Waymo has filed its fourth safety recall since February 2024, after its driverless cars were caught entering closed freeway construction zones, according to a report by WIRED. The recall, filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on June 17, affects 3,871 vehicles running Waymo's 5th Generation automated driving system (ADS) — effectively the entire US fleet of that generation.
The Recall Details
NHTSA estimates that 100 percent of the affected units carry the defect. According to the safety recall report, the problem is described as: "under certain circumstances, the AV may enter and drive at speed in freeway construction zones due to inappropriately prioritizing the avoidance of other freeway hazards and/or failing to recognize the construction zone." This marks Waymo's fourth recall in roughly 28 months. The table below summarizes the recent recalls:
| Recall Date | Vehicles Affected | Issue |
|---|---|---|
| June 17, 2026 | 3,871 | AV driving into freeway construction zones at speed |
| May 2025 | 1,212 | Collisions with stationary roadway barriers |
| May 2026 | 3,791 | Robotaxi drove into flooded road in San Antonio and was swept into a creek |
| (Other recalls since Feb 2024) | ~ | Various safety defects |
Root Cause: Software Logic Failure
Waymo started offering highway rides in late 2025. The underlying problem appears to be a failure of priority logic. Per the NHTSA filing, the ADS sometimes failed to recognize construction zones, and in other cases actively chose to drive through them because it was busy avoiding other hazards on the freeway. Both conditions can produce a driverless car moving at highway speed through a closed work zone.
"Waymo’s mission is to be the world’s most trusted driver, and the data shows that we’re making roads safer in the communities in which we operate," said a Waymo statement emailed to WIRED. "We identified an area of improvement regarding performance around freeway construction zones. We voluntarily restricted freeway operations last month while making improvements, proactively notified state and federal regulators, and decided to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA."
Crucially, a permanent software fix is currently under development, according to the NHTSA filing.
Timeline of Incidents
The events that triggered the recall began earlier this year:
- April 11 and 19, 2026: Waymo vehicles in Phoenix drove past ramp closure signs into pre-planned construction zones. Waymo's Field Safety Committee responded by restricting freeway operations.
- May 18, 2026: Seven Waymo vehicles in the San Francisco Bay Area drove between construction cones into active lane closures. Although no collisions or injuries were reported, this second cluster prompted a broader freeway ban.
- June 1, 2026: Waymo's Safety Board reviewed the issue.
- June 8, 2026: The board decided to issue a formal recall.
Impact and Next Steps
Waymo's interim response is to restrict all its vehicles from entering freeways entirely — a significant operational restriction. Previously, the company offered freeway rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami. Since Waymo owns every vehicle in its fleet, there are no owners to notify. The fix, once programmed, will be pushed out as an over-the-air ADS software update.
This latest recall does not affect Waymo's newest 6th Generation vehicles, and the company's cars will continue to operate on surface streets in the US. The recall highlights the challenges of deploying autonomous systems in dynamic, unstructured environments — a concern that extends beyond robotaxis to any AI-driven system operating in complex physical spaces, including supply chain and logistics contexts where autonomous vehicles or robotics interact with changing site conditions.
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