diff --git a/src/lib/menu/menu-directive.ts b/src/lib/menu/menu-directive.ts
index 7bde6f80ff2a..914e15578f37 100644
--- a/src/lib/menu/menu-directive.ts
+++ b/src/lib/menu/menu-directive.ts
@@ -76,7 +76,9 @@ export class MdMenu implements AfterContentInit, MdMenuPanel, OnDestroy {
   }
 
   ngOnDestroy() {
-    this._tabSubscription.unsubscribe();
+    if (this._tabSubscription) {
+      this._tabSubscription.unsubscribe();
+    }
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/src/lib/menu/menu.spec.ts b/src/lib/menu/menu.spec.ts
index 1ccdbc698d3a..a5fc6ee4f98c 100644
--- a/src/lib/menu/menu.spec.ts
+++ b/src/lib/menu/menu.spec.ts
@@ -384,6 +384,12 @@ describe('MdMenu', () => {
 
   });
 
+  describe('destroy', () => {
+    it('does not throw an error on destroy', () => {
+      const fixture = TestBed.createComponent(SimpleMenu);
+      expect(fixture.destroy.bind(fixture)).not.toThrow();
+    });
+  });
 });
 
 @Component({
diff --git a/src/lib/tooltip/tooltip.spec.ts b/src/lib/tooltip/tooltip.spec.ts
index f13af21eca89..9700e755fc21 100644
--- a/src/lib/tooltip/tooltip.spec.ts
+++ b/src/lib/tooltip/tooltip.spec.ts
@@ -402,6 +402,15 @@ describe('MdTooltip', () => {
       expect(tooltipDirective._tooltipInstance).toBeNull();
     }));
   });
+
+  describe('destroy', () => {
+    it('does not throw an error on destroy', () => {
+      const fixture = TestBed.createComponent(BasicTooltipDemo);
+      fixture.detectChanges();
+      delete fixture.componentInstance.tooltip.scrollSubscription;
+      expect(fixture.destroy.bind(fixture)).not.toThrow();
+    });
+  });
 });
 
 @Component({
@@ -417,6 +426,7 @@ class BasicTooltipDemo {
   position: string = 'below';
   message: string = initialTooltipMessage;
   showButton: boolean = true;
+  @ViewChild(MdTooltip) tooltip: MdTooltip;
 }
 
 @Component({
diff --git a/src/lib/tooltip/tooltip.ts b/src/lib/tooltip/tooltip.ts
index fa463026bb7a..ded39bf7ae44 100644
--- a/src/lib/tooltip/tooltip.ts
+++ b/src/lib/tooltip/tooltip.ts
@@ -161,7 +161,9 @@ export class MdTooltip implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
       this._disposeTooltip();
     }
 
-    this.scrollSubscription.unsubscribe();
+    if (this.scrollSubscription) {
+      this.scrollSubscription.unsubscribe();
+    }
   }
 
   /** Shows the tooltip after the delay in ms, defaults to tooltip-delay-show or 0ms if no input */