diff --git a/esmvaltool/cmorizers/data/utilities.py b/esmvaltool/cmorizers/data/utilities.py
index ed8b9a9af9..c978a6a956 100644
--- a/esmvaltool/cmorizers/data/utilities.py
+++ b/esmvaltool/cmorizers/data/utilities.py
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ def fix_coords(cube,
             if cube_coord.ndim == 1:
                 cube = cube.intersection(longitude=(0.0, 360.0))
             if overwrite_lon_bounds or not cube_coord.has_bounds():
-                fix_bounds(cube, cube_coord)
+                fix_bounds(cube, cube.coord('longitude'))
 
         # fix latitude
         if cube_coord.var_name == 'lat':