Over 1,200 Self-Driving Robotaxis Recalled Due To Software Glitch That Led To Crashes

Waymo, the software company that was first known as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, recalled more than 1,200 of its robotaxis this week after a software glitch caused multiple crashes into chains, gates, or other roadway barriers.

The recall comes after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into Waymo robotaxis after reports of the automated cars violating traffic laws, CNBC reported. Waymo said it was aware of 16 collisions with barriers between 2022 and 2024, none of which were serious. The company currently has more than 1,500 robotaxis operating in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, and Austin.

Waymo turned into oncoming traffic on the way to work.

It sat there confused for 45 seconds with its hazards on.

Then it proceeded to back up into oncoming traffic.

And they’re about to let these guys on the freeway ???? pic.twitter.com/ZLRKx2loo1

— Jake Glaser | LA Multifamily (@LAMultiBroker) January 31, 2025

Road safety regulators said that some of the crashes “involved collisions with clearly visible objects that a competent driver would be expected to avoid.”

Waymo said it has fixed the issue with its sixth-generation self-driving software, which was rolled out by the end of December 2024.

“Waymo provides more than 250,000 paid trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments in the U.S.,” the company said, according to CNBC. “Our record of reducing injuries over tens of millions of fully autonomous miles driven shows our technology is making roads safer.”

It’s at least the third time in the past year that Waymo has recalled robotaxis over potential software issues. In February, the company recalled 444 automated vehicles after two robotaxis crashed into the same truck that was being towed, according to The New York Post. Last June, 700 robotaxis were recalled after one crashed into a telephone pole in Phoenix. No one was injured in that crash.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also looking into Tesla’s planned launch of its own robotaxi service, which it hopes to start up in June. The federal government has asked Tesla to provide more information on its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system to “understand how Tesla plans to evaluate its vehicles and driving automation technologies for use on public roads.” The feds also want to know how many robotaxis Tesla plans on sending out and if the vehicles will be monitored by Tesla in real time.

In a social media post in April, Tesla announced, “FSD Supervised ride-hailing service is live for an early set of employees in Austin & San Francisco Bay Area. We’ve completed over 1.5k trips & 15k miles of driving. This service helps us develop & validate FSD networks, the mobile app, vehicle allocation, mission control & remote assistance operations.”