diff --git a/Makefile.pre.in b/Makefile.pre.in
index ac6c2b1288965a..4f9431851ef30a 100644
--- a/Makefile.pre.in
+++ b/Makefile.pre.in
@@ -515,7 +515,7 @@ profile-opt: profile-run-stamp
 coverage:
 	@echo "Building with support for coverage checking:"
 	$(MAKE) clean
-	$(MAKE) @DEF_MAKE_RULE@ CFLAGS="$(CFLAGS) -O0 -pg --coverage" LIBS="$(LIBS) --coverage"
+	$(MAKE) @DEF_MAKE_RULE@ CFLAGS_NODIST="$(CFLAGS_NODIST) -O0 -pg --coverage" CFLAGS="$(CFLAGS) -fprofile-arcs" LIBS="$(LIBS) --coverage"
 
 coverage-lcov:
 	@echo "Creating Coverage HTML report with LCOV:"