Waymo Recalls 3,900 Robotaxis After 13 Freeway Construction-Zone Incidents
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Jun 18
Waymo Recalls 3,900 Robotaxis After 13 Freeway Construction-Zone Incidents
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Jun 18
Summary
Almost 3,900 Waymo robotaxis in the U.S. are being recalled under a voluntary NHTSA filing after 13 known cases of vehicles entering active or closed freeway construction zones in Phoenix and the San Francisco area.
Waymo said a software issue in its fifth-generation automated driving system created a crash risk, prompting it to restrict freeway operations last month while it develops and validates a remedy.
The limitation affects a service that had been carrying public riders on freeways in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Miami, while surface-street service continues in all cities where Waymo operates.
The recall is Waymo's second in just over a month, following a May software recall tied to flooded-road incidents, and comes amid an NHTSA probe opened after a January case in which a robotaxi passed a stopped school bus.
Waymo now runs commercial robotaxi service in 11 U.S. markets, but analysts say the unresolved freeway patch could slow expansion even as the company plans launches in London and Tokyo this year.