SAN FRANCISCO, June 24 (San Francisco News Online) — Waymo has filed a voluntary recall covering 3,871 vehicles equipped with its fifth-generation automated driving system after federal safety regulators said the software could allow a vehicle to enter a closed freeway construction zone and keep driving.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the condition raises the risk of a crash. In its recall report, the agency identified the action as campaign 26E035000 and said Waymo is developing a remedy while, in the meantime, limiting freeway driving.
Waymo said the fix will be a software update that improves the system’s ability to detect construction zones and avoid entering them. The update will be provided free of charge, according to the recall filing.
The recall places a local transportation issue in San Francisco into a national safety action. The federal filing says some of the incidents reviewed by Waymo involved vehicles in the San Francisco Bay Area, alongside others in Phoenix.
Waymo said in a statement quoted by CNBC that it had identified “an area of improvement regarding performance around freeway construction zones.” The company said it had voluntarily restricted freeway operations while making improvements, notified state and federal regulators and filed the voluntary recall with NHTSA.
The filing reviewed incidents on April 11 and April 19 in Phoenix and an event on May 18 in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to reporting that cited the federal documents. Fox News reported that the April 19 incidents involved vehicles driving past ramp closure signs into planned freeway construction zones, while the May 18 Bay Area incidents involved vehicles entering active construction lanes between cones.
The recall comes as Waymo continues to expand its driverless ride service in cities including San Francisco. The company said it continues to safely serve passengers on surface streets in the cities where it operates.
NHTSA said driving through a closed construction zone increases the risk of a crash. Waymo said no collisions or injuries were reported in the incidents reviewed before the recall filing.
The manufacturer report was dated June 12, according to NHTSA. CNBC reported on the recall on June 18 after the filing became public, and Fox News later identified the campaign number and the incident pattern described in the federal paperwork.
The recall is national in scope and covers vehicles using Waymo’s fifth-generation automated driving system. NHTSA said the company’s interim response is to restrict freeway operations while the software change is completed.
For riders in the Bay Area, the practical effect is a narrower service area whenever freeway travel would otherwise be part of the route. Waymo said the software update is intended to restore that capability once the system can better recognize closed freeway construction zones.
The company did not give a timetable for when the repair will be finished in the recall filing. NHTSA said Waymo will notify owners and provide the remedy at no cost once the update is ready.
