Waymo recalls 1,200 robocars after they keep hitting random stuff a competent driver would avoid
Waymo recalled over 1,200 self-driving vehicles after its software kept mistaking gates, chains, and other “you probably should’ve seen that” obstacles for, well, apparently nothing at all.
According to documents Waymo filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the affected vehicles were running an older version of the company’s fifth-generation Automated Driving System.
The bug caused multiple low-speed collisions with fixed or semi-fixed objects like parking lot gates and chains
You know, the kinds of things even a distracted human would usually catch at the last second.
No one ever reported from these collisions. NHTSA flagged the issue in May 2024 after reviewing seven crash reports. Waymo, already working on a fix by then, released a major software update on November 7, 2024, that made the cars significantly better at spotting those pesky gate-like hazards. The updated version rolled out fleet-wide by December 26.
Waymo owns every single affected vehicle
That means no customer notices, no trips to the dealership, and no “What do you mean my car hit a gate?” moments for the public. By May 1, 2025, Waymo’s internal Safety Board decided it was time to make it official and issue a formal recall.
The videos on social media recording Waymo’s odd behaviors are plenty. The most recent one I saw is when a robotaxi drove straight through an active car accident scene. It apparently happened a while ago:
The company’s now-squashed bug might sound silly: Robotic cars missing the equivalent of a “Do Not Enter” sign. But it’s part of the growing pains of full autonomy. At least nobody got hurt, and the cars now know better than to plow into a gate like a confused Roomba.
