diff --git a/cmd/minikube/cmd/service.go b/cmd/minikube/cmd/service.go
index 12a2e9492b35..feb392dd37a0 100644
--- a/cmd/minikube/cmd/service.go
+++ b/cmd/minikube/cmd/service.go
@@ -148,6 +148,14 @@ You may select another namespace by using 'minikube service {{.service}} -n <nam
 					out.String(fmt.Sprintf("%s\n", serviceURLs))
 				}
 			}
+			// check whether all pods of this service is crashed
+			clientset, err := kapi.Client(cname)
+			if err != nil {
+				exit.Error(reason.InternalKubernetesClient, "Failed to acquire Kubernetes client", err)
+			}
+			if err := service.CheckServicePods(clientset.CoreV1(), svc.Name, namespace); err != nil {
+				exit.Error(reason.SvcUnreachable, "error checking service", err)
+			}
 		}
 
 		if driver.NeedsPortForward(co.Config.Driver) && services != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/minikube/reason/reason.go b/pkg/minikube/reason/reason.go
index d8eebd74bb0e..c2df91f7b1a2 100644
--- a/pkg/minikube/reason/reason.go
+++ b/pkg/minikube/reason/reason.go
@@ -410,6 +410,8 @@ var (
 	SvcCheckTimeout = Kind{ID: "SVC_CHECK_TIMEOUT", ExitCode: ExSvcTimeout}
 	// minikube was unable to access a service
 	SvcTimeout = Kind{ID: "SVC_TIMEOUT", ExitCode: ExSvcTimeout}
+	// minikube finds that the service has not available pods
+	SvcUnreachable = Kind{ID: "SVC_UNREACHABLE", ExitCode: ExSvcNotFound}
 	// minikube failed to list services for the specified namespace
 	SvcList = Kind{ID: "SVC_LIST", ExitCode: ExSvcError}
 	// minikube failed to start a tunnel
diff --git a/pkg/minikube/service/service.go b/pkg/minikube/service/service.go
index d3bd18015dad..aa10966b7409 100644
--- a/pkg/minikube/service/service.go
+++ b/pkg/minikube/service/service.go
@@ -378,3 +378,31 @@ func DeleteSecret(cname string, namespace, name string) error {
 
 	return nil
 }
+
+// check whether there are running pods for a service
+func CheckServicePods(clientset typed_core.CoreV1Interface, svcName, namespace string) error {
+	svc, err := clientset.Services(namespace).Get(context.Background(), svcName, meta.GetOptions{})
+	if err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrap(err, "Get service")
+	}
+	// There are four types of service in k8s: NodePort, ClusterIp, LoadBalancer and ExternalName
+	// However, NodePort means that this service will not be exposed outside the cluster
+	// while ExternalName means that this service is not provided by this k8s cluster
+	// So we only check when service type is NodePort or LoadBalancer
+	if svc.Spec.Type != core.ServiceTypeNodePort && svc.Spec.Type != core.ServiceTypeLoadBalancer {
+		return nil
+	}
+	pods, err := clientset.Pods(namespace).List(context.Background(), meta.ListOptions{
+		LabelSelector: labels.Set(svc.Spec.Selector).AsSelector().String(),
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrap(err, "List Pods")
+	}
+
+	for _, pod := range pods.Items {
+		if pod.Status.Phase == core.PodRunning {
+			return nil
+		}
+	}
+	return fmt.Errorf("no valid pod for service %s found", svcName)
+}
diff --git a/site/content/en/docs/contrib/tests.en.md b/site/content/en/docs/contrib/tests.en.md
index 5b375c64d514..7a598749b419 100644
--- a/site/content/en/docs/contrib/tests.en.md
+++ b/site/content/en/docs/contrib/tests.en.md
@@ -642,6 +642,9 @@ verifies that minikube pause works
 ## TestInsufficientStorage
 makes sure minikube status displays the correct info if there is insufficient disk space on the machine
 
