SAN FRANCISCO, June 24 (San Francisco News Online) — Waymo has recalled 3,871 vehicles equipped with its fifth-generation automated driving system after federal regulators said the software could allow a robotaxi to enter a closed freeway construction zone and keep driving, a defect that also surfaced in incidents in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The voluntary recall was filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which listed it as campaign 26E035000. In the agency’s report, NHTSA said driving through a closed construction zone increases the risk of a crash.
Waymo said the remedy is still being developed and the filing did not give a completion date for the fix. Until a permanent update is ready, the company said it has modified vehicle operations to restrict freeway driving.
The recall covers vehicles in the United States that use Waymo’s fifth-generation automated driving system, and the software update will be provided free of charge. For riders, that means freeway service is limited while the company works on the software change, but surface-street trips continue.
The federal filing says Waymo reviewed incidents in Phoenix and in the San Francisco Bay Area before filing the recall. In the Bay Area, vehicles were reported to have entered active freeway construction lanes between cones.
The filing also reviewed Phoenix incidents in which vehicles drove past ramp closure signs and into preplanned freeway construction zones. Dates cited in the report include April 11, April 19 and May 18.
Waymo said no collisions or injuries were reported in the incidents reviewed. The company said it had voluntarily limited freeway operations while it worked on the improvement and notified state and federal regulators.
Waymo also said it continues to serve passengers on surface streets across the cities where it operates. The safety agency said the manufacturer report was dated June 12.
