Waymo issues its sixth recall after robotaxis drove into highway construction zones 13 times

TL;DR

Waymo’s sixth recall covers 13 incidents of robotaxis driving into closed highway construction. A rider thought they’d die. Waymo offered three free rides.

Waymo has issued its sixth recall, covering nearly 4,000 robotaxis that drove into highway construction zones at least 13 times across two cities. Six incidents occurred in Phoenix in April. Seven happened in the San Francisco Bay Area on a single day in May. A fix is “currently under development,” according to NHTSA filings.

The vehicles drove past ramp closure signs, cones, and flashing lights into sections of freeway that were closed for active construction. In some cases, the software was “prioritizing the avoidance of other freeway hazards and/or failing to recognize the construction zone,” Waymo told NHTSA.

One rider posted footage on X showing a Waymo that “blasted through cones” and was chased by police. “There were construction signs. There were lights going on. Police in the distance and it sped up,” the rider told CBS News. “That’s when I looked at my fiancee, we’re done. This is it. We’re dead.” Waymo offered the rider three free rides up to $40 each.

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Waymo pulled all robotaxis from highways on May 19 and has not resumed freeway service. The vehicles are still operating on surface streets. The company filed the voluntary recall with NHTSA on June 8 and says it proactively notified state and federal regulators.

This is the second recall in just over a month. In May, Waymo recalled 3,791 robotaxis after they drove into flooded roads, a problem a software patch failed to fix. Previous recalls addressed collisions with telephone poles, gates and chains, illegal behaviour around school buses, and a crash involving a towed truck. An NHTSA investigation into a January incident where a robotaxi struck a child near a school is also ongoing.

Waymo says its vehicles have driven more than 170 million autonomous miles and claims a 13x reduction in serious-injury-or-worse crashes compared to human drivers. The company is expanding to more than 20 cities this year, including London and Tokyo. It launched a $29.99/month subscription tier last week targeting its most frequent riders.

The expansion is exposing edge cases faster than the software can handle them. Highway construction zones are not rare. They are a daily feature of American freeways. A robotaxi service that cannot reliably detect cones, closure signs, and flashing lights on a highway it has already mapped is a service that was not ready for highway operation. Waymo started offering freeway rides in November 2025. Seven months later, it pulled the feature entirely.

Published June 18, 2026 - 1:22 pm UTC

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