{"id":"d39388de-45aa-429a-91b8-6106536c9882","slug":"waymo-flooded-road-recall-2026-04-20","kind":"recall","headline":"Waymo recalls 3,791 robotaxis after vehicle entered flooded roadway in San Antonio","summary":"On April 20, 2026, an unoccupied Waymo robotaxi encountered an untraversable flooded section of a 40 mph roadway in San Antonio, Texas. The vehicle detected potentially untraversable floodwater but slowed rather than stopping, proceeding at reduced speed. Waymo implemented operational restrictions the same day and its Safety Board decided to conduct a recall on April 24. NHTSA recall 26E026, filed May 6, 2026, covers 3,791 vehicles with 5th and 6th generation ADS. No injuries were reported. Waymo paused operations in San Antonio and is developing a final software remedy.","occurredAt":"2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z","reviewStatus":"reviewed","modelId":"c9a56a6c-55d4-40e3-b080-70a6f04e6956","deploymentId":null,"companyId":"2128addc-20c8-4c31-aef5-be5ada97aede","aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"none","reviewNote":null,"severity":null,"rootCauseCategory":null,"rootCauseDetail":null,"affectedUnitsCount":null,"affectedUnitsBasis":null,"remediationStatus":null,"regulatoryAction":null,"regulatoryBody":null,"propertyDamageEstimateUsd":null,"damageEstimateBasis":null,"bodilyInjurySeverity":null,"fatalityCount":null,"lossCostClass":null,"sourceQualityTier":null,"oshaRecordable":null,"oshaCaseNumber":null,"rootCauseDisclosed":null,"publicDisclosureDate":null,"insuranceClaimPublic":null,"formFactor":null,"latitude":null,"longitude":null,"autonomyClass":null,"legalOutcomeClass":"unknown","createdAt":"2026-07-22T15:16:21.901Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-09T05:24:01.599Z","model":{"id":"c9a56a6c-55d4-40e3-b080-70a6f04e6956","companyId":"2128addc-20c8-4c31-aef5-be5ada97aede","modelName":"Waymo Driver (6th gen)","slug":"waymo-driver-gen6","description":"The sixth-generation Waymo Driver is Waymo's autonomous driving stack for fully autonomous robotaxi service. The platform integrates 13 cameras, 4 lidars, 6 radars, and external audio receivers, with overlapping 360° coverage and a detection range up to roughly 500 meters in nominal conditions. Compared to the fifth-generation system on the Jaguar I-PACE, the sixth-gen system uses 42% fewer total sensors. Waymo says the per-unit hardware cost is targeted under $20,000 — a more than 50% reduction from the 5th-gen system. Currently runs on the Zeekr RT (sold as the “Ojai” robotaxi, purpose-built without a steering wheel or pedals) and the Hyundai IONIQ 5; began fully autonomous commercial operations in February 2026.","formFactor":"av","industryVertical":"passenger_transport","environment":"road","maturityStage":"commercial","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByModelId":null,"specs":{"drive_mode":"fully_autonomous","generation":6,"lidar_count":4,"radar_count":6,"camera_count":13,"vehicle_platforms":"Zeekr RT (Ojai); Hyundai IONIQ 5","external_audio_receivers":true,"detection_range_m_nominal_approx":500,"target_unit_cost_usd_under_waymo_stated":20000},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://waymo.com/blog/2024/08/meet-the-6th-generation-waymo-driver/","label":"Waymo blog — Meet the 6th-generation Waymo Driver (primary announcement, sensor suite + cost targets)","publishedAt":"2024-08-19"},{"url":"https://waymo.com/blog/2026/02/ro-on-6th-gen-waymo-driver/","label":"Waymo blog — Beginning fully autonomous operations with the 6th-gen Driver (primary, commercial launch)","publishedAt":"2026-02-12"},{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/12/waymo-begins-deploying-next-gen-ojai-robotaxis-to-extend-its-us-lead.html","label":"CNBC — Waymo begins deploying next-gen Ojai robotaxis (third-party trade coverage of the launch)","publishedAt":"2026-02-12"},{"url":"https://www.wardsauto.com/news/archive-auto-waymo-6th-generation-driver-autonomous-driving-hardware-robotaxi-lidar-ai/725519/","label":"WardsAuto — Inside the 6th-generation Waymo Driver (third-party deep-dive on the hardware