On Friday, January 23, 2025, a Waymo autonomous vehicle was captured driving across Congress Avenue on 8th Street in front of the Texas Capitol Building in Austin as rain arrived in the area. The scene preceded anticipated drops in temperature and freezing rain over the weekend. (Image: Sara Diggins/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
Waymo has issued a recall for its autonomous driving software after discovering that its vehicles were capable of operating on flooded roads. The recall impacts 3,791 vehicles equipped with the company’s fifth and sixth generation autonomous systems.
In documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Waymo—owned by Alphabet—reported an incident involving an unoccupied robotaxi. The vehicle encountered an "untraversable flooded section of a roadway" with a posted speed limit of 40 mph. Despite detecting the flooded road, the vehicle "proceeded at reduced speed."
Waymo stated it is actively developing a remedy to address the issue. In the meantime, the company has implemented an interim update to "increase weather-related considerations" in its autonomous driving software. Further details about the recall and the updated safety measures have not been disclosed.
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