockKubeActions) {
+	k.EXPECT().
+		CheckAPIServerReadyz(gomock.Any()).
+		Return(nil).
+		AnyTimes()
 	k.EXPECT().
 		KubeGet(gomock.Any(), "ClusterOperator.config.openshift.io", "", "kube-apiserver").
 		Return(healthyKubeAPIServerJSON(), nil).
 		AnyTimes()
+	k.EXPECT().
+		KubeList(gomock.Any(), "Pod", "openshift-kube-apiserver").
+		Return(healthyAPIServerPodsJSON(), nil).
+		AnyTimes()
 	k.EXPECT().
 		KubeGet(gomock.Any(), "ClusterOperator.config.openshift.io", "", "etcd").
 		Return(healthyEtcdJSON(), nil).
@@ -160,7 +202,7 @@ func TestPreResizeControlPlaneVMsValidation(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			kubeMocks:      allKubeChecksHealthyMock,
 			wantStatusCode: http.StatusOK,
-			wantResponse:   []byte(`"All pre-flight checks passed"` + "\n"),
+			wantResponse:   []byte(`{"status":"passed"}` + "\n"),
 		},
 		{
 			name:       "missing vmSize parameter",
@@ -374,6 +416,45 @@ func TestPreResizeControlPlaneVMsValidation(t *testing.T) {
 			wantStatusCode: http.StatusBadRequest,
 			wantError:      `400: InvalidParameter: : Pre-flight validation failed. Details: InvalidParameter: vmSize: The selected SKU 'Standard_D8s_v3' is restricted in region 'eastus' for selected subscription`,
 		},
+		{
+			name:       "API server unreachable",
+			resourceID: testdatabase.GetResourcePath(mockSubID, "resourceName"),
+			vmSize:     "Standard_D8s_v3",
+			fixture: func(f *testdatabase.Fixture) {
+				f.AddOpenShiftClusterDocuments(&api.OpenShiftClusterDocument{
+					Key: strings.ToLower(testdatabase.GetResourcePath(mockSubID, "resourceName")),
+					OpenShiftCluster: &api.OpenShiftCluster{
+						ID:       testdatabase.GetResourcePath(mockSubID, "resourceName"),
+						Location: "eastus",
+						Properties: api.OpenShiftClusterProperties{
+							MasterProfile: api.MasterProfile{
+								VMSize: api.VMSizeStandardD8sV3,
+							},
+							ClusterProfile: api.ClusterProfile{
+								ResourceGroupID: fmt.Sprintf("/subscriptions/%s/resourceGroups/test-cluster", mockSubID),
+							},
+						},
+					},
+				})
+				f.AddSubscriptionDocuments(&api.SubscriptionDocument{
+					ID: mockSubID,
+					Subscription: &api.Subscription{
+						State: api.SubscriptionStateRegistered,
+						Properties: &api.SubscriptionProperties{
+							TenantID: mockTenantID,
+						},
+					},
+				})
+			},
+			mocks: func(tt *test, a *mock_adminactions.MockAzureActions) {},
+			kubeMocks: func(k *mock_adminactions.MockKubeActions) {
+				k.EXPECT().
+					CheckAPIServerReadyz(gomock.Any()).