suite)","publishedAt":"2024-08-29"}],"aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"manufacturerTermForTeleop":null,"keyFacts":[{"label":"Autonomy level","value":"fully autonomous"},{"label":"Sensor suite","value":"13 cameras, 4 lidars, 6 radars, external audio receivers"},{"label":"Detection range","value":"up to approximately 500 meters in nominal conditions"},{"label":"Price","value":"targeted under $20,000 per unit"},{"label":"Vehicle platforms","value":"Zeekr RT (Ojai); Hyundai IONIQ 5"}],"createdAt":"2026-05-25T04:41:57.633Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-22T17:18:48.073Z","unitsInFieldClaimed":3500,"unitsInFieldVerified":1500,"unitsManufacturedClaimed":3500,"unitsManufacturedVerified":null,"unitsAsOf":"2026-07-08T00:00:00.000Z","unitsSource":[{"url":"https://waymo.com/blog/2025/05/scaling-our-fleet-through-us-manufacturing","label":"1,500 vehicles across San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin"},{"url":"https://www.theverge.com/news/661025/waymo-fleet-size-factory-arizona-jaguar-robotaxi-zeekr","label":"Waymo says it will add 2,000 more robotaxis into 2026"},{"url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/waymo/comments/1r2xc8p/","label":"Waymo has said it plans on adding only 2,000 more vehicles in 2026, for a total fleet size of 3,500"},{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZBbunKAnFX/","label":"Waymo runs 577 robotaxis in Texas"}],"salesModel":"not_sold","priceUndisclosedSince":null,"autonomyClass":"autonomous","autonomyStatement":null,"autonomyStatementSource":null,"demoForensics":null,"exportControlClass":null,"minCommitment":null,"warrantyTerms":null,"serviceModel":null,"productionRateClaimed":null,"productionRateEvidenced":null,"teleopRatioDisclosed":null,"interventionRateDisclosed":null},"deployment":null,"company":{"id":"2128addc-20c8-4c31-aef5-be5ada97aede","name":"Waymo","slug":"waymo","description":"Waymo is Alphabet's autonomous driving subsidiary. It operates the Waymo One robotaxi service in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Miami, and runs Waymo Via for autonomous trucking. Spun out of Google's self-driving car project as a standalone Alphabet subsidiary in December 2016.","status":"subsidiary","founded":2009,"hq":"Mountain View, CA","hqLat":37.3893889,"hqLng":-122.0832101,"hqGeocodedAt":"2026-08-05T14:54:38.143Z","hqAddress":null,"hqPrecision":null,"website":"waymo.com","fundingTotal":"27000000000","type":"both","reviewStatus":"reviewed","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByCompanyId":null,"sources":[{"url":"https://waymo.com","label":"Waymo — Company website"},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo","label":"Wikipedia — Waymo (history, operations, ownership)"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"Valuation","value":"$126B post-money (Feb 2026 Series D)"},{"label":"Funding raised","value":"~$27B lifetime ($16B Series D, Feb 2026, largest AV round ever)"},{"label":"Weekly rides","value":"~500,000 paid/week (targeting 1M by end-2026)"},{"label":"Ride volume","value":"15M in 2025; 20M+ lifetime"},{"label":"Autonomous miles","value":"127M+ fully autonomous"},{"label":"Safety claim (Waymo)","value":"90% fewer serious-injury crashes vs. humans (company-stated)"},{"label":"Operating markets","value":"~11 US metros (Waymo One)"},{"label":"Vehicle","value":"Jaguar I-PACE, 6th-gen Waymo Driver"},{"label":"Recent recalls","value":"School-bus passing; ~3,800-vehicle San Antonio flood recall"},{"label":"Active investigations","value":"NHTSA (Santa Monica child injury); NTSB (TX school-bus)"},{"label":"wikidata","value":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15330"},{"label":"wikipedia","value":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo"},{"label":"Hero image candidate","value":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Waymo_self-driving_car_front_view.gk.jpg (source: Wikimedia Commons, license: CC BY-SA 4.0, Quality image)"},{"label":"Miami depot 1","value":"Operational depot in Wynwood District, Miami (verified, field-inspected 2026)"},{"label":"Miami depot 2","value":"Future depot adjacent to Miami International Airport (under