Waymo is recalling 3,791 robotaxis in the United States after one of its autonomous vehicles drove into a flooded lane during severe weather in San Antonio, Texas. The company confirmed the recall on May 12, following the April 20 incident, which fortunately involved an empty vehicle and no injuries.
What happened in San Antonio
According to Reuters, the Waymo vehicle entered a flooded lane while operating during extreme weather. Nobody was inside at the time, so the episode ended without injuries, though it did raise the obvious question of how a self-driving car should behave when the road starts resembling a shallow canal.
The incident prompted Waymo to review how its vehicles respond to flooded roads, especially in areas with higher speed limits. Flooding can change road conditions quickly, and autonomous systems have to identify not just lanes and traffic signals, but whether the lane itself is still usable.
Waymo said it is adding more protections through software and operating changes.
“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,” the company said.
What regulators say Waymo has changed
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Waymo has temporarily limited parts of its operating zones while the company works on a permanent fix.
The agency also said Waymo has taken additional steps after the San Antonio incident, including:
- Updating its maps
- Increasing weather-related operating restrictions
- Limiting access to areas where flash flooding may happen
The recall covers 3,791 robotaxis, a significant number for a company trying to convince the public that driverless rides can be both normal and safe. That pitch gets harder when weather, road design, and real-world unpredictability meet in the same place.
Other incidents have kept Waymo under scrutiny
The flood-related recall comes after several widely shared incidents involving Waymo’s self-driving taxis over the past year.
In Phoenix, one passenger fled a Waymo vehicle after it drove onto train tracks near an approaching rail car. A separate viral clip from October 2025 showed a Waymo vehicle running a red light while passengers were inside.
Those moments do not necessarily define the entire technology, but they do shape how people feel about it. For riders, the promise of a robotaxi is simple: get in, arrive safely, and ideally do not become part of a federal safety review.
Waymo is now facing continued regulatory attention as it works through the flooded-road issue and other safety questions around its autonomous fleet.
