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Affected Waymo Vehicle Scope
Total number of autonomous vehicles impacted by the current NHTSA recall
Primary Sources
Waymo recalls 3,800 robotaxis over flood-risk software flaw
Michael M. Santiago / Getty ImagesWaymo is recalling about 3,800 robotaxis across the U.S. after identifying a software flaw that could cause the vehicles to enter flooded roads with higher speed limits.Tracing the recall to a specific triggering event, Waymo cited an April 20 incident in San Antonio where one of its vehicles — carrying no passengers at the time — entered a flooded lane amid extreme weather. The company said no one was hurt. The total number of vehicles covered by the recall is 3,791. Waymo filed a voluntary recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on April 30.In a statement, the company said: "We are working to implement additional software safeguards and have put mitigations in place, including refining our extreme weather operations during periods of intense rain, limiting access to areas where flash flooding might occur."Automotiveworld reported that NHTSA described Waymo's interim response as a temporary tightening of its operational boundaries, including new weather-related constraints and map revisions, as engineers work toward a full software fix. The recall affects both fifth- and sixth-generation Waymo systems.Because the recall filing required Waymo to enumerate every affected vehicle, the document functioned as an inadvertent census of the company's operations — a level of transparency Waymo rarely provides voluntarily. Active deployments span six metropolitan areas: Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, San Antonio, and Atlanta. The tally of 3,791 takes on additional significance given that Waymo did not publicly acknowledge crossing the 2,000-vehicle threshold until September 2025, implying the fleet has come close to tripling within roughly two years, according to Automotiveworld.Regulatory pressure on Waymo extends beyond the flood-related recall. Among the open probes, NHTSA has launched a separate inquiry into a collision that occurred in January when one of the company's vehicles hit a child outside an elementary school in Santa Monica, California; minor injuries were reported.School bus violations have drawn scrutiny from the National Transportation Safety Board as well. Automotiveworld reported that investigators are looking into multiple cases in which Waymo vehicles are said to have rolled past school buses whose warning lights were flashing — conduct that would violate state law. Austin logged at least 20 such episodes between the school year's opening and January; Atlanta recorded six d...
Waymo Recalls Robotaxis After Vehicle Drove on a Flooded Road
Waymo is recalling thousands of robotaxis to fix a software issue that could cause the autonomous vehicles to drive on flooded roads. The recall affects 3,791 vehicles equipped with the company’s fifth- and sixth-generation automated-driving system, according to documents posted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website. The Alphabet Inc.-owned robotaxi business has placed additional constraints on the system’s operations while it works on a permanent fix. Related: Europe’s First Robotaxi Service Is Underway in Croatia at $2.33 a Ride The problem stems from an incident on April 20, when an unoccupied Waymo robotaxi encountered “an untraversable flooded section of a roadway,” according to the documents. Rather than avoid the potentially dangerous street, the vehicle proceeded into floodwater at a reduced speed. While no one was injured and the recall is relatively small, the incident highlights the challenges for driverless vehicles to adapt to unpredictable weather and other unexpected roadway conditions without a human driver’s judgment. Waymo has been rolling out its robotaxi service in cities across the US in a growing competition with the likes of Tesla Inc. Related: Altman-Backed Startup Raises $170 Million for Robocar Networks NHTSA has a separate investigation into Waymo’s self-driving vehicles after one of them struck a child near a school in Santa Monica, California, in January. Top photo: A Waymo autonomous taxi in Mountain View, California. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg. Copyright 2026 Bloomberg. Was this article valuable? Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article. Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it. Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Waymo recalls 3800 robotaxis due to risk of entering flooded road
Waymo announced on 'Tuesday that it was recalling approximately 3,800 robotaxis from the United States. They identified a 'risk?that vehicles could enter flooded roads and higher speed limits raising safety concerns. Alphabet said that the recall was a result of an April 20 incident in which a Waymo car drove into a "flooded lane" in San Antonio, during severe weather. Waymo stated that the ...
Waymo to recall nearly 3,800 robotaxis over self-driving software issue - The Economic Times
Waymo is recalling 3,791 robotaxis in the U.S. over a self-driving software issue that could likely cause the vehicles to drive onto flooded roads, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Tuesday.
