American Passenger Reveals Waymo Self-Driving Taxi Departed with Luggage Still in Trunk
A Waymo self-driving taxi departed San Jose airport with a passenger's luggage still in the trunk after the trunk release malfunctioned, forcing the driver to travel without his belongings before Waymo agreed to return the bag.
An American passenger shared a bewildering experience after using a driverless taxi service for the first time, only to have the vehicle drive away from the airport with his luggage still in the trunk. The unexpected incident occurred at San Jose Mineta International Airport in California when the passenger encountered problems with Waymo's autonomous vehicle service. The passenger, D. Jin from Sunnyvale, was trying a robot taxi for the first time in late April to travel to the airport. The trip went smoothly with no issues until the vehicle reached its final destination at the airport. The problem arose when Jin attempted to remove his luggage from the trunk by pressing the trunk release button, but the door did not function as expected. At that exact moment, the Waymo self-driving vehicle began moving away from the parking spot, inadvertently taking his suitcase with it. Jin immediately contacted Waymo's customer service to request that the vehicle be stopped or the situation be resolved, but was informed that the car had already traveled to a parking facility and could not be recalled. He then had to continue his trip to San Diego for work without a change of clothes or important documents, causing considerable inconvenience. Waymo later reported that his luggage was found safely at a service center in San Francisco and offered options for him to retrieve it himself or use a free ride, but the company subsequently agreed to return the bag at no cost following additional coordination with the media. Waymo stated that according to company policy, it does not accept responsibility for items left in vehicles and does not provide compensation for damages. However, the system is designed to automatically open the trunk when passengers exit the vehicle, though Jin confirmed that this feature did not function on this occasion. Similar incidents have occurred before, with reports that a tennis coach in San Francisco experienced his equipment being taken away by a Waymo vehicle in the past year, reflecting the challenges of customer service systems in the era of autonomous vehicles that still need further development to handle unexpected situations comprehensively. San Jose Mineta Airport became the first airport in California to officially offer Waymo's driverless vehicle service starting in November 2025.
