diff --git a/packages/apps/mongodb/templates/external-svc.yaml b/packages/apps/mongodb/templates/external-svc.yaml
index 22324514..96dba971 100644
--- a/packages/apps/mongodb/templates/external-svc.yaml
+++ b/packages/apps/mongodb/templates/external-svc.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,12 @@
-{{- if .Values.external }}
+{{- /*
+  External access for non-sharded replica sets is handled by the Percona
+  MongoDB operator via `replsets[].expose` in mongodb.yaml: the operator
+  creates one LoadBalancer per pod and rewrites rs.conf so the driver can
+  discover the primary from outside the cluster (issue #2514). For sharded
+  mode we still expose mongos through a single LoadBalancer because mongos
+  is stateless and any router can route writes to the right shard primary.
+*/}}
+{{- if and .Values.external .Values.sharding }}
 apiVersion: v1
 kind: Service
 metadata:
@@ -15,10 +23,5 @@ spec:
   selector:
     app.kubernetes.io/name: percona-server-mongodb
     app.kubernetes.io/instance: {{ .Release.Name }}
-    {{- if .Values.sharding }}
     app.kubernetes.io/component: mongos
-    {{- else }}
-    app.kubernetes.io/component: mongod
-    app.kubernetes.io/replset: rs0
-    {{- end }}
 {{- end }}
diff --git a/packages/apps/mongodb/templates/mongodb.yaml b/packages/apps/mongodb/templates/mongodb.yaml
index 9273e506..0743a6dd 100644
--- a/packages/apps/mongodb/templates/mongodb.yaml
+++ b/packages/apps/mongodb/templates/mongodb.yaml
@@ -99,7 +99,13 @@ spec:
       podDisruptionBudget:
         maxUnavailable: 1
       expose:
+        {{- if .Values.external }}
+        enabled: true
+        type: LoadBalancer
+        externalTrafficPolicy: Local
+        {{- else }}
         enabled: false
+        {{- end }}
     {{- end }}
 
   {{- if .Values.users }}
diff --git a/packages/apps/mongodb/tests/external-svc_test.yaml b/packages/apps/mongodb/tests/external-svc_test.yaml
index ed3bf597..20e93744 100644
--- a/packages/apps/mongodb/tests/external-svc_test.yaml
+++ b/packages/apps/mongodb/tests/external-svc_test.yaml
@@ -18,12 +18,24 @@ tests:
       - hasDocuments:
           count: 0
 
-  - it: renders LoadBalancer service when external is true
+  - it: does not render in replica-set mode (operator handles per-pod LBs via replsets[].expose)
     release:
       name: test-mongodb
       namespace: tenant-test
     set:
       external: true
+      sharding: false
+    asserts:
+      - hasDocuments:
+          count: 0
+
+  - it: renders single LoadBalancer in sharded mode (mongos front-end)
+    release:
+      name: test-mongodb
+      namespace: tenant-test
+    set:
+      external: true
+      sharding: true
     asserts:
       - hasDocuments:
           count: 1
@@ -40,6 +52,7 @@ tests:
       namespace: tenant-test
     set:
       external: true
+      sharding: true
     asserts:
       - equal:
           path: metadata.name
@@ -51,6 +64,7 @@ tests:
       namespace: tenant-test
     set:
       external: true
+      sharding: true
     asserts:
       - equal:
           path: spec.type
@@ -62,6 +76,7 @@ tests:
       namespace: tenant-test
     set:
       external: true
+      sharding: true
     asserts:
       - equal:
           path: spec.externalTrafficPolicy
@@ -73,6 +88,7 @@ tests:
       namespace: tenant-test
     set:
       external: true
+      sharding: true
     asserts:
       - equal:
           path: spec.ports[0].name
@@ -82,73 +98,25 @@ tests:
           value: 27017
 
   ###########################
-  # Common selector labels  #
+  # Sharded selector        #
   ###########################
 
-  - it: sets app.kubernetes.io/name selector
+  - it: targets mongos pods only
     release:
       name: test-mongodb
       namespace: tenant-test
     set:
       external: true
+      sharding: true
     asserts:
       - equal:
           path: spec.selector["app.kubernetes.io/name"]
           value: percona-server-mongodb
-
-  - it: sets app.kubernetes.io/instance selector
-    release:
-      name: mydb
-      namespace: tenant-test
-    set:
-      external: true
-    asserts:
       - equal:
           path: spec.selector["app.kubernetes.io/instance"]
-          value: mydb
-
-  ###########################
-  # Replica set mode        #
-  ###########################
-
-  - it: selects mongod for replica set mode
-    release:
-      name: test-mongodb
-      namespace: tenant-test
-    set:
-      external: true
-      sharding: false
-    asserts:
-      - equal:
-          path: spec.selector["app.kubernetes.io/component"]
-          value: mongod
-      - equal:
-          path: spec.selector["app.kubernetes.io/replset"]
-          value: rs0
-
-  ###########################
-  # Sharded mode            #
-  ###########################
-
-  - it: selects mongos for sharded mode
-    release:
-      name: test-mongodb
-      namespace: tenant-test
-    set:
-      external: true
-      sharding: true
-    asserts:
+          value: test-mongodb
       - equal:
           path: spec.selector["app.kubernetes.io/component"]
           value: mongos
-
-  - it: does not set replset selector for sharded mode
-    release:
-      name: test-mongodb
-      namespace: tenant-test
-    set:
-      external: true
-      sharding: true
-    asserts:
       - notExists:
           path: spec.selector["app.kubernetes.io/replset"]
diff --git a/packages/apps/mongodb/tests/mongodb_test.yaml b/packages/apps/mongodb/tests/mongodb_test.yaml
index 4154ca25..f95bdfb3 100644
--- a/packages/apps/mongodb/tests/mongodb_test.yaml
+++ b/packages/apps/mongodb/tests/mongodb_test.yaml
@@ -213,6 +213,51 @@ tests:
           path: spec.replsets[0].volumeSpec.persistentVolumeClaim.storageClassName
         documentIndex: 0
 
+  ###########################
+  # Replica set expose      #
+  ###########################
+
+  - it: disables replset expose by default
+    release:
+      name: test-mongodb
+      namespace: tenant-test
+    set:
+      _cluster:
+        cluster-domain: cozy.local
+      sharding: false
+      external: false
+    asserts:
+      - equal:
+          path: spec.replsets[0].expose.enabled
+          value: false
+        documentIndex: 0
+      - notExists:
+          path: spec.replsets[0].expose.type
+        documentIndex: 0
+
+  - it: enables per-pod LoadBalancer when external is true (issue 2514)
+    release:
+      name: test-mongodb
+      namespace: tenant-test
+    set:
+      _cluster:
+        cluster-domain: cozy.local
+      sharding: false
+      external: true
+    asserts:
+      - equal:
+          path: spec.replsets[0].expose.enabled
+          value: true
+        documentIndex: 0
+      - equal:
+          path: spec.replsets[0].expose.type
+          value: LoadBalancer
+        documentIndex: 0
+      - equal:
+          path: spec.replsets[0].expose.externalTrafficPolicy
+          value: Local
+        documentIndex: 0
+
   ###########################
   # Sharded Cluster Mode    #
   ###########################