Waymo has recalled nearly 3,900 robotaxis in the U.S., almost its entire national fleet, because of a software issue that led its vehicles to enter closed freeway construction zones.
Waymo, the autonomous vehicle unit of Google parent company Alphabet, filed the voluntary recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on June 12, the second such recall in the past month.
It is a software recall, meaning the company will issue a software update and will not take its robotaxis off the road. There is no effect on service in Austin, Waymo spokesperson Katherine Barna said.
The recall comes after a string of incidents in California and Arizona in which the robotaxis drove past ramp closure signs into freeway construction zones and freeway lanes with active construction work. There were no crashes or injuries reported in these incidents.
“We identified an area of improvement regarding performance around freeway construction zones,” Barna said in a statement. “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.”
Waymo began testing on Austin freeways in February, but the service has not yet been offered to riders.
The company recalled nearly all of its robotaxis in May because its AVs were found to enter flooded roads with higher speed limits. That recall followed an April incident in which a Waymo vehicle was swept away after driving into a flooded road in San Antonio. The vehicle was unoccupied and there were no injuries, but Waymo suspended all of its San Antonio service after the incident, where it remains paused.