+					Return(fmt.Errorf("connection refused"))
+			},
+			wantStatusCode: http.StatusInternalServerError,
+			wantError:      `500: InternalServerError: kube-apiserver: API server is reporting a non-ready status: connection refused`,
+		},
 	} {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			ti := newTestInfra(t).WithSubscriptions().WithOpenShiftClusters()
@@ -754,7 +835,7 @@ func TestValidateAPIServerHealth(t *testing.T) {
 						{Type: configv1.OperatorDegraded, Status: configv1.ConditionTrue},
 					}), nil)
 			},
-			wantErr: "409: RequestNotAllowed: kube-apiserver: kube-apiserver is not healthy: kube-apiserver Available=True, Progressing=False. Resize is not safe while the API server is degraded.",
+			wantErr: "409: RequestNotAllowed: kube-apiserver: kube-apiserver is not healthy: kube-apiserver Available=True, Progressing=False, Degraded=True. Resize is not safe while the API server is unhealthy.",
 		},
 		{
 			name: "kube-apiserver unavailable",
@@ -767,7 +848,7 @@ func TestValidateAPIServerHealth(t *testing.T) {
 						{Type: configv1.OperatorDegraded, Status: configv1.ConditionFalse},
 					}), nil)
 			},
-			wantErr: "409: RequestNotAllowed: kube-apiserver: kube-apiserver is not healthy: kube-apiserver Available=False, Progressing=True. Resize is not safe while the API server is degraded.",
+			wantErr: "409: RequestNotAllowed: kube-apiserver: kube-apiserver is not healthy: kube-apiserver Available=False, Progressing=True, Degraded=False. Resize is not safe while the API server is unhealthy.",
 		},
 		{
 			name: "KubeGet returns error",
@@ -828,7 +909,7 @@ func TestValidateEtcdHealth(t *testing.T) {
 						{Type: configv1.OperatorDegraded, Status: configv1.ConditionTrue},
 					}), nil)
 			},
-			wantErr: "409: RequestNotAllowed: etcd: etcd is not healthy: etcd Available=True, Progressing=False. Resize is not safe while etcd quorum is at risk.",
+			wantErr: "409: RequestNotAllowed: etcd: etcd is not healthy: etcd Available=True, Progressing=False, Degraded=True. Resize is not safe while etcd quorum is at risk.",
 		},
 		{
 			name: "etcd unavailable",
@@ -841,7 +922,7 @@ func TestValidateEtcdHealth(t *testing.T) {
 						{Type: configv1.OperatorDegraded, Status: configv1.ConditionFalse},
 					}), nil)
 			},
-			wantErr: "409: RequestNotAllowed: etcd: etcd is not healthy: etcd Available=False, Progressing=True. Resize is not safe while etcd quorum is at risk.",
+			wantErr: "409: RequestNotAllowed: etcd: etcd is not healthy: etcd Available=False, Progressing=True, Degraded=False. Resize is not safe while etcd quorum is at risk.",
 		},
 		{
 			name: "KubeGet returns error",
@@ -874,3 +955,184 @@ func TestValidateEtcdHealth(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func TestValidateAPIServerPods(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	for _, tt := range []struct {
+		name    string
+		mocks   func(*mock_adminactions.MockKubeActions)
+		wantErr string
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "all pods healthy",
+			mocks: func(k *mock_adminactions.MockKubeActions) {
+				k.EXPECT().
+					KubeList(gomock.Any(), "Pod", "openshift-kube-apiserver").
+					Return(healthyAPIServerPodsJSON(), nil)
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "KubeList returns error",
+			mocks: func(k *mock_adminactions.MockKubeActions) {
+				k.EXPECT().
+					KubeList(gomock.Any(), "Pod", "openshift-kube-apiserver").
+					Return(nil, fmt.Errorf("connection refused"))
+			},
+			wantErr: "500: InternalServerError: kube-apiserver-pods: Failed to list pods in openshift-kube-apiserver namespace: connection refused",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "KubeList returns invalid JSON",
+			mocks: func(k *mock_adminactions.MockKubeActions) {
+				k.EXPECT().
+					KubeList(gomock.Any(), "Pod", "openshift-kube-apiserver").
+					Return([]byte(`{invalid`), nil)
+			},
+			wantErr: "500: InternalServerError: kube-apiserver-pods: Failed to parse pod list: invalid character 'i' looking for beginning of object key string",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "only 2 apiserver pods",
+			mocks: func(k *mock_adminactions.MockKubeActions) {
+				k.EXPECT().
+					KubeList(gomock.Any(), "Pod", "openshift-kube-apiserver").
+					Return(fakeAPIServerPodListJSON([]corev1.Pod{
+						healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-0", "master-0"),
+						healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-1", "master-1"),
+					}), nil)
+			},
+			wantErr: "409: RequestNotAllowed: kube-apiserver-pods: Expected 3 kube-apiserver pods, found 2. Resize is not safe without full API server redundancy.",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "4 apiserver pods",
+			mocks: func(k *mock_adminactions.MockKubeActions) {
+				k.EXPECT().
+					KubeList(gomock.Any(), "Pod", "openshift-kube-apiserver").
