Avride Inc. has recalled the automated driving system software on 223 retrofitted test vehicles after determining that earlier software versions could steer into an adjacent lane without yielding adequate space to a vehicle already traveling there. The company submitted the report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as NHTSA recall number 26E059, estimating that 100% of the covered population carried the condition. The filing traces the defect to an open federal investigation into Avride’s ADS and reports that remedy software reached the entire affected fleet on April 27, 2026 — four months before the recall report was submitted.
Highlights
- 223 ADS units are covered, with the filing estimating 100% carried the lateral-maneuver condition
- Remedy releases RC-01-05, RC-01-23, and RC-03-26 completed deployment to all affected vehicles on April 27, 2026
- The recall follows NHTSA Preliminary Evaluation PE26003, opened May 6, 2026 over 21 reported incidents
- An additional collision-warning update, RC-07-14, had reached 60% of the fleet as of August 8, 2026
What the Lateral-Maneuver Condition Does
Under specific operating conditions, the ADS could direct a vehicle to veer, merge, or perform another lateral maneuver into an adjacent lane without yielding to or maintaining an adequate safety margin from a vehicle already occupying that lane, according to the filing. The behavior included abrupt steering adjustments made in response to a developing traffic conflict.
Avride states the condition raises the risk of contact or near-contact with an adjacent-lane road user. The maneuvers could occur without sufficient advance notification regardless of whether the indicator signal activated, which the company says left the onboard Vehicle Operator with inadequate time to intervene effectively.
The filing attributes the cause to scenario-dependent constraints under which the ADS may execute inaccurate lateral maneuvers with high confidence. Avride reports that all public-road operation of its ADS takes place under the supervision of an onboard Vehicle Operator who can assume the driving task, but says that on prior software versions the condition could occur with limited warning, significantly reducing the operator’s time to take control before a collision.
How the Recall Grew Out of a Federal Probe
NHTSA opened Preliminary Evaluation PE26003 into Avride’s automated driving system on May 6, 2026, citing 21 incidents the company had reported between December 2025 and April 2026 under Standing General Order 2021-01.
The agency followed with Information Request PE26003-01 on June 26, 2026, seeking additional detail on those incidents and any others involving a defined set of subject behaviors — among them changing lanes and failing to yield to the right-of-way of road users traveling in close proximity in an adjacent lane.
Avride reviewed the incidents through early August and submitted its response on August 7, 2026. That review folded in disengagement data and near-miss records alongside the reported incidents, and examined whether later software updates had already addressed the risks. On August 13, 2026, the Avride Safety Team identified the lateral-maneuver condition and escalated it to the company’s Safety Board, which determined the same day that the circumstances predating the software updates warranted a report to NHTSA.
A Remedy That Preceded the Filing
The corrective software was already in the field before the recall report was submitted.
| Release | Deployment status | Function |
|---|---|---|
| RC-01-05, RC-01-23, RC-03-26 | Deployed to all affected vehicles as of April 27, 2026 | Constrain the ADS’s lateral maneuvers, enforce target-lane restrictions, and prevent lane-change execution when potential traffic conflicts are identified |
| RC-07-14 | 60% of the fleet as of August 8, 2026; full deployment targeted for August 31, 2026 | Adds collision-warning functionality notifying the Vehicle Operator of a potential lateral-maneuver collision |
Avride released the three-update remedy sequence between January 5 and March 26, 2026, and identifies April 27, 2026 as the date the updated software reached every affected ADS. The company has told NHTSA it will submit an amended report specifying the timing of the RC-07-14 rollout once that deployment finishes, in accordance with 49 CFR § 573.6(b).
Why Are There No Owner Notifications?
Avride owns, operates, and directly controls both the affected ADS and the vehicles it is integrated into, and the filing states the ADS has never been offered for sale. On that basis, the report identifies no owners or dealers to notify under 49 CFR Parts 573 or 577, listing dealer and interim owner notification as not applicable and marking remedy owner notification as a phased recall.
