diff --git a/pip/util.py b/pip/util.py
index 7b5530383..76d2988f9 100644
--- a/pip/util.py
+++ b/pip/util.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ __all__ = ['rmtree', 'display_path', 'backup_dir',
            'cache_download', 'unpack_file']
 
 
-def rmtree(dir, ignore_errors=True):
+def rmtree(dir, ignore_errors=False):
     shutil.rmtree(dir, ignore_errors=ignore_errors,
                   onerror=rmtree_errorhandler)