diff --git a/changelog/4393.fixed.md b/changelog/4393.fixed.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..340158e42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/4393.fixed.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+- Fixed an issue where `LocalSmartTurnAnalyzerV3` was imported unconditionally for user turn stop strategies. It is now only imported when `default_user_turn_stop_strategies()` is called. This improves startup time and removes the `transformers` "PyTorch/TensorFlow/Flax not found" warning when the default stop strategies are not used.
diff --git a/src/pipecat/turns/user_turn_strategies.py b/src/pipecat/turns/user_turn_strategies.py
index 8a663d3da..8bbe87a7a 100644
--- a/src/pipecat/turns/user_turn_strategies.py
+++ b/src/pipecat/turns/user_turn_strategies.py
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@
 
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 
-from pipecat.audio.turn.smart_turn.local_smart_turn_v3 import LocalSmartTurnAnalyzerV3
 from pipecat.turns.user_start import (
     BaseUserTurnStartStrategy,
     ExternalUserTurnStartStrategy,
@@ -44,6 +43,8 @@ def default_user_turn_stop_strategies() -> list[BaseUserTurnStopStrategy]:
     Returns ``[TurnAnalyzerUserTurnStopStrategy(LocalSmartTurnAnalyzerV3)]``.
     Useful when building a custom strategy list that extends the defaults.
     """
+    from pipecat.audio.turn.smart_turn.local_smart_turn_v3 import LocalSmartTurnAnalyzerV3
+
     return [TurnAnalyzerUserTurnStopStrategy(turn_analyzer=LocalSmartTurnAnalyzerV3())]
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_krisp_ip_user_turn_start_strategy.py b/tests/test_krisp_ip_user_turn_start_strategy.py
index 5e5dd00cc..576c4be60 100644
--- a/tests/test_krisp_ip_user_turn_start_strategy.py
+++ b/tests/test_krisp_ip_user_turn_start_strategy.py
@@ -12,10 +12,6 @@ from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
 import numpy as np
 
-# Mock package version check before importing pipecat (development mode)
-_version_patcher = patch("importlib.metadata.version", return_value="0.0.0-dev")
-_version_patcher.start()
-
 # Mock krisp_audio before any pipecat import that loads krisp_instance / VIVA IP strategy
 mock_krisp_audio = MagicMock()
 mock_krisp_audio.SamplingRate.Sr8000Hz = 8000
@@ -37,18 +33,22 @@ sys.modules["pipecat_ai_krisp"] = mock_pipecat_krisp
 sys.modules["pipecat_ai_krisp.audio"] = MagicMock()
 sys.modules["pipecat_ai_krisp.audio.krisp_processor"] = MagicMock()
 
-from pipecat.frames.frames import (
-    BotStartedSpeakingFrame,
-    BotStoppedSpeakingFrame,
-    InputAudioRawFrame,
-    TranscriptionFrame,
-    VADUserStartedSpeakingFrame,
-    VADUserStoppedSpeakingFrame,
-)
-from pipecat.turns.types import ProcessFrameResult
-from pipecat.turns.user_start.krisp_viva_ip_user_turn_start_strategy import (
-    KrispVivaIPUserTurnStartStrategy,
-)
+# The version patch is scoped to just the import so it doesn't leak across the
+# test session and corrupt importlib.metadata.version for other tests
+# (e.g. transformers' import-time dependency checks).
+with patch("importlib.metadata.version", return_value="0.0.0-dev"):
+    from pipecat.frames.frames import (
+        BotStartedSpeakingFrame,
+        BotStoppedSpeakingFrame,
+        InputAudioRawFrame,
+        TranscriptionFrame,
+        VADUserStartedSpeakingFrame,
+        VADUserStoppedSpeakingFrame,
+    )
+    from pipecat.turns.types import ProcessFrameResult
+    from pipecat.turns.user_start.krisp_viva_ip_user_turn_start_strategy import (
+        KrispVivaIPUserTurnStartStrategy,
+    )
 
 STRATEGY_MODULE = "pipecat.turns.user_start.krisp_viva_ip_user_turn_start_strategy"
 
diff --git a/tests/test_krisp_sdk_manager.py b/tests/test_krisp_sdk_manager.py
index 2edbf4598..c809527ef 100644
--- a/tests/test_krisp_sdk_manager.py
+++ b/tests/test_krisp_sdk_manager.py
@@ -11,11 +11,6 @@ from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
 import pytest
 
