diff --git a/tools/kmod/sof_remove.sh b/tools/kmod/sof_remove.sh
index 5988a1e3..84389ad3 100755
--- a/tools/kmod/sof_remove.sh
+++ b/tools/kmod/sof_remove.sh
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ remove_module() {
 
     local MODULE="$1"
 
-    if lsmod | grep -q "^${MODULE}[[:blank:]]"; then
+    if grep -q "^${MODULE}[[:blank:]]" /proc/modules; then
         printf 'RMMOD\t%s\n' "$MODULE"
         sudo rmmod "$MODULE"
     else
@@ -26,6 +26,13 @@ exit_handler()
                "$(basename "$0")"
         systemctl --user list-units --all '*pulse*' || true
     fi
+
+    if test "$exit_status" -ne 0; then
+        lsmod | grep -e sof -e snd -e sound -e drm
+        # rmmod can fail silently, for instance when "Used by" is -1
+        printf "%s FAILED\n" "$0"
+    fi
+
     return "$exit_status"
 }