Waymo recalls – Waymo is recalling 3,871 robotaxis in the US after a software issue could lead vehicles into freeway construction zones. The recall follows 13 recorded incidents—six in Phoenix and seven in the San Francisco Bay Area—where cars entered restricted work areas ti
A Waymo robotaxi entered a restricted construction area often enough to show up repeatedly in safety paperwork—and now the company is asking regulators and riders to treat those details as a fixable software flaw.
On Wednesday, Waymo filed a recall report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covering 3,871 robotaxis in the US tied to a software issue that could cause vehicles to drive into freeway construction zones.
The report describes 13 instances in which Waymo vehicles entered restricted construction areas. Six incidents happened in April in Phoenix. In those cases, the vehicles failed to recognize ramp-closure signs and drove into pre-planned freeway construction zones.
The remaining seven incidents occurred in May in the San Francisco Bay Area. The filing says the vehicles entered freeway lanes with active construction “by driving between cones designating lane closure in the adjacent lane.”
The recall report does not indicate whether any crashes or injuries occurred.
In its recall acknowledgment letter, Waymo said it has limited freeway driving. The company plans to update its software to prevent vehicles from entering construction zones while it works on a permanent fix.
“We identified an area of improvement regarding performance around freeway construction zones,” a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement. “We voluntarily restricted freeway operations last month while making improvements. proactively notified state and federal regulators. and decided to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA.”.
The timing of the recall lands with extra weight: it comes about seven months after Waymo became the first fully autonomous ride-hailing service in the US to carry passengers on freeways. It is also the second time this year that Waymo has recalled its vehicles.
Earlier this year, a May recall followed an incident in which one of its driverless taxis entered a flooded street. In a May 6 filing with the NHTSA, Waymo said: “On higher speed roadways, the Waymo AV may slow but not stop in response to detecting a potentially untraversable flooded lane.”
This latest action is the sixth recall Waymo has issued for its robotaxi fleet. The company has previously issued recalls to address issues that could cause its robotaxis to inaccurately predict the movement of a towed vehicle. fail to avoid poles. collide with chains and gates. or pass a stopped school bus.
Waymo is also facing scrutiny beyond recalls. Federal safety regulators are investigating a January incident in which one of its robotaxis struck a child near a Santa Monica elementary school.
Waymo robotaxi recall NHTSA freeway construction zones autonomous vehicles Phoenix ramp-closure signs San Francisco Bay Area construction lanes software issue autonomous ride-hailing safety investigation
So they just… drove into construction zones? Wow.
I mean, cones are literally right there. How do they not see the signs? Sounds like the software is still kinda beta.
This is probably why I don’t trust those things on the freeway. If it’s only 13 incidents then why recall 3,871?? Makes it seem like they’re trying to cover something bigger but call it “software.” Also ramp-closure signs?? like the cars are just ignoring road work on purpose.
Freeway construction zones are always changing and everyone’s bad at it, so I get it… but still, the fact they drove between cones?? That’s like the most obvious clue. I saw something about Waymo being “first” at ride-hailing and now suddenly they’re limiting freeway operations, so is this expansion failing? Not saying regulators should do nothing, but they wait 7 months and then “voluntary” recall, idk.