-# Mock package version check before importing pipecat
-# This allows tests to run in development mode without installed package
-_version_patcher = patch("importlib.metadata.version", return_value="0.0.0-dev")
-_version_patcher.start()
-
 # Mock krisp_audio module BEFORE any pipecat imports
 # This allows tests to run without krisp_audio installed
 mock_krisp_audio = MagicMock()
@@ -48,12 +43,15 @@ sys.modules["pipecat_ai_krisp"] = mock_pipecat_krisp
 sys.modules["pipecat_ai_krisp.audio"] = MagicMock()
 sys.modules["pipecat_ai_krisp.audio.krisp_processor"] = MagicMock()
 
-# Now we can safely import
-from pipecat.audio.krisp_instance import (
-    KRISP_SAMPLE_RATES,
-    KrispVivaSDKManager,
-    int_to_krisp_sample_rate,
-)
+# Now we can safely import. The version patch is scoped to just the import so
+# it doesn't leak across the test session and corrupt importlib.metadata.version
+# for other tests (e.g. transformers' import-time dependency checks).
+with patch("importlib.metadata.version", return_value="0.0.0-dev"):
+    from pipecat.audio.krisp_instance import (
+        KRISP_SAMPLE_RATES,
+        KrispVivaSDKManager,
+        int_to_krisp_sample_rate,
+    )
 
 
 class TestKrispVivaSDKManager:
diff --git a/tests/test_krisp_viva_filter.py b/tests/test_krisp_viva_filter.py
index a788ab131..61a6d0493 100644
--- a/tests/test_krisp_viva_filter.py
+++ b/tests/test_krisp_viva_filter.py
@@ -13,11 +13,6 @@ from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
 import numpy as np
 
-# Mock package version check before importing pipecat
-# This allows tests to run in development mode without installed package
-_version_patcher = patch("importlib.metadata.version", return_value="0.0.0-dev")
-_version_patcher.start()
-
 # Mock krisp_audio module BEFORE any pipecat imports
 # This allows tests to run without krisp_audio installed
 mock_krisp_audio = MagicMock()
@@ -42,9 +37,12 @@ sys.modules["pipecat_ai_krisp"] = mock_pipecat_krisp
 sys.modules["pipecat_ai_krisp.audio"] = MagicMock()
 sys.modules["pipecat_ai_krisp.audio.krisp_processor"] = MagicMock()
 
-# Now we can safely import
-from pipecat.audio.filters.krisp_viva_filter import KrispVivaFilter
-from pipecat.frames.frames import FilterEnableFrame
+# Now we can safely import. The version patch is scoped to just the import so
+# it doesn't leak across the test session and corrupt importlib.metadata.version
+# for other tests (e.g. transformers' import-time dependency checks).
+with patch("importlib.metadata.version", return_value="0.0.0-dev"):
+    from pipecat.audio.filters.krisp_viva_filter import KrispVivaFilter
+    from pipecat.frames.frames import FilterEnableFrame
 
 
 class TestKrispVivaFilter(unittest.IsolatedAsyncioTestCase):
diff --git a/tests/test_krisp_viva_vad.py b/tests/test_krisp_viva_vad.py
index 12b06bc70..9124eaad8 100644
--- a/tests/test_krisp_viva_vad.py
+++ b/tests/test_krisp_viva_vad.py
@@ -15,11 +15,6 @@ from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
 import numpy as np
 
-# Mock package version check before importing pipecat
-# This allows tests to run in development mode without installed package
-_version_patcher = patch("importlib.metadata.version", return_value="0.0.0-dev")
-_version_patcher.start()
-
 # Mock krisp_audio module BEFORE any pipecat imports
 # This allows tests to run without krisp_audio installed
 mock_krisp_audio = MagicMock()
@@ -44,9 +39,12 @@ sys.modules["pipecat_ai_krisp"] = mock_pipecat_krisp
 sys.modules["pipecat_ai_krisp.audio"] = MagicMock()
 sys.modules["pipecat_ai_krisp.audio.krisp_processor"] = MagicMock()
 
-# Now we can safely import
-from pipecat.audio.vad.krisp_viva_vad import KrispVivaVadAnalyzer
-from pipecat.audio.vad.vad_analyzer import VADParams
+# Now we can safely import. The version patch is scoped to just the import so
+# it doesn't leak across the test session and corrupt importlib.metadata.version
+# for other tests (e.g. transformers' import-time dependency checks).
+with patch("importlib.metadata.version", return_value="0.0.0-dev"):
+    from pipecat.audio.vad.krisp_viva_vad import KrispVivaVadAnalyzer
+    from pipecat.audio.vad.vad_analyzer import VADParams
 
 
 class TestKrispVivaVadAnalyzer(unittest.TestCase):