Waymo Recalls 4,000 Robotaxis Over Highway Construction Zone Issues

Waymo has recalled its fleet of nearly 4,000 robotaxis to restrict them from driving on highways while it figures out how to make the vehicles behave around construction zones.

The recall comes after Waymo identified at least 13 instances of its robotaxis driving into highway sections that were closed for construction.

In April, six Waymo robotaxis drove into closed highway sections in Phoenix, Arizona, while seven incidents occurred in San Francisco, California, in May. The company pulled its robotaxis from all highways on May 19 and is currently developing a fix for the problem.

"We identified an area of improvement regarding performance around freeway construction zones," the company said in a statement to TechCrunch. "We voluntarily restricted freeway operations last month while making improvements, proactively notified state and federal regulators, and decided to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA."

Waymo has issued six recalls for its robotaxis, with the most recent one addressing its vehicles' illegal behavior around school buses. The company's driving software is currently under investigation by the NHTSA and National Transportation Safety Board regarding its behavior around school buses after one of its robotaxis struck a child near a school in January.

• Alphabet-owned Waymo says its vehicles have driven more than 170 million miles autonomously, and claims they have demonstrated a 13x reduction in serious-injury-or-worse crashes when compared to human drivers.

This expansion has helped highlight a number of edge cases that Waymo's robotaxi software has struggled with, which now includes highway construction zones.

Waymo's Expansion Plans

Waymo is planning to launch in more than 20 cities this year alone, including in London and Tokyo. The company started offering highway rides in November 2025, but its robotaxis did not recognize and drove past ramp closure signs into pre-planned freeway construction zones in mid-April in Phoenix.

"After a review, the company's 'Field Safety Committee' restricted freeway operations in the city while Waymo worked on a fix, the NHTSA documents show."

On May 18, seven Waymo robotaxis drove into highway lanes under active construction in the San Francisco Bay Area because the company's software was "prioritizing the avoidance of other freeway hazards and/or failing to recognize the construction zone." The company suspended all freeway driving the following day. Footage of some of these incidents were shared on social media, with one user claiming a Waymo "blasted through cones" and said it was "chased" by police.

Response from Waymo

Waymo offered the user "three free rides up to $40 each in the future," according to CBS. The company is still operating on surface streets, though it has periodically paused service during severe weather that could lead to flooding.