Federal regulators determined the vehicles pose significant danger due to a defect that caused one empty taxi to be swept away by flood waters.
Waymo has recalled 3,791 of its robotaxis. The recall comes after one of its empty driverless taxis failed to cease driving during flood conditions in San Antonio last month. The vehicle entered a flooded lane and was swept into a nearby waterway. While no one was injured in the incident, federal regulators determined that the vehicles equipped with the company’s 5th and 6th generation Automated Driving Systems (ADS) have a "100% defect rate," posing a significant safety risk.
Fox Business reports, "Federal regulators said the first incident occurred on April 20, when an unoccupied Waymo vehicle encountered an "untraversable flooded section" of roadway with a 40 mph speed limit. That same day, Waymo implemented additional restrictions to reduce the risk of similar incidents in inclement weather, including updates to weather-related controls and changes to mapping systems used by its vehicles."
The affected vehicles were manufactured between March 17, 2022, and April 20, 2026.
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Read the full story: Waymo recalls massive autonomous fleet after incident flags major safety issue
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