diff --git a/libozsh.zsh b/libozsh.zsh
index e63b2c0..85569f9 100644
--- a/libozsh.zsh
+++ b/libozsh.zsh
@@ -35,6 +35,10 @@ function ozsh_load {
 	fi
 }
 
+function ozsh_write_update_date {
+	echo $(date +%Y-%m-%d) > "$OZSH_LASTUPDATE_FILE"
+}
+
 function ozsh_update {
 	git -C $OZSH_HOME stash
 	git -C $OZSH_HOME pull --rebase
@@ -47,11 +51,17 @@ function ozsh_update {
 		git -C $d pull --rebase
 	done
 
-	echo $(date +%Y-%m-%d) > "$OZSH_LASTUPDATE_FILE"
+	ozsh_write_update_date
 }
 
 function ozsh_autoupdate {
 	local timediff=$(( ( $(strftime -r %Y-%m-%d $(date +%Y-%m-%d)) - $(strftime -r %Y-%m-%d $(cat $OZSH_LASTUPDATE_FILE)) ) / 86400 ))
+
+	if [ ! $? -eq 0 ]; then
+		# recreate the file if the command fails
+		ozsh_write_update_date
+	fi
+
 	if [ "$timediff" -ge "7" ]; then
 		vared -p 'Would you like to update ozsh? [y/N]: ' -c answer
 		if [ "$answer" = "y" ] || [ "$answer" = "Y" ]; then
@@ -68,7 +78,7 @@ function ozsh_init {
 
 	# create lastupdate file if not exist
 	if [ ! -f $OZSH_LASTUPDATE_FILE ]; then
-		echo $(date +%Y-%m-%d) > $OZSH_LASTUPDATE_FILE
+		ozsh_write_update_date
 	fi
 
 	# load the datetime module