Waymo software recall issued after vehicle swept away by Texas floodwaters

AUSTIN, Texas - Almost 3,800 of Waymo's autonomous vehicles are under a software recall after one of its cars was swept away by floodwaters in late April.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Waymo temporarily suspends San Antonio operations after vehicle swept away by floodwaters

What they're saying:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a letter on May 11 to Waymo about the recall. Waymo says it filed a voluntary software recall on April 30.

The recall is regarding Waymo's 5th and 6th generation automated driving systems, which are on 3,791 of their vehicles. The software has a glitch that would allow the vehicles to slow, but then drive into standing water on higher speed roadways.

The NHTSA says that Waymo has taken steps to fix the problem by increasing weather-related constraints and updating the vehicles' maps. Those changes were put in place by April 20.

Waymo is still developing a final fix.

The other side:

A Waymo spokesperson gave a statement to FOX 7 Austin about the recall:

"Waymo provides over half a million trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments across the U.S., and safety is our primary priority. We have identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways, and have made the decision to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA related to this scenario. We are working to implement additional software safeguards and have put mitigations in place, including refining our extreme weather operations during periods of intense rain, limiting access to areas where flash flooding might occur."

Waymos and flooded roads

Local perspective:

On April 21, one of Waymo's vehicles was caught up in floodwaters in the San Antonio area during a period of heavy rain.

A spokesperson told FOX 7 Austin that the unoccupied car had entered a flooded roadway and was swept away as a result. The company chose then to temporarily suspend its operations in San Antonio.

The vehicle has since been recovered.

Waymo stalls at puddle in Austin

A Waymo was caught on camera stalled on a downtown Austin road due to water over the road.

In early May, a Waymo was caught on video blocking traffic on North Lamar just south of 5th Street. The apparent cause was water over the roadway.

Witnesses say human drivers in the next lane had no trouble getting through, but the autonomous vehicle didn’t take any chances.