diff --git a/openapi/generated_openapi/zz_generated.openapi.go b/openapi/generated_openapi/zz_generated.openapi.go
index 4041b338b6f..c1e641346aa 100644
--- a/openapi/generated_openapi/zz_generated.openapi.go
+++ b/openapi/generated_openapi/zz_generated.openapi.go
@@ -46774,7 +46774,7 @@ func schema_openshift_api_operator_v1_StorageSpec(ref common.ReferenceCallback)
 					},
 					"vsphereStorageDriver": {
 						SchemaProps: spec.SchemaProps{
-							Description: "VSphereStorageDriver indicates the storage driver to use on VSphere clusters. Once this field is set to CSIWithMigrationDriver, it can not be changed. If this is empty, the platform will choose a good default, which may change over time without notice. DEPRECATED: This field will be removed in a future release.",
+							Description: "VSphereStorageDriver indicates the storage driver to use on VSphere clusters. Once this field is set to CSIWithMigrationDriver, it can not be changed. If this is empty, the platform will choose a good default, which may change over time without notice. The current default is CSIWithMigrationDriver and may not be changed. DEPRECATED: This field will be removed in a future release.",
 							Default:     "",
 							Type:        []string{"string"},
 							Format:      "",
diff --git a/openapi/openapi.json b/openapi/openapi.json
index bb08a74b2f6..387439883a7 100644
--- a/openapi/openapi.json
+++ b/openapi/openapi.json
@@ -27487,7 +27487,7 @@
           "$ref": "#/definitions/io.k8s.apimachinery.pkg.runtime.RawExtension"
         },
         "vsphereStorageDriver": {
-          "description": "VSphereStorageDriver indicates the storage driver to use on VSphere clusters. Once this field is set to CSIWithMigrationDriver, it can not be changed. If this is empty, the platform will choose a good default, which may change over time without notice. DEPRECATED: This field will be removed in a future release.",
+          "description": "VSphereStorageDriver indicates the storage driver to use on VSphere clusters. Once this field is set to CSIWithMigrationDriver, it can not be changed. If this is empty, the platform will choose a good default, which may change over time without notice. The current default is CSIWithMigrationDriver and may not be changed. DEPRECATED: This field will be removed in a future release.",
           "type": "string",
           "default": ""
         }
diff --git a/operator/v1/0000_50_cluster_storage_operator_01_crd.yaml b/operator/v1/0000_50_cluster_storage_operator_01_crd.yaml
index e25fb7ea068..6ccac5ad1bc 100644
--- a/operator/v1/0000_50_cluster_storage_operator_01_crd.yaml
+++ b/operator/v1/0000_50_cluster_storage_operator_01_crd.yaml
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ spec:
                   nullable: true
                   x-kubernetes-preserve-unknown-fields: true
                 vsphereStorageDriver:
-                  description: 'VSphereStorageDriver indicates the storage driver to use on VSphere clusters. Once this field is set to CSIWithMigrationDriver, it can not be changed. If this is empty, the platform will choose a good default, which may change over time without notice. DEPRECATED: This field will be removed in a future release.'
+                  description: 'VSphereStorageDriver indicates the storage driver to use on VSphere clusters. Once this field is set to CSIWithMigrationDriver, it can not be changed. If this is empty, the platform will choose a good default, which may change over time without notice. The current default is CSIWithMigrationDriver and may not be changed. DEPRECATED: This field will be removed in a future release.'
                   type: string
                   enum:
                     - ""
@@ -79,6 +79,8 @@ spec:
                   x-kubernetes-validations:
                     - rule: oldSelf != "CSIWithMigrationDriver" || self == "CSIWithMigrationDriver"
                       message: VSphereStorageDriver can not be changed once it is set to CSIWithMigrationDriver
+                    - rule: self != "LegacyDeprecatedInTreeDriver"
+                      message: VSphereStorageDriver can not be set to LegacyDeprecatedInTreeDriver
               x-kubernetes-validations:
                 - rule: '!has(oldSelf.vsphereStorageDriver) || has(self.vsphereStorageDriver)'
                   message: VSphereStorageDriver is required once set
diff --git a/operator/v1/stable.storage.testsuite.yaml b/operator/v1/stable.storage.testsuite.yaml
index 5fa36e33514..a686534da2d 100644
--- a/operator/v1/stable.storage.testsuite.yaml
+++ b/operator/v1/stable.storage.testsuite.yaml
@@ -14,13 +14,9 @@ tests:
       spec:
         logLevel: Normal
         operatorLogLevel: Normal
-  onUpdate:
-  - name: Should allow enabling CSI migration for vSphere
+  onCreate:
+  - name: Should allow creating Storage with vsphere migration enabled
     initial: |
-      apiVersion: operator.openshift.io/v1
-      kind: Storage
-      spec: {} # No spec is required
-    updated: |
       apiVersion: operator.openshift.io/v1
       kind: Storage
       spec:
@@ -32,7 +28,16 @@ tests:
