Story perspectives

Waymo recalls 3,871 Jaguar robotaxis over construction-zone software flaw

6/20/2026

Summary

Waymo Recall

Waymo is recalling 3,871 Jaguar robotaxis in the U.S. after a software flaw let them enter closed freeway construction zones.
The flaw caused six incidents in Phoenix and seven in the San Francisco Bay Area, where vehicles entered closed zones or drove between cones at speed without crashes or injuries.
Waymo halted freeway operations, limited service to streets, and filed recall on June 12 after reviews on June 1 and June 8.

Summary

Waymo Safety Review

Zeekr Ojai vans with sixth-gen autonomous driving systems are excluded from the recall of fifth-gen models.
Waymo’s fleet ownership lets it push the software fix centrally, bypassing owner updates.
The Field Safety Committee met on April 20, 2026 to assess the April 11 and 19 Phoenix incidents.
A May 19, 2026 session reviewed the May 18 Bay Area events, mandated better construction-zone detection, and ASU associate professor Yan Chen called the upgrades vital for long-term safety.

History

Historical Context

After Uber’s self-driving Volvo struck pedestrian Elaine Herzberg on March 18 2018 in Tempe—the first U.S. pedestrian death by an autonomous car—Arizona halted testing and regulators tightened oversight. Decades of such incidents prompted the NHTSA to require over-the-air updates, and in June 2026 Waymo recalled 3,871 Jaguar robotaxis for a software flaw that let them enter closed construction zones.

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Waymo Recall

Waymo is recalling 3,871 Jaguar robotaxis in the U.S. after a software flaw let them enter closed freeway construction zones.
The flaw caused six incidents in Phoenix and seven in the San Francisco Bay Area, where vehicles entered closed zones or drove between cones at speed without crashes or injuries.
Waymo halted freeway operations, limited service to streets, and filed recall on June 12 after reviews on June 1 and June 8.

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