A December 2024 video showed an empty Waymo robotaxi repeatedly driving around a roundabout. Waymo confirmed the incident and said a software update addressed the behavior. A separate Phoenix passenger incident, reported later, involved a different loop and raised questions about support controls and remote assistance.
What happened in the roundabout video?
The video, reported by TechCrunch on December 12, 2024, shows a Waymo robotaxi repeatedly navigating a roundabout without taking an exit or ending the maneuver. Waymo confirmed that the event occurred, said there were no passengers inside, and said the issue had been addressed in a fleet software update.
The footage establishes repeated circling, but not the vehicle’s internal reasoning. The reporting does not establish the roundabout’s exact location, the number of laps, the total duration, whether anyone intervened, or the precise software defect. It is therefore more accurate to describe the car as appearing stuck in a routing loop than to claim it drove “endlessly.”
TechCrunch’s report contains Waymo’s confirmation and the company’s statement about the update.
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Was anyone trapped inside?
No. Waymo told TechCrunch that the robotaxi in the roundabout video was empty. That matters because social posts often merge this footage with a later account from a passenger who experienced a different looping event.
The separate Phoenix passenger incident
In early December 2024, Mike Johns said a Waymo carrying him toward Phoenix Sky Harbor airport repeatedly drove around a parking-lot loop for less than seven minutes. This was not the public-road roundabout shown in the viral video, and Waymo did not confirm that both events shared a cause or happened at the same time.
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A customer-support specialist contacted Johns and directed him to use the app’s “My Trip” control. Johns said that instruction helped the vehicle resume the trip. Waymo said the ride was completed and that he was not charged; Johns also said the company compensated him and directed him to file a complaint. The full account appears in TechCrunch’s January 8, 2025 follow-up.
Was a human remotely driving the car?
There is no evidence in the cited reporting that a human took direct control of either vehicle. In Johns’s case, the support employee said she could not directly drive the robotaxi. Waymo told TechCrunch that rider-support agents are separate from fleet-response personnel whom the Waymo Driver may consult when it encounters an unfamiliar situation.
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Waymo’s ride-interruptions guidance says its vehicles do not operate through direct remote driving while autonomous mode is active; the vehicle remains responsible for driving. That does not mean no human can communicate with a rider, provide operational assistance, or arrange a response. “Remote assistance” and “remote driving” are not interchangeable terms.
What could make an autonomous car keep circling?
Waymo has not publicly described the underlying failure in the cited reports. Several mechanisms are plausible, but none should be presented as the confirmed diagnosis:
- Missed or rejected exit: The planner might fail to recognize the intended exit or decline it because confidence is too low.
- Map-perception disagreement: Lane markings, signs, construction, or unusual traffic could conflict with the vehicle’s map or perception of the roundabout.
- Routing-state loop: The system could repeatedly recalculate a route without reaching a fallback state that tells it to stop or ask for help.
- Safety-first behavior: A cautious system may continue a low-speed, predictable maneuver rather than make an uncertain exit that could be unsafe.
These possibilities explain why an autonomous vehicle can look absurdly indecisive without proving what happened in this case. The only technical remediation Waymo disclosed was a regularly scheduled software update; the reports do not identify a version number, code change, map edit, deployment scope, or root-cause analysis.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What can a rider do if a Waymo behaves unexpectedly?
Waymo says riders have a pull-over control available in the app and on the passenger screen. Its rider-safety guidance also says to remain buckled and contact Support if the vehicle pulls over or stops unexpectedly.
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- Use the in-vehicle or app support controls. Look for the pull-over option and the trip-support tools before an emergency occurs.
- Contact Waymo Support. Explain the vehicle’s location, behavior, and any immediate hazard. A support agent may guide you without being able to drive the car.
- Stay seated and buckled. Do not step into traffic merely because the ride is inconvenient or confusing.
- Follow instructions if the vehicle stops. Waymo says the car may pull over or stop when it determines that is safest.
- Call emergency services for an immediate threat. If there is a collision, fire, medical emergency, or imminent danger, use emergency services rather than waiting for a routine support response.
Johns’s account also exposes a human-factors issue: a control can exist yet be difficult to find when a passenger is stressed. The reporting does not establish whether other riders would experience the same difficulty.
Was the robotaxi hacked?
There is no evidence in the cited coverage of a hack. Johns said he wondered whether his vehicle had been hacked while the parking-lot loop was happening, but that was a fear at the time, not an established cause. Waymo attributed the behavior to an issue addressed in software and did not report a cybersecurity intrusion.
What the incident does—and does not—show
| Supported conclusion | What remains unknown |
|---|---|
| An empty Waymo robotaxi repeatedly circled a roundabout in December 2024. | The exact location, duration, lap count, and internal failure mode. |
| Waymo confirmed the event and said a software update addressed it. | The software version, code change, map change, and whether the update applied globally. |
| A different Waymo carrying Mike Johns looped near Phoenix airport for under seven minutes. | Whether that passenger event had the same cause as the roundabout incident. |
| Support staff helped Johns through the app without directly driving the vehicle. | Whether fleet-response personnel intervened in the empty vehicle. |
The episode demonstrates a real robustness problem: an autonomous system can handle ordinary traffic yet fail in a rare combination of geometry, localization, routing state, and safety constraints. It does not establish a fleet-wide failure rate or prove that Waymo vehicles routinely malfunction.
Why the wording matters
Calling the video a “passenger trapped in a Waymo” is wrong because the vehicle was empty. Calling the support specialist a remote driver is also wrong because the documented interaction involved communication and an app instruction, not direct control. And saying Waymo revealed the bug’s cause overstates what the company disclosed: it reported remediation, not a technical postmortem.
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