diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/ShuffleBlockManager.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/ShuffleBlockManager.scala
index 6e0ff143b7179..e2b24298a55e8 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/ShuffleBlockManager.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/ShuffleBlockManager.scala
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ class ShuffleBlockManager(blockManager: BlockManager) {
   // Turning off shuffle file consolidation causes all shuffle Blocks to get their own file.
   // TODO: Remove this once the shuffle file consolidation feature is stable.
   val consolidateShuffleFiles =
-    conf.getBoolean("spark.shuffle.consolidateFiles", true)
+    conf.getBoolean("spark.shuffle.consolidateFiles", false)
 
   private val bufferSize = conf.getInt("spark.shuffle.file.buffer.kb", 100) * 1024
 
diff --git a/docs/configuration.md b/docs/configuration.md
index ad75e06fc7cc7..40a57c4bc6a20 100644
--- a/docs/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/configuration.md
@@ -382,7 +382,7 @@ Apart from these, the following properties are also available, and may be useful
 
 <tr>
   <td>spark.shuffle.consolidateFiles</td>
-  <td>true</td>
+  <td>false</td>
   <td>
     If set to "true", consolidates intermediate files created during a shuffle. Creating fewer files can improve filesystem performance for shuffles with large numbers of reduce tasks. It is recommended to set this to "true" when using ext4 or xfs filesystems. On ext3, this option might degrade performance on machines with many (>8) cores due to filesystem limitations.
   </td>