+					Return(fakeAPIServerPodListJSON([]corev1.Pod{
+						healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-0", "master-0"),
+						healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-1", "master-1"),
+						healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-2", "master-2"),
+						healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-3", "master-3"),
+					}), nil)
+			},
+			wantErr: "409: RequestNotAllowed: kube-apiserver-pods: Expected 3 kube-apiserver pods, found 4. Resize is not safe without full API server redundancy.",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "one pod not running",
+			mocks: func(k *mock_adminactions.MockKubeActions) {
+				pods := []corev1.Pod{
+					healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-0", "master-0"),
+					healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-1", "master-1"),
+					{
+						ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+							Name:      "kube-apiserver-master-2",
+							Namespace: "openshift-kube-apiserver",
+							Labels:    map[string]string{"app": "openshift-kube-apiserver"},
+						},
+						Status: corev1.PodStatus{
+							Phase: corev1.PodPending,
+						},
+					},
+				}
+				k.EXPECT().
+					KubeList(gomock.Any(), "Pod", "openshift-kube-apiserver").
+					Return(fakeAPIServerPodListJSON(pods), nil)
+			},
+			wantErr: "409: RequestNotAllowed: kube-apiserver-pods: Unhealthy kube-apiserver pods: [kube-apiserver-master-2 (phase: Pending)]. Resize is not safe without full API server redundancy.",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "one pod not ready",
+			mocks: func(k *mock_adminactions.MockKubeActions) {
+				pods := []corev1.Pod{
+					healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-0", "master-0"),
+					healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-1", "master-1"),
+					{
+						ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+							Name:      "kube-apiserver-master-2",
+							Namespace: "openshift-kube-apiserver",
+							Labels:    map[string]string{"app": "openshift-kube-apiserver"},
+						},
+						Status: corev1.PodStatus{
+							Phase: corev1.PodRunning,
+							Conditions: []corev1.PodCondition{
+								{Type: corev1.PodReady, Status: corev1.ConditionFalse},
+							},
+						},
+					},
+				}
+				k.EXPECT().
+					KubeList(gomock.Any(), "Pod", "openshift-kube-apiserver").
+					Return(fakeAPIServerPodListJSON(pods), nil)
+			},
+			wantErr: "409: RequestNotAllowed: kube-apiserver-pods: Unhealthy kube-apiserver pods: [kube-apiserver-master-2 (not ready)]. Resize is not safe without full API server redundancy.",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "multiple unhealthy pods",
+			mocks: func(k *mock_adminactions.MockKubeActions) {
+				pods := []corev1.Pod{
+					healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-0", "master-0"),
+					{
+						ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+							Name:      "kube-apiserver-master-1",
+							Namespace: "openshift-kube-apiserver",
+							Labels:    map[string]string{"app": "openshift-kube-apiserver"},
+						},
+						Status: corev1.PodStatus{
+							Phase: corev1.PodFailed,
+						},
+					},
+					{
+						ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+							Name:      "kube-apiserver-master-2",
+							Namespace: "openshift-kube-apiserver",
+							Labels:    map[string]string{"app": "openshift-kube-apiserver"},
+						},
+						Status: corev1.PodStatus{
+							Phase: corev1.PodRunning,
+							Conditions: []corev1.PodCondition{
+								{Type: corev1.PodReady, Status: corev1.ConditionFalse},
+							},
+						},
+					},
+				}
+				k.EXPECT().
+					KubeList(gomock.Any(), "Pod", "openshift-kube-apiserver").
+					Return(fakeAPIServerPodListJSON(pods), nil)
+			},
+			wantErr: "409: RequestNotAllowed: kube-apiserver-pods: Unhealthy kube-apiserver pods: [kube-apiserver-master-1 (phase: Failed) kube-apiserver-master-2 (not ready)]. Resize is not safe without full API server redundancy.",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "filters non-apiserver pods",
+			mocks: func(k *mock_adminactions.MockKubeActions) {
+				pods := []corev1.Pod{
+					healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-0", "master-0"),
+					healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-1", "master-1"),
+					healthyAPIServerPod("kube-apiserver-master-2", "master-2"),
+					{
+						ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+							Name:      "some-other-pod",
+							Namespace: "openshift-kube-apiserver",
+							Labels:    map[string]string{"app": "other-app"},
+						},
+						Status: corev1.PodStatus{
+							Phase: corev1.PodRunning,
+						},
+					},
+				}
+				k.EXPECT().
+					KubeList(gomock.Any(), "Pod", "openshift-kube-apiserver").
