SAN FRANCISCO, June 24 (San Francisco News Online) — Waymo has recalled 3,871 vehicles 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 driving, a problem the company says is being fixed.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in the recall report that driving through a closed construction zone increases the risk of a crash. The filing identifies the action as campaign number 26E035000.
Waymo said the remedy is still under development. In the meantime, the company said it has modified vehicle operations to restrict freeway driving while it works on a software update.
The update will be offered free of charge, according to the NHTSA filing. Waymo said the revised software is intended to help vehicles better detect construction zones and avoid entering them.
The recall is national, but the filing points to incidents in the San Francisco Bay Area, a key market for Waymo and the local center of this safety issue. In one incident cited in the report, seven vehicles entered active freeway construction lanes by driving between cones.
The Bay Area cases are important because they affect where and how the service can operate. For riders, the immediate change is that freeway trips are being limited while the company works on the fix.
The filing also describes incidents outside California. Fox News reported that Waymo reviewed cases in Phoenix on April 11 and April 19, including five incidents on April 19 in which vehicles drove past ramp closure signs into planned freeway construction zones.
Waymo said no collisions or injuries were reported in the incidents it reviewed.
CNBC reported that Waymo said it voluntarily limited freeway operations in May while it made improvements and informed state and federal regulators before filing the recall with NHTSA.
The manufacturer report was dated June 12. NHTSA said the recall covers vehicles in the United States equipped with Waymo’s fifth-generation automated driving system.
Waymo’s statement to CNBC said the company had identified an area for improvement around freeway construction sites. The company said its vehicles continue to serve passengers on surface streets in the cities where it operates.
The recall adds a new safety review for one of the country’s best-known autonomous ride services at a time when freeway work and lane closures remain a regular part of Bay Area travel.
NHTSA’s filing says the software issue may allow a Waymo vehicle to enter a closed freeway construction zone and continue driving at speed. The agency said the condition creates an increased crash risk, and the company said it will update the software at no cost once the remedy is ready.