+## TestInvalidService
+makes sure minikube will not start a tunnel for a unavailable service who has no running pods
+
 ## TestRunningBinaryUpgrade
 upgrades a running legacy cluster to minikube at HEAD
 
diff --git a/test/integration/functional_test.go b/test/integration/functional_test.go
index 826b606a5588..4f247327a63b 100644
--- a/test/integration/functional_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/functional_test.go
@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@ func TestFunctional(t *testing.T) {
 			{"ComponentHealth", validateComponentHealth},
 			{"LogsCmd", validateLogsCmd},
 			{"LogsFileCmd", validateLogsFileCmd},
+			{"InvalidService", validInvalidService},
 		}
 		for _, tc := range tests {
 			tc := tc
@@ -2207,3 +2208,27 @@ func validateVersionCmd(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, profile string) {
 	})
 
 }
+
+// validInvalidService makes sure minikube will not start a tunnel for a unavailable service who has no running pods
+func validInvalidService(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, profile string) {
+
+	// try to start an invalid service. This service is linked to a pod whose image name is invalid, so this pos will never become running
+	rrApply, err := Run(t, exec.CommandContext(ctx, "kubectl", "--context", profile, "apply", "-f", filepath.Join(*testdataDir, "invalidsvc.yaml")))
+	defer func() {
+		// Cleanup test configurations in advance of future tests
+		rr, err := Run(t, exec.CommandContext(ctx, "kubectl", "--context", profile, "delete", "-f", filepath.Join(*testdataDir, "invalidsvc.yaml")))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("clean up %s failed: %v", rr.Command(), err)
+		}
+	}()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("%s failed: %v", rrApply.Command(), err)
+	}
+	time.Sleep(3 * time.Second)
+
+	// try to expose a service, this action is supposed to fail
+	rrService, err := Run(t, exec.CommandContext(context.TODO(), Target(), "service", "invalid-svc", "-p", profile))
+	if err == nil || rrService.ExitCode == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("%s should have failed: ", rrService.Command())
+	}
+}
diff --git a/test/integration/testdata/invalidsvc.yaml b/test/integration/testdata/invalidsvc.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..c54de8b62eca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/integration/testdata/invalidsvc.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Pod
+metadata:
+  labels:
+    run: invalid-svc
+  name: invalid-svc
+  namespace: default
+spec:
+  containers:
+  - name: nginx
+    image: nonexistingimage:latest
+    ports:
+    - containerPort: 80
+      protocol: TCP
+---
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Service
+metadata:
+  labels:
+    run: invalid-svc
+  name: invalid-svc
+  namespace: default
+spec:
+  ports:
+  - port: 80
+    protocol: TCP
+    targetPort: 80
+  selector:
+    run: invalid-svc
+  sessionAffinity: None
+  type: NodePort
diff --git a/translations/de.json b/translations/de.json
index 54a30bd96c0b..144c000b643f 100644
--- a/translations/de.json
+++ b/translations/de.json
@@ -929,6 +929,7 @@
 	"dry-run mode. Validates configuration, but does not mutate system state": "dry-run Modus. Validiert die Konfiguration, aber ändert den System Zustand nicht",
 	"dry-run validation complete!": "dry-run Validierung komplett!",
 	"enable failed": "aktivieren fehlgeschlagen",
+	"error checking service": "",
 	"error creating clientset": "Fehler beim Anlegen des Clientsets",
 	"error creatings urls": "",
 	"error getting defaults: {{.error}}": "",
diff --git a/translations/es.json b/translations/es.json
index 73ea9f8338d8..800fef739f78 100644
--- a/translations/es.json
+++ b/translations/es.json
@@ -927,6 +927,7 @@
 	"dry-run mode. Validates configuration, but does not mutate system state": "",
