Waymo Recalls Over 1,200 Self-Driving Vehicles After Crashes

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — Waymo has issued a recall for software on more than 1,200 vehicles following several crashes involving chains or gates, according to authorities.

The self-driving car company based in Mountain View recalled certain fifth-generation automated driving systems with software released before Nov. 7, 2024, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“The software may cause the vehicles to collide with certain roadway barriers, such as chains and gates,” according to the administration.

While Waymo’s safety board decided to move forward with the recall on May 1 to fulfill regulatory reporting obligations, the company updated and repaired all affected vehicles by late December 2024, according to the administration.

In May 2024, the administration sent Waymo an information request, noting seven collisions had occurred between December 2022 and April 2024, but that they had resulted in no injuries. Waymo also notified the administration about another nine such crashes that were reported between February 2024 and December 2024.

Waymo contends its vehicles are safe and earlier this month in a blog post reported its self-driving cars had 85 percent fewer crashes with suspected serious injuries compared to human benchmarks.

The company began offering driverless rides in San Francisco in 2023 and expanded to Los Angeles last year. Waymo is also available in Phoenix and Austin.