+					Return(fakeAPIServerPodListJSON(pods), nil)
+			},
+		},
+	} {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			controller := gomock.NewController(t)
+			defer controller.Finish()
+
+			k := mock_adminactions.NewMockKubeActions(controller)
+			tt.mocks(k)
+
+			err := validateAPIServerPods(ctx, k)
+			utilerror.AssertErrorMessage(t, err, tt.wantErr)
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/frontend/adminactions/kubeactions.go b/pkg/frontend/adminactions/kubeactions.go
index 54271b99cc4..ed0b101a985 100644
--- a/pkg/frontend/adminactions/kubeactions.go
+++ b/pkg/frontend/adminactions/kubeactions.go
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ type KubeActions interface {
 	// Fetch top pods and nodes metrics
 	TopPods(ctx context.Context, restConfig *restclient.Config, allNamespaces bool) ([]PodMetrics, error)
 	TopNodes(ctx context.Context, restConfig *restclient.Config) ([]NodeMetrics, error)
+	CheckAPIServerReadyz(ctx context.Context) error
 }
 
 type kubeActions struct {
@@ -187,3 +188,11 @@ func (k *kubeActions) KubeDelete(ctx context.Context, groupKind, namespace, name
 
 	return k.dyn.Resource(gvr).Namespace(namespace).Delete(ctx, name, resourceDeleteOptions)
 }
+
+func (k *kubeActions) CheckAPIServerReadyz(ctx context.Context) error {
+	_, err := k.kubecli.Discovery().RESTClient().Get().AbsPath("/readyz").Do(ctx).Raw()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("API server readyz check failed: %w", err)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/pkg/mimo/steps/cluster/apiserver_is_up_test.go b/pkg/mimo/steps/cluster/apiserver_is_up_test.go
index e6ede0e0475..b1eae3b5be3 100644
--- a/pkg/mimo/steps/cluster/apiserver_is_up_test.go
+++ b/pkg/mimo/steps/cluster/apiserver_is_up_test.go
@@ -56,11 +56,15 @@ func TestAPIServerIsUp(t *testing.T) {
 								Type:   configv1.OperatorProgressing,
 								Status: configv1.ConditionTrue,
 							},
+							{
+								Type:   configv1.OperatorDegraded,
+								Status: configv1.ConditionFalse,
+							},
 						},
 					},
 				},
 			},
-			wantErr: `TransientError: kube-apiserver Available=False, Progressing=True`,
+			wantErr: `TransientError: kube-apiserver Available=False, Progressing=True, Degraded=False`,
 		},
 		{
 			name: "ready",
diff --git a/pkg/util/clusteroperators/isavailable.go b/pkg/util/clusteroperators/isavailable.go
index 6c8d96beeaa..6ebd417012d 100644
--- a/pkg/util/clusteroperators/isavailable.go
+++ b/pkg/util/clusteroperators/isavailable.go
@@ -29,7 +29,10 @@ func OperatorStatusText(operator *configv1.ClusterOperator) string {
 	for _, cond := range operator.Status.Conditions {
 		m[cond.Type] = cond.Status
 	}
-	return fmt.Sprintf("%s %s=%s, %s=%s", operator.Name,
-		configv1.OperatorAvailable, m[configv1.OperatorAvailable], configv1.OperatorProgressing, m[configv1.OperatorProgressing],
+
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%s %s=%s, %s=%s, %s=%s", operator.Name,
+		configv1.OperatorAvailable, m[configv1.OperatorAvailable],
+		configv1.OperatorProgressing, m[configv1.OperatorProgressing],
+		configv1.OperatorDegraded, m[configv1.OperatorDegraded],
 	)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/util/clusteroperators/isavailable_test.go b/pkg/util/clusteroperators/isavailable_test.go
index a1e9f631f16..d6e1d31f873 100644
--- a/pkg/util/clusteroperators/isavailable_test.go
+++ b/pkg/util/clusteroperators/isavailable_test.go
@@ -69,31 +69,43 @@ func TestOperatorStatusText(t *testing.T) {
 		name                 string
 		availableCondition   configv1.ConditionStatus
 		progressingCondition configv1.ConditionStatus
+		degradedCondition    configv1.ConditionStatus
 		want                 string
 	}{
 		{
-			name:                 "Available && Progressing; not available",
+			name:                 "Available && Progressing && !Degraded",
