SAN FRANCISCO, June 24 (San Francisco News Online) — Waymo has voluntarily recalled 3,871 vehicles equipped with its fifth-generation automated driving system after federal regulators said the software could send a robotaxi into a closed freeway construction zone and keep it moving at speed, prompting the company to restrict freeway driving while it develops a fix.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the condition increases the risk of a crash. The recall, filed by Waymo LLC and assigned campaign number 26E035000, covers vehicles operating in the United States.
Waymo said the remedy is under development and will be delivered as a software update at no charge. In the meantime, the company said it has modified the scope of vehicle operations to restrict freeway driving.
The recall adds another safety issue for a company that has been expanding its driverless service in major cities, including the San Francisco Bay Area. Waymo said it had already voluntarily limited freeway operations last month while implementing improvements and had notified state and federal regulators.
The federal filing said the software may not properly recognize a closed freeway construction zone and could allow a vehicle to continue driving through the area. NHTSA said that if a vehicle drives through a closed construction zone, the danger of a crash rises.
According to the recall report, Waymo reviewed incidents in Phoenix and in the San Francisco Bay Area before filing the recall. The filing cited one incident on April 11, five incidents on April 19 and seven incidents on May 18 in the Bay Area.
Waymo said no collisions or injuries were reported in the incidents it reviewed.
The company said the software update will improve how the vehicles detect construction zones and help them avoid entering closed freeway areas. The recall notice did not give a date for when the fix will be completed.
The manufacturer report was dated June 12 and became public after NHTSA posted it. Coverage of the filing followed on June 18, and later reporting identified the recall as a voluntary software recall by Waymo.
Waymo’s statement, quoted in CNBC’s reporting, said the company had identified an area for improvement in performance near freeway construction sites. It also said it continues to serve passengers on surface streets in the cities where it operates.
The recall comes as federal safety oversight of automated driving systems remains centered on NHTSA, which receives manufacturer reports and publishes the notices that trigger safety work. For San Francisco and other Bay Area cities, the immediate operational change is the company’s decision to hold back freeway service while the software update is completed.
