diff --git a/test/integration/fn_mount_cmd.go b/test/integration/fn_mount_cmd.go
index eedc9e7983c8..9bfc880134ba 100644
--- a/test/integration/fn_mount_cmd.go
+++ b/test/integration/fn_mount_cmd.go
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ func validateMountCmd(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, profile string) {
 	}
 
 	start := time.Now()
-	if err := retry.Expo(checkMount, time.Second, 15*time.Second); err != nil {
+	if err := retry.Expo(checkMount, time.Second, Seconds(15)); err != nil {
 		// For local testing, allow macOS users to click prompt. If they don't, skip the test.
 		if runtime.GOOS == "darwin" {
 			t.Skip("skipping: mount did not appear, likely because macOS requires prompt to allow non-codesigned binaries to listen on non-localhost port")
diff --git a/test/integration/fn_pvc.go b/test/integration/fn_pvc.go
index 4f97c830ef0d..0d1f7e5778a8 100644
--- a/test/integration/fn_pvc.go
+++ b/test/integration/fn_pvc.go
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ func validatePersistentVolumeClaim(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, profile st
 	}
 
 	// Ensure the addon-manager has created the StorageClass before creating a claim, otherwise it won't be bound
-	if err := retry.Expo(checkStorageClass, time.Second, 90*time.Second); err != nil {
+	if err := retry.Expo(checkStorageClass, time.Second, Seconds(90)); err != nil {
 		t.Errorf("no default storage class after retry: %v", err)
 	}
 
diff --git a/test/integration/functional_test.go b/test/integration/functional_test.go
index 8445aa364a7b..a333d8c6b3d0 100644
--- a/test/integration/functional_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/functional_test.go
@@ -595,6 +595,20 @@ func validateProfileCmd(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, profile string) {
 
 // validateServiceCmd asserts basic "service" command functionality
 func validateServiceCmd(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, profile string) {
+	// to avoid https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/6997
+	// adding this logic to minikube start is not necessary but useful for rare test flakes
+	saReady := func() error { // check if default service account is created.
+		if _, err := Run(t, exec.CommandContext(ctx, "kubectl", "--context", profile, "get", "serviceaccount", "default")); err != nil {
+			t.Logf("temporary error waiting for default service account: %v", err)
+			return fmt.Errorf("Error waiting for default service account %v", err)
+		}
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	if err := retry.Expo(saReady, 500*time.Microsecond, time.Second*30); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("default service account was not created in 30 seconds.: %v", err)
+	}
+
 	rr, err := Run(t, exec.CommandContext(ctx, "kubectl", "--context", profile, "create", "deployment", "hello-node", "--image=gcr.io/hello-minikube-zero-install/hello-node"))
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Logf("%s failed: %v (may not be an error)", rr.Args, err)
@@ -710,6 +724,20 @@ func validateSSHCmd(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, profile string) {
 
 // validateMySQL validates a minimalist MySQL deployment
 func validateMySQL(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, profile string) {
+	// to avoid https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/6997
+	// adding this logic to minikube start is not necessary but useful for rare test flakes
+	saReady := func() error { // check if default service account is created.
+		if _, err := Run(t, exec.CommandContext(ctx, "kubectl", "--context", profile, "get", "serviceaccount", "default")); err != nil {
+			t.Logf("temporary error waiting for default service account: %v", err)
+			return fmt.Errorf("Error waiting for default service account %v", err)
+		}
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	if err := retry.Expo(saReady, 500*time.Microsecond, time.Second*30); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("default service account was not created in 30 seconds.: %v", err)
+	}
+
 	rr, err := Run(t, exec.CommandContext(ctx, "kubectl", "--context", profile, "replace", "--force", "-f", filepath.Join(*testdataDir, "mysql.yaml")))
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("%s failed: %v", rr.Args, err)
@@ -725,7 +753,7 @@ func validateMySQL(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, profile string) {
 		rr, err = Run(t, exec.CommandContext(ctx, "kubectl", "--context", profile, "exec", names[0], "--", "mysql", "-ppassword", "-e", "show databases;"))
 		return err
 	}
-	if err = retry.Expo(mysql, 5*time.Second, 180*time.Second); err != nil {
+	if err = retry.Expo(mysql, 5*time.Second, Seconds(180)); err != nil {
 		t.Errorf("mysql failing: %v", err)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/test/integration/start_stop_delete_test.go b/test/integration/start_stop_delete_test.go
index a7b11c8f42e5..862d78843511 100644
--- a/test/integration/start_stop_delete_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/start_stop_delete_test.go
@@ -28,11 +28,13 @@ import (
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/docker/machine/libmachine/state"
 	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/bootstrapper/images"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/constants"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/util/retry"
 )
 
 func TestStartStop(t *testing.T) {
@@ -169,6 +171,19 @@ func TestStartStop(t *testing.T) {
 // testPodScheduling asserts that this configuration can schedule new pods
 func testPodScheduling(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, profile string) {
 	t.Helper()
+	// to avoid https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/6997
+	// adding this logic to minikube start is not necessary but useful for rare test flakes
+	saReady := func() error { // check if default service account is created.
+		if _, err := Run(t, exec.CommandContext(ctx, "kubectl", "--context", profile, "get", "serviceaccount", "default")); err != nil {
+			t.Logf("temporary error waiting for default service account: %v", err)
+			return fmt.Errorf("Error waiting for default service account %v", err)
+		}
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	if err := retry.Expo(saReady, 500*time.Microsecond, time.Second*30); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("default service account was not created in 30 seconds.: %v", err)
+	}
 
 	// schedule a pod to assert persistence
 	rr, err := Run(t, exec.CommandContext(ctx, "kubectl", "--context", profile, "create", "-f", filepath.Join(*testdataDir, "busybox.yaml")))