diff --git a/lnwire/onion_error.go b/lnwire/onion_error.go
index 1763d0ba..ffc7e1af 100644
--- a/lnwire/onion_error.go
+++ b/lnwire/onion_error.go
@@ -665,12 +665,7 @@ func (f *FailAmountBelowMinimum) Encode(w io.Writer, pver uint32) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	err := WriteElement(w, uint16(f.Update.MaxPayloadLength(pver)))
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	return f.Update.Encode(w, pver)
+	return writeOnionErrorChanUpdate(w, &f.Update, pver)
 }
 
 // FailFeeInsufficient is returned if the HTLC does not pay sufficient fee, we
@@ -738,12 +733,7 @@ func (f *FailFeeInsufficient) Encode(w io.Writer, pver uint32) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	err := WriteElement(w, uint16(f.Update.MaxPayloadLength(pver)))
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	return f.Update.Encode(w, pver)
+	return writeOnionErrorChanUpdate(w, &f.Update, pver)
 }
 
 // FailIncorrectCltvExpiry is returned if outgoing cltv value does not match
@@ -811,12 +801,7 @@ func (f *FailIncorrectCltvExpiry) Encode(w io.Writer, pver uint32) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	err := WriteElement(w, uint16(f.Update.MaxPayloadLength(pver)))
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	return f.Update.Encode(w, pver)
+	return writeOnionErrorChanUpdate(w, &f.Update, pver)
 }
 
 // FailExpiryTooSoon is returned if the ctlv-expiry is too near, we tell them
@@ -869,12 +854,7 @@ func (f *FailExpiryTooSoon) Decode(r io.Reader, pver uint32) error {
 //
 // NOTE: Part of the Serializable interface.
 func (f *FailExpiryTooSoon) Encode(w io.Writer, pver uint32) error {
-	err := WriteElement(w, uint16(f.Update.MaxPayloadLength(pver)))
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	return f.Update.Encode(w, pver)
+	return writeOnionErrorChanUpdate(w, &f.Update, pver)
 }
 
 // FailChannelDisabled is returned if the channel is disabled, we tell them the
@@ -942,12 +922,7 @@ func (f *FailChannelDisabled) Encode(w io.Writer, pver uint32) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	err := WriteElement(w, uint16(f.Update.MaxPayloadLength(pver)))
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	return f.Update.Encode(w, pver)
+	return writeOnionErrorChanUpdate(w, &f.Update, pver)
 }
 
 // FailFinalIncorrectCltvExpiry is returned if the outgoing_cltv_value does not
@@ -1231,3 +1206,32 @@ func makeEmptyOnionError(code FailCode) (FailureMessage, error) {
 		return nil, errors.Errorf("unknown error code: %v", code)
 	}
 }
+
+// writeOnionErrorChanUpdate writes out a ChannelUpdate using the onion error
+// format. The format is that we first write out the true serialized length of
+// the channel update, followed by the serialized channel update itself.
+func writeOnionErrorChanUpdate(w io.Writer, chanUpdate *ChannelUpdate,
+	pver uint32) error {
+
+	// First, we encode the channel update in a temporary buffer in order
+	// to get the exact serialized size.
+	var b bytes.Buffer
+	if err := chanUpdate.Encode(&b, pver); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	// Now that we know the size, we can write the length out in the main
+	// writer.
+	updateLen := b.Len()
+	if err := WriteElement(w, uint16(updateLen)); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	// With the length written, we'll then write out the serialized channel
+	// update.
+	if _, err := w.Write(b.Bytes()); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/lnwire/onion_error_test.go b/lnwire/onion_error_test.go
index d59281a2..62b92766 100644
--- a/lnwire/onion_error_test.go
+++ b/lnwire/onion_error_test.go
@@ -131,3 +131,38 @@ func TestChannelUpdateCompatabilityParsing(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("mismatched channel updates: %v", err)
 	}
 }
+
+// TestWriteOnionErrorChanUpdate tests that we write an exact size for the
+// channel update in order to be more compliant with the parsers of other
+// implementations.
+func TestWriteOnionErrorChanUpdate(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	// First, we'll write out the raw channel update so we can obtain the
+	// raw serialized length.
+	var b bytes.Buffer
+	update := testChannelUpdate
+	if err := update.Encode(&b, 0); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unable to write update: %v", err)
+	}
+	trueUpdateLength := b.Len()
+
+	// Next, we'll use the function to encode the update as we would in a
+	// onion error message.
+	var errorBuf bytes.Buffer
+	err := writeOnionErrorChanUpdate(&errorBuf, &update, 0)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unable to encode onion error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Finally, read the length encoded and ensure that it matches the raw
+	// length.
+	var encodedLen uint16
+	if err := ReadElement(&errorBuf, &encodedLen); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unable to read len: %v", err)
+	}
+	if uint16(trueUpdateLength) != encodedLen {
+		t.Fatalf("wrong length written: expected %v, got %v",
+			trueUpdateLength, encodedLen)
+	}
+}