May 2, 2026
Checked bags, unchecked chaos
Waymo Drives Off with South Bay Man's Luggage
Robot taxi stole his suitcase, and commenters say the fix was somehow even worse
TLDR: A man says a Waymo robot taxi drove off with his luggage at the airport after the trunk wouldn’t open, and he was told to pay shipping or go fetch it himself. Commenters are roasting the company’s response, with some calling for regulators to step in and others sharing anti-robot-car luggage survival tips.
A Sunnyvale man’s very first ride in a self-driving Waymo to San Jose airport ended with a plot twist nobody wants on travel day: the car allegedly refused to open the trunk, then calmly drove away with his luggage like it had a flight of its own. According to NBC Bay Area, he says the app didn’t help, the trunk button didn’t work, and customer support told him the car couldn’t simply turn around. Community reaction? A mix of horror, rage, and gallows humor.
The strongest opinion by far is that the real scandal isn’t just the runaway suitcase — it’s the response after. Commenters were floored that Waymo reportedly offered either shipping at the rider’s expense or two free rides to San Francisco to collect the bag, which one person basically translated as: congrats, your compensation is more time in the robot car that stranded you. Others took it more seriously, saying this should be reported to California regulators and airport officials because if a company can’t handle a bag in the trunk, people are asking what happens when the problem is bigger.
And then came the survival guides. One seasoned rider shared a six-step ritual that boils down to: never trust the car, keep a door open until your stuff is in hand. Another commenter thanked the unlucky traveler for discovering this “edge case” first, which is nerd-speak for nightmare scenario. The vibe in the comments is brutal: Waymo didn’t just lose a suitcase — it lost a chunk of trust.
Key Points
- •Di Jin of Sunnyvale said a Waymo vehicle drove away with his luggage after dropping him at San Jose Mineta Airport when the trunk would not open.
- •The article says Waymo’s website states the trunk should open automatically after a passenger exits and can also be opened via the car’s trunk button or an app command.
- •Jin said he contacted Waymo immediately but was told the vehicle could not be turned around because it was returning to the company’s San Francisco depot.
- •After the luggage reached the depot, Waymo offered Jin the choice of paying for shipping or taking two complimentary rides to retrieve it.
- •The article references a similar alleged Waymo luggage incident in San Francisco last year and notes Waymo started service to San Jose airport in September.