diff --git a/lisp/vc/vc.el b/lisp/vc/vc.el
index f210d440b69..b0821de3da5 100644
--- a/lisp/vc/vc.el
+++ b/lisp/vc/vc.el
@@ -2799,13 +2799,15 @@ Return t if the buffer had changes, nil otherwise."
     ;; bindings are nicer for read only buffers. pcl-cvs does the
     ;; same thing.
     (setq buffer-read-only t)
-    (diff-mode)
-    (setq-local diff-vc-backend (car vc-fileset))
-    (setq-local diff-vc-revisions (list rev1 rev2))
-    (setq-local revert-buffer-function
-                (lambda (_ignore-auto _noconfirm)
-                  (vc-diff-internal async vc-fileset rev1 rev2 verbose)))
-    (vc-call-backend (car vc-fileset) 'diff files rev1 rev2 buffer async)
+    (delay-mode-hooks
+      (diff-mode)
+      (setq-local diff-vc-backend (car vc-fileset))
+      (setq-local diff-vc-revisions (list rev1 rev2))
+      (setq-local revert-buffer-function
+                  (lambda (_ignore-auto _noconfirm)
+                    (vc-diff-internal async vc-fileset rev1 rev2 verbose)))
+      (vc-call-backend (car vc-fileset) 'diff files rev1 rev2 buffer async))
+    (run-mode-hooks 'diff-mode-hook)
     (if (and (zerop (buffer-size))
              (not (get-buffer-process (current-buffer))))
         ;; Treat this case specially so as not to pop the buffer.