 			availableCondition:   configv1.ConditionTrue,
 			progressingCondition: configv1.ConditionTrue,
-			want:                 "server Available=True, Progressing=True",
+			degradedCondition:    configv1.ConditionFalse,
+			want:                 "server Available=True, Progressing=True, Degraded=False",
 		},
 		{
-			name:                 "Available && !Progressing; available",
+			name:                 "Available && !Progressing && !Degraded; healthy",
 			availableCondition:   configv1.ConditionTrue,
 			progressingCondition: configv1.ConditionFalse,
-			want:                 "server Available=True, Progressing=False",
+			degradedCondition:    configv1.ConditionFalse,
+			want:                 "server Available=True, Progressing=False, Degraded=False",
 		},
 		{
-			name:                 "!Available && Progressing; not available",
+			name:                 "!Available && Progressing && !Degraded",
 			availableCondition:   configv1.ConditionFalse,
 			progressingCondition: configv1.ConditionTrue,
-			want:                 "server Available=False, Progressing=True",
+			degradedCondition:    configv1.ConditionFalse,
+			want:                 "server Available=False, Progressing=True, Degraded=False",
 		},
 		{
-			name:                 "!Available && !Progressing; not available",
+			name:                 "!Available && !Progressing && !Degraded",
 			availableCondition:   configv1.ConditionFalse,
 			progressingCondition: configv1.ConditionFalse,
-			want:                 "server Available=False, Progressing=False",
+			degradedCondition:    configv1.ConditionFalse,
+			want:                 "server Available=False, Progressing=False, Degraded=False",
+		},
+		{
+			name:                 "Available && !Progressing && Degraded",
+			availableCondition:   configv1.ConditionTrue,
+			progressingCondition: configv1.ConditionFalse,
+			degradedCondition:    configv1.ConditionTrue,
+			want:                 "server Available=True, Progressing=False, Degraded=True",
 		},
 	} {
 		operator := &configv1.ClusterOperator{
@@ -110,12 +122,16 @@ func TestOperatorStatusText(t *testing.T) {
 						Type:   configv1.OperatorProgressing,
 						Status: tt.progressingCondition,
 					},
+					{
+						Type:   configv1.OperatorDegraded,
+						Status: tt.degradedCondition,
+					},
 				},
 			},
 		}
-		available := OperatorStatusText(operator)
-		if available != tt.want {
-			t.Error(available)
+		got := OperatorStatusText(operator)
+		if got != tt.want {
+			t.Errorf("%s: OperatorStatusText() = %q, want %q", tt.name, got, tt.want)
 		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/pkg/util/mocks/adminactions/kubeactions.go b/pkg/util/mocks/adminactions/kubeactions.go
index 06cca7b1e17..a4df7db16f6 100644
--- a/pkg/util/mocks/adminactions/kubeactions.go
+++ b/pkg/util/mocks/adminactions/kubeactions.go
@@ -76,6 +76,20 @@ func (mr *MockKubeActionsMockRecorder) ApproveCsr(ctx, csrName any) *gomock.Call
 	return mr.mock.ctrl.RecordCallWithMethodType(mr.mock, "ApproveCsr", reflect.TypeOf((*MockKubeActions)(nil).ApproveCsr), ctx, csrName)
 }
 
+// CheckAPIServerReadyz mocks base method.
+func (m *MockKubeActions) CheckAPIServerReadyz(ctx context.Context) error {
+	m.ctrl.T.Helper()
+	ret := m.ctrl.Call(m, "CheckAPIServerReadyz", ctx)
+	ret0, _ := ret[0].(error)
+	return ret0
+}
+
+// CheckAPIServerReadyz indicates an expected call of CheckAPIServerReadyz.
+func (mr *MockKubeActionsMockRecorder) CheckAPIServerReadyz(ctx any) *gomock.Call {
+	mr.mock.ctrl.T.Helper()
+	return mr.mock.ctrl.RecordCallWithMethodType(mr.mock, "CheckAPIServerReadyz", reflect.TypeOf((*MockKubeActions)(nil).CheckAPIServerReadyz), ctx)
+}
+
 // CordonNode mocks base method.
 func (m *MockKubeActions) CordonNode(ctx context.Context, nodeName string, unschedulable bool) error {
 	m.ctrl.T.Helper()