         vsphereStorageDriver: CSIWithMigrationDriver
         logLevel: Normal
         operatorLogLevel: Normal
-  - name: Should allow disabling CSI migration for vSphere
+  onCreate:
+  - name: Should not allow creating Storage with vsphere migration disabled
+    initial: |
+      apiVersion: operator.openshift.io/v1
+      kind: Storage
+      spec:
+        vsphereStorageDriver: LegacyDeprecatedInTreeDriver
+    expectedError: "VSphereStorageDriver can not be set to LegacyDeprecatedInTreeDriver"
+  onUpdate:
+  - name: Should allow enabling CSI migration for vSphere
     initial: |
       apiVersion: operator.openshift.io/v1
       kind: Storage
@@ -41,32 +46,25 @@ tests:
       apiVersion: operator.openshift.io/v1
       kind: Storage
       spec:
-        vsphereStorageDriver: LegacyDeprecatedInTreeDriver
+        vsphereStorageDriver: CSIWithMigrationDriver
     expected: |
       apiVersion: operator.openshift.io/v1
       kind: Storage
       spec:
-        vsphereStorageDriver: LegacyDeprecatedInTreeDriver
+        vsphereStorageDriver: CSIWithMigrationDriver
         logLevel: Normal
         operatorLogLevel: Normal
-  - name: Should allow changing LegacyDeprecatedInTreeDriver to CSIWithMigrationDriver
+  - name: Should not allow disabling CSI migration for vSphere
     initial: |
       apiVersion: operator.openshift.io/v1
       kind: Storage
-      spec:
-        vsphereStorageDriver: LegacyDeprecatedInTreeDriver
+      spec: {} # No spec is required
     updated: |
       apiVersion: operator.openshift.io/v1
       kind: Storage
       spec:
-        vsphereStorageDriver: CSIWithMigrationDriver
-    expected: |
-      apiVersion: operator.openshift.io/v1
-      kind: Storage
-      spec:
-        vsphereStorageDriver: CSIWithMigrationDriver
-        logLevel: Normal
-        operatorLogLevel: Normal
+        vsphereStorageDriver: LegacyDeprecatedInTreeDriver
+    expectedError: "VSphereStorageDriver can not be set to LegacyDeprecatedInTreeDriver"
   - name: Should not allow changing CSIWithMigrationDriver to LegacyDeprecatedInTreeDriver
     initial: |
       apiVersion: operator.openshift.io/v1
@@ -102,21 +100,3 @@ tests:
       kind: Storage
       spec: {}
     expectedError: "VSphereStorageDriver is required once set"
-  - name: Should allow changing LegacyDeprecatedInTreeDriver to empty string
-    initial: |
-      apiVersion: operator.openshift.io/v1
-      kind: Storage
-      spec:
-        vsphereStorageDriver: LegacyDeprecatedInTreeDriver
-    updated: |
-      apiVersion: operator.openshift.io/v1
-      kind: Storage
-      spec:
-        vsphereStorageDriver: ""
-    expected: |
-      apiVersion: operator.openshift.io/v1
-      kind: Storage
-      spec:
-        vsphereStorageDriver: ""
-        logLevel: Normal
-        operatorLogLevel: Normal
diff --git a/operator/v1/types_storage.go b/operator/v1/types_storage.go
index 8d9a1919c77..84d00cd361b 100644
--- a/operator/v1/types_storage.go
+++ b/operator/v1/types_storage.go
@@ -47,8 +47,10 @@ type StorageSpec struct {
 	// Once this field is set to CSIWithMigrationDriver, it can not be changed.
 	// If this is empty, the platform will choose a good default,
 	// which may change over time without notice.
+	// The current default is CSIWithMigrationDriver and may not be changed.
 	// DEPRECATED: This field will be removed in a future release.
 	// +kubebuilder:validation:XValidation:rule="oldSelf != \"CSIWithMigrationDriver\" || self == \"CSIWithMigrationDriver\"",message="VSphereStorageDriver can not be changed once it is set to CSIWithMigrationDriver"
+	// +kubebuilder:validation:XValidation:rule="self != \"LegacyDeprecatedInTreeDriver\"",message="VSphereStorageDriver can not be set to LegacyDeprecatedInTreeDriver"
 	// +optional
 	VSphereStorageDriver StorageDriverType `json:"vsphereStorageDriver"`
 }
diff --git a/operator/v1/zz_generated.swagger_doc_generated.go b/operator/v1/zz_generated.swagger_doc_generated.go
index dc3c2220978..b93db360828 100644
--- a/operator/v1/zz_generated.swagger_doc_generated.go
+++ b/operator/v1/zz_generated.swagger_doc_generated.go
@@ -1654,7 +1654,7 @@ func (StorageList) SwaggerDoc() map[string]string {
 
 var map_StorageSpec = map[string]string{
 	"":                     "StorageSpec is the specification of the desired behavior of the cluster storage operator.",
-	"vsphereStorageDriver": "VSphereStorageDriver indicates the storage driver to use on VSphere clusters. Once this field is set to CSIWithMigrationDriver, it can not be changed. If this is empty, the platform will choose a good default, which may change over time without notice. DEPRECATED: This field will be removed in a future release.",
+	"vsphereStorageDriver": "VSphereStorageDriver indicates the storage driver to use on VSphere clusters. Once this field is set to CSIWithMigrationDriver, it can not be changed. If this is empty, the platform will choose a good default, which may change over time without notice. The current default is CSIWithMigrationDriver and may not be changed. DEPRECATED: This field will be removed in a future release.",
 }
 
 func (StorageSpec) SwaggerDoc() map[string]string {