diff --git a/diff_drive_controller/src/diff_drive_controller.cpp b/diff_drive_controller/src/diff_drive_controller.cpp
index a93d3d3812..7c3c9864d2 100644
--- a/diff_drive_controller/src/diff_drive_controller.cpp
+++ b/diff_drive_controller/src/diff_drive_controller.cpp
@@ -375,13 +375,14 @@ controller_interface::CallbackReturn DiffDriveController::on_configure(
       tf_prefix = std::string(get_node()->get_namespace());
     }
 
-    if (tf_prefix == "/")
+    // Make sure prefix does not start with '/' and always ends with '/'
+    if (tf_prefix.back() != '/')
     {
-      tf_prefix = "";
+      tf_prefix = tf_prefix + "/";
     }
-    else
+    if (tf_prefix.front() == '/')
     {
-      tf_prefix = tf_prefix + "/";
+      tf_prefix.erase(0, 1);
     }
   }