A system accesses Autonomous Vehicle Communication Gateway (AVCG) information that comprises information associated with an AVCG manager. The AVCG manager is a software resource configured to transition among states in which the autonomous vehicle operates in response to detecting a respective trigger event. The system determines an autonomy status associated with the autonomous vehicle. The system detects a change in the autonomy status by accessing historical records of event, tracking back through the historical records of events, and tracking back through the AVCG information. The system determines one or more particular events from among one or both of the historical records of events and the AVCG information that led to the change in the autonomy status. The system outputs the cause of the change in the autonomy status.