Waymo is recalling about 3,800 robotaxis in the United States after identifying a risk that some of its vehicles could enter flooded roads with higher speed limits. The company said Tuesday the recall follows a review prompted by an April 20 incident in San Antonio, where one of its vehicles drove into a flooded lane during extreme weather.
The vehicle was unoccupied and no one was hurt. But the episode pushed Waymo to examine similar situations involving fast roads and floodwaters that could leave a driverless car without a safe path through, the company said.
Waymo said it is working on additional software safeguards and has already put mitigations in place. Those steps include refining how it handles extreme weather during intense rain and limiting access to areas where flash flooding might occur.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Waymo has temporarily narrowed its operating scope, increased weather-related restrictions and updated its maps while it works on a permanent fix. That matters because the recall is not just about one flooded street in Texas; it is about how a self-driving fleet decides when a road is no longer passable, and how quickly it can be kept out of danger once conditions turn.
Waymo is already under separate federal scrutiny. In January, one of its self-driving vehicles struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California, causing minor injuries. In March, the National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating a January incident in which Waymo vehicles passed a stopped school bus with its lights activated, in violation of Texas state law.
The overlap of those reviews gives the recall added weight. Waymo has built its business on the promise that software can handle situations human drivers would misjudge, but the newest cases show the company is still drawing boundaries around when that promise can break down.
For now, the most important question is not whether Waymo can explain the San Antonio incident. It is whether the company can prove its vehicles will stay out of flooded roads and other legally risky situations before the next weather system or roadside encounter tests the system again.