 	"dry-run validation complete!": "",
 	"enable failed": "",
+	"error checking service": "",
 	"error creating clientset": "",
 	"error creatings urls": "",
 	"error getting defaults: {{.error}}": "",
diff --git a/translations/fr.json b/translations/fr.json
index 38488d1bc42c..a41b80869dbe 100644
--- a/translations/fr.json
+++ b/translations/fr.json
@@ -901,6 +901,7 @@
 	"dry-run mode. Validates configuration, but does not mutate system state": "mode simulation. Valide la configuration, mais ne modifie pas l'état du système",
 	"dry-run validation complete!": "validation de la simulation terminée !",
 	"enable failed": "échec de l'activation",
+	"error checking service": "",
 	"error creating clientset": "erreur lors de la création de l'ensemble de clients",
 	"error creatings urls": "erreur lors de la création d'urls",
 	"error getting defaults: {{.error}}": "erreur lors de l'obtention des valeurs par défaut : {{.error}}",
diff --git a/translations/ja.json b/translations/ja.json
index bb127a46c1dc..dde789831b69 100644
--- a/translations/ja.json
+++ b/translations/ja.json
@@ -863,6 +863,7 @@
 	"dry-run mode. Validates configuration, but does not mutate system state": "dry-run モード。設定は検証しますが、システムの状態は変更しません",
 	"dry-run validation complete!": "dry-run の検証が終了しました！",
 	"enable failed": "有効化に失敗しました",
+	"error checking service": "",
 	"error creating clientset": "clientset 作成中にエラー",
 	"error creatings urls": "URL 作成でエラー",
 	"error getting defaults: {{.error}}": "デフォルト取得中にエラー: {{.error}}",
diff --git a/translations/ko.json b/translations/ko.json
index e8bc5951becb..0eaaf2d03bcb 100644
--- a/translations/ko.json
+++ b/translations/ko.json
@@ -929,6 +929,7 @@
 	"dry-run mode. Validates configuration, but does not mutate system state": "",
 	"dry-run validation complete!": "dry-run 검증 완료!",
 	"enable failed": "활성화가 실패하였습니다",
+	"error checking service": "",
 	"error creating clientset": "clientset 생성 오류",
 	"error creating machine client": "머신 client 생성 오류",
 	"error creatings urls": "",
diff --git a/translations/pl.json b/translations/pl.json
index 1d0a99f632a8..e116f0e39dc8 100644
--- a/translations/pl.json
+++ b/translations/pl.json
@@ -939,6 +939,7 @@
 	"dry-run mode. Validates configuration, but does not mutate system state": "",
 	"dry-run validation complete!": "",
 	"enable failed": "",
+	"error checking service": "",
 	"error creating clientset": "",
 	"error creatings urls": "",
 	"error getting defaults: {{.error}}": "",
diff --git a/translations/ru.json b/translations/ru.json
index c93eb21a4151..0793f07f2f92 100644
--- a/translations/ru.json
+++ b/translations/ru.json
@@ -859,6 +859,7 @@
 	"dry-run mode. Validates configuration, but does not mutate system state": "",
 	"dry-run validation complete!": "",
 	"enable failed": "",
+	"error checking service": "",
 	"error creating clientset": "",
 	"error creatings urls": "",
 	"error getting defaults: {{.error}}": "",
diff --git a/translations/strings.txt b/translations/strings.txt
index 5cf8d39da37f..0fed416e50fb 100644
--- a/translations/strings.txt
+++ b/translations/strings.txt
@@ -859,6 +859,7 @@
 	"dry-run mode. Validates configuration, but does not mutate system state": "",
 	"dry-run validation complete!": "",
 	"enable failed": "",
+	"error checking service": "",
 	"error creating clientset": "",
 	"error creatings urls": "",
 	"error getting defaults: {{.error}}": "",
diff --git a/translations/zh-CN.json b/translations/zh-CN.json
index 0afd6f312379..ce4d441c0bde 100644
--- a/translations/zh-CN.json
+++ b/translations/zh-CN.json
@@ -1047,6 +1047,7 @@
 	"dry-run mode. Validates configuration, but does not mutate system state": "",
 	"dry-run validation complete!": "",
 	"enable failed": "开启失败",
+	"error checking service": "",
 	"error creating clientset": "",
 	"error creatings urls": "",
 	"error getting defaults: {{.error}}": "",