NHTSA opens probe into Waymo 5TH Generation ADS: Waymo AV drives around a stopped school bus
On October 17, 2025, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE25013) into Waymo 5TH Generation ADS, concerning the electrical system. A Preliminary Evaluation is the first formal stage of an NHTSA defect investigation: ODI gathers information from the manufacturer and from owner reports to decide whether to close the case or take it further. As of NHTSA’s latest data it is still open.
- Action
- PE25013 (Preliminary Evaluation)
- Status
- Open
- Component
- Electrical System: Adas: Autonomous/Self Driving
- Listed
- 1 make/model/year entry in NHTSA’s file
Vehicles under investigation
| Make | Waymo |
|---|---|
| Model | 5TH Generation ADS |
As listed in NHTSA’s investigation file. Not every vehicle of a listed model is necessarily affected.
What ODI says
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) identified a media report involving a Waymo AV that failed to remain stopped when approaching a school bus that was stopped with its red lights flashing, stop arm deployed, and crossing control arm deployed. In the incident, the Waymo AV approached the right side of the stopped school bus from a perpendicular side street. The AV initially stopped, but then drove around the front of the bus by briefly turning right to avoid running into the bus’s right front end, then turning left to pass in front of the bus, and then turning further left and driving down the roadway past the entire left side of the bus. During this maneuver, the Waymo AV passed the bus’s extended crossing control arm near disembarking students (on the bus’s right side) and passed the extended stop arm on the bus’s left side. At the time of the incident, the Waymo AV was operated by Waymo’s 5th Generation Automated Driving System (ADS). No safety operator was present in the vehicle. Waymo’s ADS surpassed 100 million miles of driving in July of 2025. Operations involving Waymo’s ADS currently accumulate approximately two million miles per week. Based on NHTSA’s engagement with Waymo on this incident and the accumulation of operational miles, the likelihood of other prior similar incidents is high. ODI has opened a Preliminary Evaluation to investigate the performance of the Waymo ADS around stopped school buses, how the system is designed to comply with school bus traffic safety laws, and the system’s ability to follow those traffic safety laws. During this investigation, NHTSA will seek to identify the scope of the issue presented by this incident and identify any other similar incidents.
Official summary by NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation for PE25013, quoted in full (U.S. government work, public domain).
Related recalls
NHTSA links these recall campaigns to PE25013.
- NHTSA campaign 25E084000
Timeline
- ODI opens preliminary evaluation PE25013
- OpenNo closing date yet
What this means for owners
- An investigation is not a recall. NHTSA has not made a defect finding here, and owners are not asked to do anything yet. If a safety defect is confirmed, the manufacturer recalls the vehicles and the repair is free.
- Check your vehicle for open recalls with a free VIN recall check.
- Had this problem? File a complaint with NHTSA. Owner complaints are the evidence ODI uses to open and expand investigations.
Official record: search PE25013 or your vehicle at NHTSA.gov/recalls, which lists investigations alongside recalls. Data: NHTSA ODI investigations file, updated daily. All NHTSA investigations.