Waymo recalls nearly 4,000 robotaxis over highway construction zone incidents

Waymo has issued a voluntary recall affecting nearly 4,000 robotaxis after the autonomous vehicle company identified at least 13 instances where its vehicles drove into highway sections closed for construction. Six incidents occurred in Phoenix, Arizona in April, and seven took place in the San Francisco Bay Area in May. In response, Waymo suspended all freeway operations on May 19 and filed a voluntary software recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The incidents reveal gaps in Waymo's autonomous driving software. In Phoenix, the company's vehicles failed to recognize and drove past ramp closure signs into pre-planned freeway construction zones. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Waymo's software prioritized avoiding other freeway hazards while failing to recognize construction zones. One incident was captured on video and shared on social media, showing a Waymo vehicle driving through construction cones at high speed while police were present. The passenger described the experience as frightening, fearing for their safety.

Waymo, which began offering highway rides in November 2025, stated it identified an area for improvement regarding performance around freeway construction zones. The company says a fix is currently under development. This represents Waymo's sixth recall since launching its robotaxi service. Previous recalls have addressed vehicles driving into flooded roads, illegal behavior around school buses, low-speed collisions with chains and gates, telephone poles, and issues with towed trucks. Additionally, the NHTSA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating Waymo's driving software following an incident in January where one of its robotaxis struck a child near a school.

Despite these safety concerns, Waymo continues to operate on surface streets and is proceeding with an ambitious expansion plan. Alphabet-owned Waymo says its vehicles have driven more than 170 million autonomous miles and claims a 13x reduction in serious-injury-or-worse crashes compared to human drivers. The company plans to launch in more than 20 cities this year, including London and Tokyo, suggesting that scaling operations is revealing additional edge cases its software must address.