Federal safety regulators say Waymo is recalling 3,791 driverless vehicles operating in the United States because of a software issue that could permit the cars to travel onto flooded roads.
The recall specifically concerns certain fifth- and sixth-generation Automated Driving Systems installed in the company’s robotaxis, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The agency said the defect relates to how the software responds in flood-prone conditions and could result in the vehicles entering areas with standing or moving water.
As an interim response to the problem, Waymo has narrowed the permitted scope of its operations by imposing tighter weather-related constraints and has pushed updated map data to its fleet, the NHTSA statement said. Those measures are intended to reduce the likelihood of vehicles encountering flooded roadways while the company continues to develop a complete technical remedy.
The agency noted that a full fix remains under development. No timeline for the final remedy was provided in the NHTSA comments cited by regulators.
Separately, the company is facing additional federal scrutiny. NHTSA is conducting an inquiry after one of Waymo’s self-driving vehicles struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California, in January, the agency said.
In addition, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said last month that it is investigating a separate January incident in which Waymo vehicles reportedly passed a stopped school bus with its lights activated, a maneuver the agency said violated Texas state law.
The recall and the ongoing probes underscore continuing regulatory attention on autonomous vehicle operations and safety performance. Waymo’s interim actions - operational limits and map updates - address immediate risk vectors while the underlying software correction is being created, according to the NHTSA description.
Regulators have not announced further enforcement steps in connection with the recall or the two January incidents, and the company is continuing work on a permanent fix for the software issue that led to the recall.