diff --git a/weed/wdclient/filer_client.go b/weed/wdclient/filer_client.go
index e27d4e730..2e0d20095 100644
--- a/weed/wdclient/filer_client.go
+++ b/weed/wdclient/filer_client.go
@@ -8,11 +8,12 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"google.golang.org/grpc"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/codes"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/status"
 
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/glog"
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/pb"
 	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/pb/filer_pb"
-	"github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/weed/util"
 )
 
 // UrlPreference controls which URL to use for volume access
@@ -139,8 +140,35 @@ func (fc *FilerClient) GetLookupFileIdFunction() LookupFileIdFunctionType {
 	}
 }
 
+// isRetryableGrpcError checks if a gRPC error is transient and should be retried
+func isRetryableGrpcError(err error) bool {
+	if err == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	
+	// Check gRPC status code
+	st, ok := status.FromError(err)
+	if ok {
+		switch st.Code() {
+		case codes.Unavailable,      // Server unavailable (temporary)
+			codes.DeadlineExceeded,  // Request timeout
+			codes.ResourceExhausted, // Rate limited or overloaded
+			codes.Aborted:           // Operation aborted (might succeed on retry)
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	
+	// Fallback to string matching for non-gRPC errors (e.g., network errors)
+	errStr := err.Error()
+	return strings.Contains(errStr, "transport") ||
+		strings.Contains(errStr, "connection") ||
+		strings.Contains(errStr, "timeout") ||
+		strings.Contains(errStr, "unavailable")
+}
+
 // LookupVolumeIds queries the filer for volume locations with automatic failover
 // Tries all configured filer addresses until one succeeds (high availability)
+// Retries transient gRPC errors (Unavailable, DeadlineExceeded, etc.) with exponential backoff
 // Note: Unlike master's VolumeIdLocation, filer's Locations message doesn't currently have
 // an Error field. This implementation handles the current structure while being prepared
 // for future error reporting enhancements.
@@ -155,9 +183,13 @@ func (p *filerVolumeProvider) LookupVolumeIds(ctx context.Context, volumeIds []s
 	// Convert grpcTimeout to milliseconds for the signature parameter
 	timeoutMs := int32(fc.grpcTimeout.Milliseconds())
 
-	// Try all filer addresses with round-robin starting from current index
+	// Retry transient failures with exponential backoff
 	var lastErr error
-	err := util.Retry("filer volume lookup", func() error {
+	waitTime := time.Second
+	maxRetries := 3
+	
+	for retry := 0; retry < maxRetries; retry++ {
+		// Try all filer addresses with round-robin starting from current index
 		i := atomic.LoadInt32(&fc.filerIndex)
 		n := int32(len(fc.filerAddresses))
 
@@ -207,7 +239,7 @@ func (p *filerVolumeProvider) LookupVolumeIds(ctx context.Context, volumeIds []s
 			})
 
 			if err != nil {
-				glog.V(1).Infof("FilerClient: filer %s lookup failed (attempt %d/%d): %v", filerAddress, x+1, n, err)
+				glog.V(1).Infof("FilerClient: filer %s lookup failed (attempt %d/%d, retry %d/%d): %v", filerAddress, x+1, n, retry+1, maxRetries, err)
 				lastErr = err
 				i++
 				if i >= n {
@@ -219,16 +251,25 @@ func (p *filerVolumeProvider) LookupVolumeIds(ctx context.Context, volumeIds []s
 			// Success - update the preferred filer index for next time
 			atomic.StoreInt32(&fc.filerIndex, i)
 			glog.V(3).Infof("FilerClient: looked up %d volumes on %s, found %d", len(volumeIds), filerAddress, len(result))
-			return nil
+			return result, nil
 		}
 
-		// All filers failed
-		return fmt.Errorf("all %d filer(s) failed, last error: %w", n, lastErr)
-	})
-
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("filer volume lookup failed for %d volume(s): %w", len(volumeIds), err)
+		// All filers failed on this attempt
+		// Check if the error is retryable (transient gRPC error)
+		if !isRetryableGrpcError(lastErr) {
+			// Non-retryable error (e.g., NotFound, PermissionDenied) - fail immediately
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("all %d filer(s) failed with non-retryable error: %w", n, lastErr)
+		}
+		
+		// Transient error - retry if we have attempts left
+		if retry < maxRetries-1 {
+			glog.V(1).Infof("FilerClient: all %d filer(s) failed with retryable error (attempt %d/%d), retrying in %v: %v", 
+				n, retry+1, maxRetries, waitTime, lastErr)
+			time.Sleep(waitTime)
+			waitTime = waitTime * 3 / 2  // Exponential backoff: 1s, 1.5s, 2.25s
+		}
 	}
 
-	return result, nil
+	// All retries exhausted
+	return nil, fmt.Errorf("all %d filer(s) failed after %d attempts, last error: %w", len(fc.filerAddresses), maxRetries, lastErr)
 }