- Waymo has recalled 3,067 autonomous vehicles over a software issue.
- The problem meant robotaxis could pass school buses with flashing lights.
- Recall comes shortly after the NHTSA opened an investigation into the issue.
Waymo has recalled 3,067 autonomous vehicles because they could pass a stopped school bus with its red lights flashing and/or stop arm extended. This significantly increased the risk of a robotaxi colliding with a child exiting or approaching the bus.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s listing strangely eschews a safety recall report, but noted the vehicles were equipped with Waymo’s 5th generation automated driving system and software that was released prior to November 5, 2025.
The software itself appears to have been the issue as Waymo updated the system on all impacted vehicles by November 17. As a result, the recall was addressed before it was even announced.
More: Robotaxi Drives Around Stopped School Bus With Kids Nearby, Triggering Federal Probe
The fix came roughly one month after the NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened an inquiry into the “performance of the Waymo ADS [Automated Driving System] around stopped school buses, how the system is designed to comply with school bus traffic safety laws, and the system’s ability to follow those traffic safety laws.”
The investigation was sparked by a report involving an autonomous vehicle that approached a stopped school bus with flashing red lights, a deployed stop arm, and a deployed crossing control arm.
While the Waymo initially stopped, it eventually “drove around the front of the bus by briefly turning right to avoid running into the bus’s right front end, then turning left to pass in front of the bus, and then turning further left and driving down the roadway past the entire left side of the bus.”
That sounds like a crazy maneuver and the government went on to say the “Waymo AV passed the bus’s extended crossing control arm near disembarking students (on the bus’s right side) and passed the extended stop arm on the bus’s left side.” They added the vehicle didn’t have a safety driver on board.
At the time the preliminary evaluation was opened, the government noted Waymo vehicles travel approximately 2,000,000 miles (3,218,688 km) per week and have traveled more than 100 million miles (160,934,400 km) altogether. This led investigators to believe the “likelihood of other prior similar incidents is high.”
The investigation still appears to be open, but there’s little doubt the recall should help to alleviate concerns.
