diff --git a/privmsg.php b/privmsg.php
index 69fa1e750..89374472c 100644
--- a/privmsg.php
+++ b/privmsg.php
@@ -808,7 +808,7 @@ if ($mode == 'read') {
 
         // Check smilies limit
         if ($bb_cfg['max_smilies_pm']) {
-            $count_smilies = substr_count(bbcode2html($message), '<img class="smile" src="' . $bb_cfg['smilies_path']);
+            $count_smilies = substr_count(bbcode2html($privmsg_message), '<img class="smile" src="' . $bb_cfg['smilies_path']);
             if ($count_smilies > $bb_cfg['max_smilies_pm']) {
                 $error = true;
                 $error_msg .= ((!empty($error_msg)) ? '<br />' : '') . sprintf($lang['MAX_SMILIES_PER_POST'], $bb_cfg['max_smilies_pm']);