Alphabet’s Waymo this week recalled more than 1,200 self-driving vehicles over a software glitch that could make the cars more likely to crash into chains, gates and other roadway barriers following an investigation by auto safety regulators.
At least 16 such collisions have been reported in Waymo cars driving with its 5th Generation Automated Driving Systems between 2022 and 2024, according to a recall report published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. No injuries related to the crashes have been reported.
Waymo said it rolled out a software update to the fleet of 1,212 vehicles by December 2024 that fixed the glitch.
“Waymo provides more than 250,000 paid trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments in the US,” a Waymo spokesperson told The Post in a statement.
“We hold ourselves to a high safety standard, and our record of reducing injuries over tens of millions of fully autonomous miles driven shows our technology is making roads safer,” the spokesperson said, adding that Waymo will continue to work with the NHTSA.
The traffic safety agency last May launched an investigation into Waymo’s self-driving vehicles following reports of the robotaxis potentially violating traffic safety laws.
At the time, regulators identified at least seven minor collisions with Waymo vehicles involving “clearly visible objects that a competent driver would be expected to avoid.”
The investigation remains open.
Waymo said it was already working on its software update when the safety agency launched its probe.
It’s not the first time Waymo – which operates more than 1,500 robotaxis in major cities across the country – has run into problems with its autonomous software.
The company recalled 444 self-driving vehicles in February after two of its robotaxis crashed back-to-back into the same pickup truck being towed away. It claimed a faulty software update could result in robotaxis inaccurately predicting the movement of towed vehicles.
Waymo recalled nearly 700 more robotaxis in June a month after one of its vehicles struck a wooden telephone pole in Phoenix, Arizona. It resulted in damage to the car. No passengers or bystanders were injured in the crash.
