diff --git a/overlay.d/05core/usr/lib/dracut/modules.d/10coreos-printk/coreos-printk-quiet.service b/overlay.d/05core/usr/lib/dracut/modules.d/10coreos-printk/coreos-printk-quiet.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1d1ddddd68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/overlay.d/05core/usr/lib/dracut/modules.d/10coreos-printk/coreos-printk-quiet.service
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=CoreOS: Quiet printk after initramfs setup
+Documentation=https://github.com/coreos/fedora-coreos-tracker/issues/1244
+ConditionPathExists=/etc/initrd-release
+After=initrd.target
+
+[Service]
+Type=oneshot
+RemainAfterExit=yes
+# Change the kernel to default to warning level
+ExecStart=/bin/sh -c 'echo 4 > /proc/sys/kernel/printk'
diff --git a/overlay.d/05core/usr/lib/dracut/modules.d/10coreos-printk/module-setup.sh b/overlay.d/05core/usr/lib/dracut/modules.d/10coreos-printk/module-setup.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a954348733
--- /dev/null
+++ b/overlay.d/05core/usr/lib/dracut/modules.d/10coreos-printk/module-setup.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# See https://issues.redhat.com/browse/RFE-2977 and
+# https://github.com/coreos/fedora-coreos-tracker/issues/1244
+# Basically, the current Fedora kernel log level is "7" which is quite
+# high.  We could change the kernel, and it's tempting to do so but
+# there's some nontrivial potential fallout from that.
+# As a compromise, we keep the default log level for the initramfs,
+# but quiet it before switching to the real root.  This will ensure
+# we'll get most useful logging of bootup configuration.
+
+check() {
+    return 0
+}
+
+install_unit() {
+    unit="$1"; shift
+    target="$1"; shift
+    inst_simple "$moddir/$unit" "$systemdsystemunitdir/$unit"
+    # note we `|| exit 1` here so we error out if e.g. the units are missing
+    # see https://github.com/coreos/fedora-coreos-config/issues/799
+    systemctl -q --root="$initdir" add-requires "$target" "$unit" || exit 1
+}
+
+install() {
+    install_unit coreos-printk-quiet.service initrd.target
+}
diff --git a/tests/kola/logging/printk.sh b/tests/kola/logging/printk.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..656baabea1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/kola/logging/printk.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# kola: { "exclusive": false }
+
+# Verify fix for https://github.com/coreos/fedora-coreos-tracker/issues/1244
+
+set -xeuo pipefail
+
+. $KOLA_EXT_DATA/commonlib.sh
+
+printk=$(cat /proc/sys/kernel/printk)
+
+if ! [[ "$printk" =~ '^4' ]]; then
+    fatal "printk: expected console log level 4, found ${printk}"
+fi
+
+ok "Found expected printk value "