diff --git a/packages/vite/src/node/optimizer/esbuildDepPlugin.ts b/packages/vite/src/node/optimizer/esbuildDepPlugin.ts
index 04c978130f256c..f646e3815758d1 100644
--- a/packages/vite/src/node/optimizer/esbuildDepPlugin.ts
+++ b/packages/vite/src/node/optimizer/esbuildDepPlugin.ts
@@ -276,7 +276,7 @@ module.exports = Object.create(new Proxy({}, {
       key !== 'constructor' &&
       key !== 'splice'
     ) {
-      throw new Error(\`Module "${path}" has been externalized for browser compatibility. Cannot access "${path}.\${key}" in client code.\`)
+      console.warn(\`Module "${path}" has been externalized for browser compatibility. Cannot access "${path}.\${key}" in client code.\`)
     }
   }
 }))`
diff --git a/playground/optimize-deps/__tests__/optimize-deps.spec.ts b/playground/optimize-deps/__tests__/optimize-deps.spec.ts
index fd717b0401499b..19e9014d7234cf 100644
--- a/playground/optimize-deps/__tests__/optimize-deps.spec.ts
+++ b/playground/optimize-deps/__tests__/optimize-deps.spec.ts
@@ -149,16 +149,23 @@ test('flatten id should generate correctly', async () => {
 test.runIf(isServe)('error on builtin modules usage', () => {
   expect(browserLogs).toEqual(
     expect.arrayContaining([
-      // from dep-with-builtin-module-esm top-level try-catch
+      // from dep-with-builtin-module-esm
+      expect.stringMatching(/dep-with-builtin-module-esm.*is not a function/),
+      // dep-with-builtin-module-esm warnings
       expect.stringContaining(
-        'dep-with-builtin-module-esm Error: Module "fs" has been externalized for browser compatibility. Cannot access "fs.readFileSync" in client code.'
+        'Module "fs" has been externalized for browser compatibility. Cannot access "fs.readFileSync" in client code.'
       ),
       expect.stringContaining(
-        'dep-with-builtin-module-esm Error: Module "path" has been externalized for browser compatibility. Cannot access "path.join" in client code.'
+        'Module "path" has been externalized for browser compatibility. Cannot access "path.join" in client code.'
       ),
-      // from dep-with-builtin-module-cjs top-level try-catch
+      // from dep-with-builtin-module-cjs
+      expect.stringMatching(/dep-with-builtin-module-cjs.*is not a function/),
+      // dep-with-builtin-module-cjs warnings
       expect.stringContaining(
-        'dep-with-builtin-module-cjs Error: Module "path" has been externalized for browser compatibility. Cannot access "path.join" in client code.'
+        'Module "fs" has been externalized for browser compatibility. Cannot access "fs.readFileSync" in client code.'
+      ),
+      expect.stringContaining(
+        'Module "path" has been externalized for browser compatibility. Cannot access "path.join" in client code.'
       )
     ])
   )
@@ -167,11 +174,7 @@ test.runIf(isServe)('error on builtin modules usage', () => {
     expect.arrayContaining([
       // from user source code
       'Module "buffer" has been externalized for browser compatibility. Cannot access "buffer.Buffer" in client code.',
-      'Module "child_process" has been externalized for browser compatibility. Cannot access "child_process.execSync" in client code.',
-      // from dep-with-builtin-module-esm read()
-      'Module "fs" has been externalized for browser compatibility. Cannot access "fs.readFileSync" in client code.',
-      // from dep-with-builtin-module-esm read()
-      'Module "fs" has been externalized for browser compatibility. Cannot access "fs.readFileSync" in client code.'
+      'Module "child_process" has been externalized for browser compatibility. Cannot access "child_process.execSync" in client code.'
     ])
   )
 })