Waymo faces recall issue over response to flooding issue

Waymo has issued a software update to about 4,000 of its vehicles that help avoid flooding on roads as part of a recall announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Tuesday.

But the company hasn’t fully resolved the issue of how its vehicles behave in these conditions. In documents released by NHTSA, the federal safety regulator said Waymo is still “developing a final remedy for this recall.”

According to NHTSA, the problem appears to be that Waymo’s robotaxi did not slow down or stop when it encountered a flooded road that it could not cross. Robotaxis that use both Waymo’s 5th and 6th generation self-driving car systems are affected.

Regulators said the recall applies to 3,791 vehicles, giving Waymo a more up-to-date picture of how many vehicles are on the roads in about a dozen U.S. cities.

Waymo currently has multiple recalls issued for its self-driving cars. The company’s first recall occurred in February 2024 after two robotaxis were found to have separately crashed into the same towing vehicle in Phoenix. Since then, Waymo has issued recalls to fix low-speed collisions with parking gates and utility poles, and to address illegal driving near school buses.

Waymo decided to issue a recall in late April after its robotaxis struggled to survive flooding in central Texas. In one incident, an empty robotaxi was swept away in San Antonio. The company also temporarily suspended operations in the city.

NHTSA said the first update sent to its vehicles imposes “restrictions on locations and times when vehicles are at high risk of encountering flooded highways.”

“We have identified opportunities for improvement regarding impassable flooded lanes, which are unique to highways, and have decided to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA related to this scenario,” Waymo said in a statement. “We are working to implement additional software protection measures, improve our extreme weather response during heavy rain events, and take mitigation measures such as restricting access to areas where flash flooding may occur.”