preparation, 2026)"},{"label":"Austin depot","value":"Operations facility on Stassney near Burleson Rd, south of Ben White, Austin TX"},{"label":"Mesa manufacturing hub","value":"Magna retrofits Jaguar I-PACE vehicles for Waymo fleet in Mesa, AZ"},{"label":"IIHS safety rating","value":"Independent IIHS study: Waymo L4 driverless crash rate 68% lower than human drivers (July 2026)"},{"label":"Fleet size (July 2026)","value":"3,800+ vehicles across 10 cities"},{"label":"Valuation (Feb 2026)","value":"$126B — raised $16B to fund expansion"},{"label":"Uber partnership status","value":"Exploring exit — notified Uber of independent entry Jan 2028. Parted ways in Phoenix May 2026."},{"label":"Austin/Atlanta dispute","value":"Waymo questioned cleanliness/routing of Uber-operated vehicles. Uber raised concerns about financial terms and weather-related unavailability."}],"aliases":["Waymo LLC","Waymo One","Google Self-Driving Car Project","Waymo Driver","Alphabet Waymo","Google Waymo","Google self-driving car"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"atsProvider":"greenhouse","atsSlug":"waymo","factoryLocations":null,"manufacturingCapacity":null,"orgType":null,"burnSignal":null,"litigationEvents":null,"insurancePostureDisclosed":null,"unitEconomicsDisclosed":null,"tickerSymbol":null,"stockExchange":null,"secCik":null,"revenueUsd":null,"revenueBasis":null,"revenueAsOf":null,"employeeCount":null,"employeeCountBasis":null,"employeeCountAsOf":null,"marketCapUsd":null,"marketCapAsOf":null,"marketCapSource":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-25T03:56:10.060Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-05T14:55:18.420Z"},"derived":{"status":"active"},"sources":[{"id":"36eeb34b-4cdd-4318-9f89-6fed3ac1f4e0","incidentId":"d39388de-45aa-429a-91b8-6106536c9882","url":"https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26E026-6527.pdf","label":"Part 573 Safety Recall Report 26E026 - Waymo LLC","publishedAt":"2026-05-06T00:00:00.000Z","notes":null,"title":"Part 573 Safety Recall Report 26E026 - Waymo LLC","sourceName":"NHTSA","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-07-22T15:16:22.677Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-22T15:16:22.677Z"},{"id":"7bc8867d-8a24-4acb-bdf8-7e0ccf0ce8fa","incidentId":"d39388de-45aa-429a-91b8-6106536c9882","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/12/waymo-issues-recall-to-deal-with-a-flooding-problem/","label":"Waymo issues recall to deal with a flooding problem","publishedAt":"2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z","notes":null,"title":"Waymo issues recall to deal with a flooding problem","sourceName":"TechCrunch","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-07-22T15:16:23.468Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-22T15:16:23.468Z"}],"responses":[],"statusEvents":[],"jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/waymo-flooded-road-recall-2026-04-20","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/waymo-flooded-road-recall-2026-04-20","headline":"Waymo recalls 3,791 robotaxis after vehicle entered flooded roadway in San Antonio","description":"On April 20, 2026, an unoccupied Waymo robotaxi encountered an untraversable flooded section of a 40 mph roadway in San Antonio, Texas. The vehicle detected potentially untraversable floodwater but slowed rather than stopping, proceeding at reduced speed. Waymo implemented operational restrictions the same day and its Safety Board decided to conduct a recall on April 24. NHTSA recall 26E026, filed May 6, 2026, covers 3,791 vehicles with 5th and 6th generation ADS. No injuries were reported. Waymo paused operations in San Antonio and is developing a final software remedy.","identifier":"d39388de-45aa-429a-91b8-6106536c9882","datePublished":"2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z","articleSection":"recall","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"},"author":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"verified","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":2,"primary_source_types":["primary-regulatory-filing","secondary-industry-publication"]}}}