While backporting MR !1806 to 8.8.2 (!1885) I learnt the following:

* Tests with `expect_fail` do not compare `*.stderr` output files. So a test using `expect_fail` will not detect future regressions on the `stderr` output.
* To compare the `*.stderr` output files, I have to use the `exit_code(n)` function.
* When a release is made, tests with `makefile_test` are converted to use `run_command`.
* For the test `T17171a` the return code is `1` when running `makefile_test`, however it's `2` when running `run_command`.

Therefore I decided:

* To improve my tests for #17171
* To change test T17171a from `expect_fail` to `exit_code(2)`
* To change both tests from  `makefile_test` to `run_command`