diff --git a/flyteplugins/go/tasks/pluginmachinery/flytek8s/config/config.go b/flyteplugins/go/tasks/pluginmachinery/flytek8s/config/config.go
index 215bdfe2a4..55f9cfa68c 100644
--- a/flyteplugins/go/tasks/pluginmachinery/flytek8s/config/config.go
+++ b/flyteplugins/go/tasks/pluginmachinery/flytek8s/config/config.go
@@ -49,6 +49,9 @@ var (
 		CreateContainerErrorGracePeriod: config2.Duration{
 			Duration: time.Minute * 3,
 		},
+		CreateContainerConfigErrorGracePeriod: config2.Duration{
+			Duration: time.Minute * 0,
+		},
 		ImagePullBackoffGracePeriod: config2.Duration{
 			Duration: time.Minute * 3,
 		},
@@ -139,6 +142,11 @@ type K8sPluginConfig struct {
 	// one, and the corresponding task marked as failed
 	CreateContainerErrorGracePeriod config2.Duration `json:"create-container-error-grace-period" pflag:"-,Time to wait for transient CreateContainerError errors to be resolved."`
 
+	// Time to wait for transient CreateContainerConfigError errors to be resolved. If the
+	// error persists past this grace period, it will be inferred to be a permanent error.
+	// The pod will be deleted, and the corresponding task marked as failed.
+	CreateContainerConfigErrorGracePeriod config2.Duration `json:"create-container-config-error-grace-period" pflag:"-,Time to wait for transient CreateContainerConfigError errors to be resolved."`
+
 	// Time to wait for transient ImagePullBackoff errors to be resolved. If the
 	// error persists past this grace period, it will be inferred to be a permanent
 	// one, and the corresponding task marked as failed
diff --git a/flyteplugins/go/tasks/pluginmachinery/flytek8s/pod_helper.go b/flyteplugins/go/tasks/pluginmachinery/flytek8s/pod_helper.go
index fe6201a303..ec03c149b9 100644
--- a/flyteplugins/go/tasks/pluginmachinery/flytek8s/pod_helper.go
+++ b/flyteplugins/go/tasks/pluginmachinery/flytek8s/pod_helper.go
@@ -683,8 +683,9 @@ func demystifyPendingHelper(status v1.PodStatus) (pluginsCore.PhaseInfo, time.Ti
 								// synced, and therefore, only provides an
 								// approximation of the elapsed time since the last
 								// transition.
-								if time.Since(t) >= config.GetK8sPluginConfig().CreateContainerErrorGracePeriod.Duration {
-									return pluginsCore.PhaseInfoFailure(finalReason, finalMessage, &pluginsCore.TaskInfo{
+								gracePeriod := config.GetK8sPluginConfig().CreateContainerErrorGracePeriod.Duration
+								if time.Since(t) >= gracePeriod {
+									return pluginsCore.PhaseInfoFailure(finalReason, GetMessageAfterGracePeriod(finalMessage, gracePeriod), &pluginsCore.TaskInfo{
 										OccurredAt: &t,
 									}), t, nil
 								}
@@ -695,14 +696,29 @@ func demystifyPendingHelper(status v1.PodStatus) (pluginsCore.PhaseInfo, time.Ti
 									&pluginsCore.TaskInfo{OccurredAt: &t},
 								), t, nil
 
-							case "CreateContainerConfigError", "InvalidImageName":
+							case "CreateContainerConfigError":
+								gracePeriod := config.GetK8sPluginConfig().CreateContainerConfigErrorGracePeriod.Duration
+								if time.Since(t) >= gracePeriod {
+									return pluginsCore.PhaseInfoFailure(finalReason, GetMessageAfterGracePeriod(finalMessage, gracePeriod), &pluginsCore.TaskInfo{
+										OccurredAt: &t,
+									}), t, nil
+								}
+								return pluginsCore.PhaseInfoInitializing(
+									t,
+									pluginsCore.DefaultPhaseVersion,
+									fmt.Sprintf("[%s]: %s", finalReason, finalMessage),
+									&pluginsCore.TaskInfo{OccurredAt: &t},
+								), t, nil
+
+							case "InvalidImageName":
 								return pluginsCore.PhaseInfoFailure(finalReason, finalMessage, &pluginsCore.TaskInfo{
 									OccurredAt: &t,
 								}), t, nil
 
 							case "ImagePullBackOff":
-								if time.Since(t) >= config.GetK8sPluginConfig().ImagePullBackoffGracePeriod.Duration {
-									return pluginsCore.PhaseInfoRetryableFailureWithCleanup(finalReason, finalMessage, &pluginsCore.TaskInfo{
+								gracePeriod := config.GetK8sPluginConfig().ImagePullBackoffGracePeriod.Duration
+								if time.Since(t) >= gracePeriod {
+									return pluginsCore.PhaseInfoRetryableFailureWithCleanup(finalReason, GetMessageAfterGracePeriod(finalMessage, gracePeriod), &pluginsCore.TaskInfo{
 										OccurredAt: &t,
 									}), t, nil
 								}
@@ -734,6 +750,10 @@ func demystifyPendingHelper(status v1.PodStatus) (pluginsCore.PhaseInfo, time.Ti
 	return phaseInfo, t, nil
 }
 
