diff --git a/lib/db.js b/lib/db.js
index 937efcd635..1e59ee3eeb 100644
--- a/lib/db.js
+++ b/lib/db.js
@@ -1042,6 +1042,7 @@ var createIndex = function(self, name, fieldOrSpec, options, callback) {
     // 86 = 'IndexKeySpecsConflict' (index already exists with the same name)
     // 11000 = 'DuplicateKey' (couldn't build unique index because of dupes)
     // 11600 = 'InterruptedAtShutdown' (interrupted at shutdown)
+    // 197 = 'InvalidIndexSpecificationOption' (`_id` with `background: true`)
     // These errors mean that the server recognized `createIndex` as a command
     // and so we don't need to fallback to an insert.
     if (
@@ -1049,7 +1050,8 @@ var createIndex = function(self, name, fieldOrSpec, options, callback) {
       err.code === 11000 ||
       err.code === 85 ||
       err.code === 86 ||
-      err.code === 11600
+      err.code === 11600 ||
+      err.code === 197
     ) {
       return handleCallback(callback, err, result);
     }