On April 20, an empty Waymo vehicle in San Antonio drove into a flooded section of road and was swept into Salado Creek. No one was hurt, because no passengers were on board. Waymo paused service. On September 17, 2026, about five months later, it resumed robotaxi rides in the city, according to TechCrunch and KSAT.
The recall behind the pause
Electrek, citing Waymo’s federal filing, reports that Waymo filed a recall with NHTSA on April 30 and that the news became public in May. The recall covered 3,791 vehicles with fifth- and sixth-generation driving systems across Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, San Antonio and Atlanta. Waymo said the vehicle entered an untraversable flooded lane on a higher-speed road at reduced speed instead of routing around it. The fix was an over-the-air software update. TechCrunch says operations in other Texas cities were briefly paused and have resumed.
“We look forward to earning the trust of San Antonians as they experience the magic of Waymo rides once again.” Robert Chen, Waymo’s product lead for weather, as quoted by KSAT.
What Waymo says is different now
When service returned, Waymo said it had improved the Waymo Driver’s ability to detect floodwater and steer away from it, and adjusted alerts so the system responds better to weather such as heavy rain. It also audited potential flood zones and set location restrictions for its vehicles, though the areas weren’t named. Waymo says it tracks conditions using National Weather Service and local guidance, and that severe weather may cause another temporary pause. It hasn’t published exact thresholds.
TechCrunch reports that dozens of vehicles now cover a roughly 60-mile area, including downtown and San Antonio International Airport.
Why It Matters to You
If you ride in San Antonio, rides are available again, including trips to the airport, with software changes aimed at flooded roads. Expect pauses in severe weather, since Waymo says they may happen again. Those changes are described, not measured, so how well they work in a real flood is still unknown.
What we can’t tell from the reports
- Waymo hasn’t published test results showing how the new software performs in real floods.
- The flood zone audit and location limits aren’t public, so we can’t say which streets are excluded.
- Electrek expected a faster restart in May, so reports differ on how long the pause lasted. The actual gap was about five months.
- A UTSA research record counts vehicle-related deaths at 58% of Texas flood fatalities from 1959 to 2019, over 570 deaths in 61 years. That works out to about nine a year, by our arithmetic. It describes human driving risk and isn’t a Waymo statistic.
- TechCrunch says Waymo offers paid rides in 15 U.S. cities. A ColoradoBiz article from September 1 says 14. Waymo’s own count may differ by date.
- The 2026 recall was for this specific flood behavior. It doesn’t describe Waymo’s overall crash record.
Quick answers
Was anyone hurt in the April incident?
No. The vehicle was unoccupied, and Electrek reports no injuries.
Will robotaxis run during floods now?
Waymo says severe weather may cause another temporary pause. It has not published exact thresholds.
Sources
- TechCrunch: Waymo restarts San Antonio service 5 months after flooding troubles (Sep 17, 2026)
- KSAT: Waymo ride service resumes in San Antonio after temporary pause, company says (Sep 17, 2026)
- Electrek: Waymo recalls 3,791 robotaxis over flooded road incident, deploying OTA software fix (May 12, 2026)
- UTSA: Vehicle-Related Flood Fatalities in Texas, 1959 to 2019 (accessed Oct 13, 2026)
- ColoradoBiz: Waymo launches public robotaxi service in Denver (Sep 1, 2026)