Waymo recalls its self-driving vehicle software on a voluntary basis.

• Waymo has issued a voluntary recall of its self-driving car software after two incidents occurred in Phoenix, Arizona.
• This marks the first recall by the Alphabet-owned self-driving car company.
• Waymo announced an update to its software that improves its ability to forecast the movement of a towed vehicle in the future.

Waymo has filed a voluntary recall notice with federal vehicle safety regulators for software used in their driverless cars, marking a first for the company's self-driving vehicle unit.

Waymo announced a voluntary recall of its robotaxis following a consultation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and an internal review of two incidents that occurred in Phoenix on Dec. 11, 2023, where two robotaxis crashed into the same towed pickup truck within minutes of each other.

According to Waymo's post, the two collisions involving their robotaxis resulted in only minor vehicle damage and no injuries, and no passengers were in the vehicles.

The NHTSA has received Waymo's recall filing and will post it after review and processing.

Waymo's ADS incorrectly predicted the future motion of a towed vehicle, prompting a voluntary recall. The company updated its software when the cars were returned to depots for maintenance and recharging, not through over-the-air or remote software updates, according to Waymo spokesperson Katherine Barna.

Barna stated that the software updates were finished by Jan. 12 without disrupting Waymo's ride-hailing service.

Barna stated that Waymo currently operates its driverless ride-hailing service Waymo One in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin. The company has approximately 700 vehicles in the Waymo One fleet, with around 200 cars in each of its fully autonomous service areas.

There has been growing opposition to the testing and deployment of driverless vehicles on public roads, sparked by recent accidents and worries about the effect of automation on employment.

Despite facing less public criticism, Waymo has driven 10 million fully autonomous miles and served over one million ride-hail trips.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the deployment and testing permits it had previously granted to Cruise, a Waymo competitor owned by General Motors.

The revocation of those licenses occurred after an Oct. 2, 2023 incident in San Francisco where a pedestrian was dragged 20 feet by a Cruise robotaxi following a separate, human-driven vehicle strike.

Another company that aims to compete with Waymo has not yet released an automated driving system or robotaxi, despite CEO Elon Musk's promise that a self-driving Tesla would be able to navigate across the U.S. without any human intervention by the end of 2017. Instead, Tesla offers advanced driver assistance systems marketed as "Autopilot" and "Full Self-Driving" options.

Tesla is facing accusations of deceptive marketing and advertising from the California DMV.

In San Francisco, a cyclist was injured in a collision with a Waymo driverless car last week. The state's auto regulator is now reviewing the incident.

On Saturday in San Francisco's Chinatown, during Lunar New Year celebrations, an unknown group set a Waymo vehicle on fire. No one has yet taken responsibility for the destruction of the Waymo car. The authorities are currently investigating who is responsible for the incident, according to reports by NBC Bay Area.