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Waymo, the self-driving car company owned by Alphabet, is recalling 1,212 autonomous vehicles after reports of minor crashes involving gates, chains, and other roadside barriers.

Based on the filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Waymo is aware of 16 incidents between 2022 and late 2024 where its vehicles hit clearly visible objects. Thankfully, no one was hurt in any of the accidents.

According to Reuters, the affected vehicles all use Waymo's fifth-generation self-driving system. The company said the issue has already been fixed through a software update that started in November 2024 and was completed by the end of December.

Waymo explained that the update helps the cars better detect and avoid certain objects like gates and chains.

"We hold ourselves to a high safety standard," a Waymo spokesperson said. "Our record of reducing injuries over tens of millions of fully autonomous miles driven shows our technology is making roads safer."

In May 2024, the NHTSA launched an investigation into Waymo's self-driving cars after some were seen acting in ways that may have broken traffic rules. The agency pointed out that some of the crashes involved "clearly visible objects that a competent driver would be expected to avoid."

Waymo Faces Ongoing NHTSA Probe Amid Robotaxi Expansion

The investigation is still open, but Waymo says it is working closely with NHTSA and has taken steps to correct the issue.

Waymo currently operates more than 1,500 robotaxis in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas, offering over 250,000 paid rides each week, CNET said.

Waymo is preparing to expand into three amazing cities—Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, DC.

Earlier in 2024, Waymo issued other recalls. In February, it pulled 444 vehicles due to a software bug related to predicting the movement of towed vehicles.

In June, more than 670 vehicles were recalled after an incident where one of them hit a wooden pole in Phoenix.

Waymo is not the only company under pressure. Other self-driving car makers like Cruise and Zoox have also faced recalls and federal attention following separate incidents. In all cases, safety agencies have stressed the need for tighter rules around autonomous vehicles.

Waymo says its current vehicles on the road already have the latest software fix and no longer face this barrier detection issue.