SAN FRANCISCO, June 24 (San Francisco News Online) — Waymo has filed a voluntary recall of 3,871 vehicles equipped with its fifth-generation automated driving system after federal regulators said the software may allow a vehicle to enter a closed freeway construction zone and keep driving, a problem the company said has led it to restrict freeway travel while it develops a fix.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said driving through a closed construction zone increases the risk of a crash. The recall is listed as campaign number 26E035000.
According to the manufacturer report filed with NHTSA, the remedy is still under development. In the meantime, Waymo said it modified the scope of vehicle operations to restrict freeway driving.
Waymo said it will update the automated driving software so the vehicles can better detect construction zones and avoid entering them. The company said the update will be provided free of charge.
The recall notice says Waymo reviewed incidents in Phoenix and in the San Francisco Bay Area before filing the action. Fox News reported that one incident reviewed by the company occurred on April 11 in Phoenix, followed by five more on April 19 in Phoenix.
Fox also reported that seven Waymo vehicles entered active freeway construction lanes in the San Francisco Bay Area on May 18 by driving between cones. The federal filing cited that pattern of behavior as part of the reason for the recall.
Waymo said no collisions or injuries were reported in the incidents it reviewed.
In a statement quoted by CNBC, Waymo said it had identified an area for improvement around freeway construction sites. The company said it voluntarily limited freeway operations last month while it made changes, notified state and federal regulators, and filed the voluntary software recall with NHTSA.
Waymo also said it continues to safely serve passengers on surface streets in the cities where it operates.
The manufacturer report is dated June 12. The filing became public after NHTSA posted the recall report, bringing the software issue into the open as Waymo works on the software update and the temporary freeway restrictions remain in place.
The recall is national in scope and covers U.S. vehicles equipped with Waymo’s fifth-generation automated driving system. The Bay Area incidents give the action local relevance in San Francisco, where Waymo’s service has become part of the region’s transportation landscape.
NHTSA’s recall report and Waymo’s filing do not show, in the publicly available summary, whether the company has set a date for the software update or whether federal regulators have taken any action beyond receiving the recall notice.
Waymo said the updated software is intended to help the vehicles better recognize construction zones and avoid entering them, with the company saying the repair will be available at no cost to owners.
