WaymoA company has issued a voluntary recall affecting 3.791 vehicles following an incident involving a robotaxi that drove into floodwaters, and has notified the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The incident occurred in San Antonio, Texas, where an unoccupied robotaxi, despite detecting impassable floodwaters, slowed down and continued to move forward, becoming swept away by the current. No injuries were reported.
According to NHTSA documents, the problem stems from vehicles slowing down and continuing instead of stopping or changing course when encountering floodwaters. The recall covers all vehicles using Waymo’s fifth and sixth-generation autonomous driving systems; this also marks the first recall for the sixth-generation system. The Alphabet-owned company has also temporarily suspended operations in San Antonio.
Emergency action was taken with a software update.
Waymo has rolled out a fleet-wide over-the-air (OTA) software update while continuing to work on a permanent solution. This update increases weather-related restrictions during periods of heavy rainfall and limits access to areas at high risk of flash flooding. Vehicles do not need to be taken to a service center.
“We identified an area for improvement regarding impassable flood lanes specific to high-speed roads and decided to submit a voluntary software recall request to the NHTSA regarding this scenario. We are continuing our work to implement additional software safeguards and are taking measures such as limiting our operations in extreme weather conditions and restricting access to areas prone to flash flooding.”
Waymo's recall record is growing.
It, Waymo This is not the first recall. The company previously announced one in February 2024. PhoenixThe company had issued multiple recalls due to issues such as two vehicles colliding with the same towed vehicle, low-speed collisions with parking barriers and telephone poles, and illegally overtaking school buses. The fifth-generation system has been recalled a total of five times so far.
The sixth-generation system was launched earlier this year with a high-volume production target and is designed to work with multiple vehicle types. The Zeekr RT (rebranded as Ojai) and Hyundai Ioniq 5 are among the first vehicles to use this system, while Waymo is continuing discussions with various automotive companies, including Toyota, for future models. Meanwhile, as the company implements its expansion plans to East Coast cities such as Boston, New York, and Washington DC, its capacity to manage adverse weather conditions will remain a critical test in the coming period.
