3,800 Robotaxi Were Recalled By Waymo Because They Might End Up On Blocked Roads

Waymo has decided to recall 3,800 of its autonomous taxis because of a software problem that could cause the cars to enter closed highway work zones at high speed, according to a bulletin from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Reuters reports.

The company is reportedly working on a solution and “restricted driving on highways”, according to the NHTSA notice. It is not known at this time if Waymo had an incident that led to this recall.

“We have identified an area where we can improve vehicle performance near highway work zones. Last month, we voluntarily limited highway operations while we worked on improvements, proactively notified state and federal regulators, and decided to file a voluntary software recall,” Waymo told Engadget.

The company has previously stressed that such recalls are a notice of intent to correct the associated software problem and do not mean vehicles are being pulled from the road.

Waymo’s robotaxi vehicles based on the Jaguar I-Pace were first licensed to drive on Phoenix motorways in 2024, first with employees and then with paying passengers. Before that, cars could travel on highways only with the presence of a driver.

This is the second recall for Alphabet-owned Waymo in just over a month. Back in May, Waymo recalled 3,791 robotaxis after one vehicle entered a flooded road in San Antonio. Fortunately, no one was injured because there were no passengers in the vehicle, but it was swept away by the torrent.

Before that, the entire fleet was recalled due to a particularly dangerous situation when some robotaxi cars were observed not stopping behind school buses that had their stop signs and flashing lights on.

Despite these issues, Waymo’s autonomous fleet is generally performing well, according to the company. On its safety impact website, Waymo states that its vehicles have been involved in 92 percent fewer crashes with serious injuries or worse than human drivers and 92 percent fewer crashes involving pedestrians.

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