diff --git a/lib/commons/aria/is-accessible-ref.js b/lib/commons/aria/is-accessible-ref.js
index 8c1e0a6765..62403760ea 100644
--- a/lib/commons/aria/is-accessible-ref.js
+++ b/lib/commons/aria/is-accessible-ref.js
@@ -35,8 +35,8 @@ aria.isAccessibleRef = function isAccessibleRef(node) {
 
 	// because axe.commons is not available in axe.utils, we can't do
 	// this caching when we build up the virtual tree
-	if (!axe._cache.idRefsCached) {
-		axe._cache.idRefsCached = true;
+	if (!axe._cache.idRefs) {
+		axe._cache.idRefs = {};
 		// Get all idref(s) attributes on the lookup table
 		const refAttrs = Object.keys(aria.lookupTable.attributes).filter(attr => {
 			const { type } = aria.lookupTable.attributes[attr];
diff --git a/lib/core/public/run-rules.js b/lib/core/public/run-rules.js
index 6004ae96ae..d740531371 100644
--- a/lib/core/public/run-rules.js
+++ b/lib/core/public/run-rules.js
@@ -20,9 +20,7 @@ function runRules(context, options, resolve, reject) {
 	'use strict';
 	try {
 		axe._cache = {
-			nodeMap: new WeakMap(),
-			idRefs: {},
-			idRefsCached: false
+			nodeMap: new WeakMap()
 		};
 
 		context = new Context(context);
diff --git a/test/testutils.js b/test/testutils.js
index 29d6d7e304..6114340f3f 100644
--- a/test/testutils.js
+++ b/test/testutils.js
@@ -90,11 +90,6 @@ testUtils.fixtureSetup = function(content) {
 			fixture.appendChild(node);
 		});
 	}
-	axe._cache = {
-		nodeMap: new WeakMap(),
-		idRefs: {},
-		idRefsCached: false
-	};
 	axe._tree = axe.utils.getFlattenedTree(fixture);
 	axe._selectorData = axe.utils.getSelectorData(axe._tree);
 
@@ -305,8 +300,6 @@ axe.testUtils = testUtils;
 
 beforeEach(function() {
 	axe._cache = {
-		nodeMap: new WeakMap(),
-		idRefs: {},
-		idRefsCached: false
+		nodeMap: new WeakMap()
 	};
 });