diff --git a/gtsam/linear/JacobianFactor.cpp b/gtsam/linear/JacobianFactor.cpp
index be9b17052..b8a08be9e 100644
--- a/gtsam/linear/JacobianFactor.cpp
+++ b/gtsam/linear/JacobianFactor.cpp
@@ -515,7 +515,7 @@ Vector JacobianFactor::error_vector(const VectorValues& c) const {
 double JacobianFactor::error(const VectorValues& c) const {
   Vector e = unweighted_error(c);
   // Use the noise model distance function to get the correct error if available.
-  if (model_) return model_->error(e);
+  if (model_) return 0.5 * model_->squaredMahalanobisDistance(e);
   return 0.5 * e.dot(e);
 }