Waymo opens San Antonio to all riders, nearly six months after a robotaxi was swept into a creek

Previously

On April 20, 2026, an empty Waymo slowed but didn't stop at floodwater on a 40-mph San Antonio road and was swept into Salado Creek. Waymo recalled 3,791 vehicles with an interim fix of weather limits and map changes, and in May paused service in five cities after Atlanta flooding (Part 1).

SAN ANTONIO, October 2026 — Waymo is back in the city where its flood problem surfaced, and now open to everyone. Here's what changed since Part 1 (May 2026), what it cost, and what went wrong.

Cost and outcome (as of October 2026)

San Antonio pause: from April 20 to the resumption KSAT reported on Sept. 17, 2026, about five months. (KSAT)
Now: open to all riders in San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa from Oct. 14, 2026, including San Antonio International Airport. (Waymo)
Recall fix: still interim in the filing; we found no final remedy on file. (NHTSA)
Cost to Waymo: not disclosed.

What Waymo says it changed

Waymo said it audited potential flood zones to find high-risk areas and set location limits for its vehicles, KSAT reported on Sept. 17. It adjusted its alerts to respond to weather such as heavy rainfall, and said it improved the Waymo Driver's ability to "detect and navigate away from floodwaters." It uses the National Weather Service and local guidance to monitor conditions, and said severe weather may cause another pause.

"We look forward to earning the trust of San Antonians as they experience the magic of Waymo rides once again," said Robert Chen, product lead for weather at Waymo. Waymo also said the improvements "performed well in other cities that continued operating this summer," per KSAT. It gave no data.

Open to all

On Oct. 14, Waymo said anyone in San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa can now hail a ride, and that it has "welcomed hundreds of thousands of riders in these cities since opening our service earlier in the year." KSAT reported the San Antonio service area runs from King William to Wurzbach Parkway, including downtown, the River Walk and the airport.

"Waymo offering fully autonomous rides at the airport marks a significant milestone for Waymo, our city and travelers," said Jesus Saenz, Director of Airports for the City of San Antonio Aviation, in Waymo's post. Cristina Solorzano, San Antonio program director for the Ghisallo Cycling Initiative, said, per KSAT, that Waymo gives the community "another reliable, attentive way to move around the city." In Tampa, Scott Young, Board Chair for Lighthouse for the Blind & Low Vision, said in Waymo's post: "With Waymo, they get their independence back."

The new vehicle

KSAT reported San Antonio riders get access to Ojai, Waymo's newest vehicle, "meant to handle weather." The Ojai is a modified Zeekr minivan; Zeekr is owned by China's Geely Holding Group, and the vehicle is manufactured in China, TechCrunch reported in May. Waymo outfits it at its Arizona factory with 13 cameras, four lidar sensors and six radar units, and TechCrunch reported it contains no Chinese connected-car tech. CNBC reported it costs significantly less to make than the Jaguar I-PACE and has lidar Waymo says can see through heavy rain and snow.

What's changed

In May, Waymo had paused San Antonio and four other cities and filed an interim fix. By October, San Antonio is open to all, with flood-zone limits and a new vehicle. The fix is still about where the cars go, plus detection Waymo says it improved.

What went wrong

About five months offline in San Antonio, from the April 20 pause to KSAT's Sept. 17 report.
No final remedy on file. The recall still describes the fix as interim.
Claims without data. Waymo says its improvements performed well elsewhere but published no figures.
What we don't know yet: how often flood limits now pause service, and whether Waymo will file a final remedy.

Our follow-up question for Waymo

Has the final software remedy for recall 26E026 shipped, and if so, why isn't it on file with NHTSA?

Sources

RJ Marquez, KSAT, “Waymo ride service resumes in San Antonio after temporary pause, company says,” Sept. 17, 2026. ksat.com
KSAT, “Waymo launches fully autonomous ride-hailing service in San Antonio,” Oct. 14, 2026. ksat.com
Waymo, “From the road” blog post on San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa, Oct. 14, 2026. waymo.com
Kirsten Korosec, TechCrunch, “Waymo's newest robotaxi is Chinese-made, built to make money, and now accepting riders,” May 28, 2026. techcrunch.com
Jennifer Elias and MacKenzie Sigalos, CNBC, “Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders as company aims to lower cost of fleet expansion,” May 28, 2026. cnbc.com
Waymo LLC, “Part 573 Safety Recall Report 26E026,” NHTSA, submitted May 6, 2026. static.nhtsa.gov
Earlier in this series: Part 1. /case/waymo-flood-recall

Disclosure: [not in copy] Editor placeholder