diff --git a/src/drivers/gps/gps.cpp b/src/drivers/gps/gps.cpp
index 4ed29a8c6e..fcbd5a0c83 100644
--- a/src/drivers/gps/gps.cpp
+++ b/src/drivers/gps/gps.cpp
@@ -1406,7 +1406,7 @@ int GPS::task_spawn(int argc, char *argv[], Instance instance)
 				   entry_point, (char *const *)argv);
 
 	if (task_id < 0) {
-		task_id = -1;
+		_task_id = -1;
 		return -errno;
 	}