+func GetMessageAfterGracePeriod(message string, gracePeriod time.Duration) string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("Grace period [%s] exceeded|%s", gracePeriod, message)
+}
+
 func DemystifySuccess(status v1.PodStatus, info pluginsCore.TaskInfo) (pluginsCore.PhaseInfo, error) {
 	for _, status := range append(
 		append(status.InitContainerStatuses, status.ContainerStatuses...), status.EphemeralContainerStatuses...) {
diff --git a/flyteplugins/go/tasks/pluginmachinery/flytek8s/pod_helper_test.go b/flyteplugins/go/tasks/pluginmachinery/flytek8s/pod_helper_test.go
index 8aef0ecfa3..925cb00186 100644
--- a/flyteplugins/go/tasks/pluginmachinery/flytek8s/pod_helper_test.go
+++ b/flyteplugins/go/tasks/pluginmachinery/flytek8s/pod_helper_test.go
@@ -1175,6 +1175,9 @@ func TestDemystifyPending(t *testing.T) {
 		CreateContainerErrorGracePeriod: config1.Duration{
 			Duration: time.Minute * 3,
 		},
+		CreateContainerConfigErrorGracePeriod: config1.Duration{
+			Duration: time.Minute * 4,
+		},
 		ImagePullBackoffGracePeriod: config1.Duration{
 			Duration: time.Minute * 3,
 		},
@@ -1401,19 +1404,40 @@ func TestDemystifyPending(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.Equal(t, pluginsCore.PhaseRetryableFailure, taskStatus.Phase())
 	})
 
-	t.Run("CreateContainerConfigError", func(t *testing.T) {
-		s.ContainerStatuses = []v1.ContainerStatus{
+	t.Run("CreateContainerConfigErrorWithinGracePeriod", func(t *testing.T) {
+		s2 := *s.DeepCopy()
+		s2.Conditions[0].LastTransitionTime = metav1.Now()
+		s2.ContainerStatuses = []v1.ContainerStatus{
 			{
 				Ready: false,
 				State: v1.ContainerState{
 					Waiting: &v1.ContainerStateWaiting{
 						Reason:  "CreateContainerConfigError",
-						Message: "this an error",
+						Message: "this is a transient error",
 					},
 				},
 			},
 		}
-		taskStatus, err := DemystifyPending(s)
+		taskStatus, err := DemystifyPending(s2)
+		assert.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.Equal(t, pluginsCore.PhaseInitializing, taskStatus.Phase())
+	})
+
+	t.Run("CreateContainerConfigErrorOutsideGracePeriod", func(t *testing.T) {
+		s2 := *s.DeepCopy()
+		s2.Conditions[0].LastTransitionTime.Time = metav1.Now().Add(-config.GetK8sPluginConfig().CreateContainerConfigErrorGracePeriod.Duration)
+		s2.ContainerStatuses = []v1.ContainerStatus{
+			{
+				Ready: false,
+				State: v1.ContainerState{
+					Waiting: &v1.ContainerStateWaiting{
+						Reason:  "CreateContainerConfigError",
+						Message: "this a permanent error",
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		}
+		taskStatus, err := DemystifyPending(s2)
 		assert.NoError(t, err)
 		assert.Equal(t, pluginsCore.PhasePermanentFailure, taskStatus.Phase())
 	})
@@ -1618,7 +1642,7 @@ func TestDemystifyPending_testcases(t *testing.T) {
 		errCode  string
 		message  string
 	}{
-		{"ImagePullBackOff", "imagepull-failurepod.json", false, "ContainersNotReady|ImagePullBackOff", "containers with unready status: [fdf98e4ed2b524dc3bf7-get-flyte-id-task-0]|Back-off pulling image \"image\""},
+		{"ImagePullBackOff", "imagepull-failurepod.json", false, "ContainersNotReady|ImagePullBackOff", "Grace period [3m0s] exceeded|containers with unready status: [fdf98e4ed2b524dc3bf7-get-flyte-id-task-0]|Back-off pulling image \"image\""},
 	}
 
 	for _, tt := range tests {