diff --git a/src/scimlfunctions.jl b/src/scimlfunctions.jl
index c3c083973f..b76dbac46d 100644
--- a/src/scimlfunctions.jl
+++ b/src/scimlfunctions.jl
@@ -4245,7 +4245,7 @@ for S in [:ODEFunction
     end
 end
 
-SymbolicIndexingInterface.symbolic_container(fn::AbstractSciMLFunction) = fn.sys
+SymbolicIndexingInterface.symbolic_container(fn::AbstractSciMLFunction) = has_sys(fn) ? fn.sys : SymbolCache()
 
 SymbolicIndexingInterface.is_observed(fn::AbstractSciMLFunction, sym) = has_observed(fn)