diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/extras/files/blockinfile.py b/lib/ansible/modules/extras/files/blockinfile.py
index 0fc0fc73cb..37d89ca2c8 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/extras/files/blockinfile.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/extras/files/blockinfile.py
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ def main():
     marker1 = re.sub(r'{mark}', 'END', marker)
     if present and block:
         # Escape seqeuences like '\n' need to be handled in Ansible 1.x
-        if module.constants['ANSIBLE_VERSION'].startswith('1.'):
+        if module.ansible_version.startswith('1.'):
             block = re.sub('', block, '')
         blocklines = [marker0] + block.splitlines() + [marker1]
     else: