diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/ShuffleBlockManager.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/ShuffleBlockManager.scala
index e2b24298a55e89b3410d8bace91e026795d8f8d4..6e0ff143b7179c78ae715064b1a25a826d257d97 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/ShuffleBlockManager.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/ShuffleBlockManager.scala
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ class ShuffleBlockManager(blockManager: BlockManager) {
   // Turning off shuffle file consolidation causes all shuffle Blocks to get their own file.
   // TODO: Remove this once the shuffle file consolidation feature is stable.
   val consolidateShuffleFiles =
-    conf.getBoolean("spark.shuffle.consolidateFiles", false)
+    conf.getBoolean("spark.shuffle.consolidateFiles", true)
 
   private val bufferSize = conf.getInt("spark.shuffle.file.buffer.kb", 100) * 1024
 
diff --git a/docs/configuration.md b/docs/configuration.md
index 6717757781974b35157d57d94f8397061bd5e3e7..b1a0e19167d1fa01a5d780b1243e94dfa477f057 100644
--- a/docs/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/configuration.md
@@ -371,7 +371,7 @@ Apart from these, the following properties are also available, and may be useful
 
 <tr>
   <td>spark.shuffle.consolidateFiles</td>
-  <td>false</td>
+  <td>true</td>
   <td>
     If set to "true", consolidates intermediate files created during a shuffle. Creating fewer files can improve filesystem performance for shuffles with large numbers of reduce tasks. It is recommended to set this to "true" when using ext4 or xfs filesystems. On ext3, this option might degrade performance on machines with many (>8) cores due to filesystem limitations.
   </td>