Waymo is recalling nearly 4,000 of its driverless vehicles in the US due to a critical safety flaw that caused them to drive into construction zones at freeway speeds. This marks the company's fourth recall since February 2024.
The recall, filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on June 17, affects 3,871 vehicles equipped with Waymo's 5th Generation automated driving system. The issue stems from the system's failure to properly recognize construction zones or its decision to prioritize avoiding other hazards, leading the autonomous vehicles (AVs) to enter closed work areas.
Incidents prompting the recall occurred earlier this year. In April, Waymo vehicles in Phoenix drove past ramp closure signs into construction zones. Then, on May 18, seven vehicles in the San Francisco Bay Area navigated through construction cones into active lane closures. Although no collisions or injuries were reported, these events led Waymo to voluntarily restrict freeway operations and initiate a recall.
A Waymo statement emphasized their commitment to safety, noting, "We identified an area of improvement regarding performance around freeway construction zones. 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." A permanent fix is currently under development, and in the interim, Waymo has completely restricted its vehicles from freeway access.
This is Waymo's fourth safety recall in approximately 28 months, with previous recalls addressing issues like collisions with stationary barriers and driving into flooded areas. The current recall does not impact Waymo's newer 6th Generation vehicles, which will continue to operate on surface streets.
