Waymo has issued a safety recall for all 3,791 of its fifth- and sixth-generation autonomous vehicles after one of its driverless cars was swept away by flash flooding in San Antonio on April 20, 2026. The incident occurred when the vehicle encountered a flooded roadway near Salado Creek but failed to stop, instead reducing speed and proceeding into rising waters. The car was unoccupied and no injuries occurred, but the event exposed a critical gap in the system’s ability to recognize and respond to untraversable flood conditions on higher-speed roads.

The company filed the recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on May 6 and began pulling vehicles off roads on April 24. Waymo acknowledged in its filing that its autonomous vehicles may slow but not stop when detecting flooded lanes, a behavior now deemed unsafe. In response, the company has updated its digital maps, refined weather-related operational controls, and implemented new software safeguards to better handle extreme rain and flash flood risks.

Passenger service in San Antonio has been paused indefinitely, though autonomous vehicles continue to operate in the area without riders. Waymo had only recently launched its ride-hailing service in the city, including trips to San Antonio International Airport. The company says it is working to restore service once software updates are fully deployed and tested.