diff --git a/.changelog/8726.txt b/.changelog/8726.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..d96d8aaedcf6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changelog/8726.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+```release-note:improvement
+checks: add health status to the failure message when gRPC healthchecks fail.
+```
diff --git a/agent/checks/grpc.go b/agent/checks/grpc.go
index dea6a84cff0a..d1bf6b900a2a 100644
--- a/agent/checks/grpc.go
+++ b/agent/checks/grpc.go
@@ -13,8 +13,6 @@ import (
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/resolver"
 )
 
-var ErrGRPCUnhealthy = fmt.Errorf("gRPC application didn't report service healthy")
-
 // GrpcHealthProbe connects to gRPC application and queries health service for application/service status.
 type GrpcHealthProbe struct {
 	server      string
@@ -69,8 +67,8 @@ func (probe *GrpcHealthProbe) Check(target string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	if response == nil || response.Status != hv1.HealthCheckResponse_SERVING {
-		return ErrGRPCUnhealthy
+	if response.Status != hv1.HealthCheckResponse_SERVING {
+		return fmt.Errorf("gRPC %s serving status: %s", target, response.Status)
 	}
 
 	return nil