diff --git a/scripts/cros_sdk.py b/scripts/cros_sdk.py
index b2ef8c2..97fe3a9 100644
--- a/scripts/cros_sdk.py
+++ b/scripts/cros_sdk.py
@@ -985,8 +985,7 @@
         except timeout_util.TimeoutError as e:
           logging.error('Acquiring write_lock on %s failed: %s', lock_path, e)
           if not options.force:
-            logging.error('Exiting; use --force to continue w/o lock.')
-            raise e
+            cros_build_lib.Die('Exiting; use --force to continue w/o lock.')
         if missing_image_tools:
           logging.notice('Unmounting chroot.')
           osutils.UmountTree(options.chroot)