SAN FRANCISCO, June 24 (San Francisco News Online) — Waymo has filed a voluntary recall covering 3,871 vehicles equipped with its fifth-generation automated driving system after federal safety regulators said the software may let a robotaxi enter a closed freeway construction zone and keep driving.
The recall, listed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under campaign number 26E035000, covers Waymo LLC vehicles in the United States and centers on a risk that regulators said could increase the chance of a crash. The company said the remedy is still under development.
In the meantime, Waymo said it has modified the scope of its vehicle operations to restrict freeway driving while it works on a software update. The company said the fix will be provided free of charge once it is ready.
The filing is the latest federal safety action involving autonomous ride-hailing vehicles operating in San Francisco and other markets where Waymo runs its service. It comes after the company reviewed incidents in Phoenix and the San Francisco Bay Area that involved vehicles entering or traveling near freeway construction areas.
According to the recall report submitted to NHTSA, the software problem may allow a Waymo vehicle to enter a closed freeway construction zone and continue driving at speed. NHTSA said driving through a closed construction zone increases the risk of a crash.
Waymo said the issue was identified during review of incidents involving its vehicles. Fox News, citing the federal filing, reported that the company reviewed one incident from April 11 in Phoenix, five incidents from April 19 in Phoenix, and seven incidents from May 18 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
CNBC reported that Waymo said it had voluntarily limited freeway operations last month while implementing improvements and had informed state and federal regulators before filing the recall with NHTSA. The company said it continues to serve passengers on surface streets in the cities where it operates.
Waymo also said, through CNBC’s reporting on the company’s statement, that it saw an opportunity to improve performance near freeway construction sites. The recall filing says the company is working on an updated version of the automated driving system to better detect construction zones and avoid entering them.
The recall was reported to NHTSA on June 12, according to the federal document. News of the filing became public after the agency’s report was available later in June.
The NHTSA filing does not show any collisions or injuries tied to the incidents reviewed before the recall, according to Fox News’ summary of the company’s report.
Waymo’s robotaxi service has been expanding in city streets and on some freeway segments, making construction-zone detection an important safety issue in dense urban regions such as San Francisco, where highway work can create sudden lane shifts, closures and barriers close to active traffic.
The federal recall applies nationwide to the affected fifth-generation automated driving systems. The filing does not give a completion date for the software update, and the company has not said when freeway operations will return to their previous scope.
NHTSA’s recall notice says the defect can allow the vehicle to continue into a closed freeway construction zone, creating an increased crash risk. Waymo said the software update will be delivered at no cost once the remedy is finalized.