Zoox recalled the software on its entire fleet of 105 robotaxis on Friday after one of its vehicles failed to detect heavy smoke and drove into an active emergency fire scene, the company said.
The Amazon-owned company issued a software update after a vehicle entered an active emergency scene obscured by heavy smoke in Las Vegas on June 20
Smith Collection / Gado / Getty Images
Zoox recalled the software on its entire fleet of 105 robotaxis on Friday after one of its vehicles failed to detect heavy smoke and drove into an active emergency fire scene, the company said.
The incident took place on June 20 in Las Vegas, according to Zoox's report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A Zoox vehicle with no passengers on board came upon thick smoke that hid an active fire scene where no traffic cones had been set up to close off the area. As it tried to navigate clear of the hazard, the vehicle applied its brakes sharply and ultimately came to a halt. A Zoox teleguidance employee took remote control and backed the vehicle out, giving first responders the opportunity to cordon off the scene with cones. No injuries were reported, and Zoox said it determined the event was the only one of its kind in its history.
Zoox notified NHTSA of the recall on July 8 and said it had multiple conversations with the regulator between late June and early July about the severity, frequency, and root causes of the issue. The company said the software update "enhances the existing capability of detecting active emergency scenes by adding the ability to detect and respond to heavy smoke in certain situations," according to TechCrunch.
The recall follows a warning issued last week by NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison to autonomous vehicle developers. Morrison wrote that the agency has "identified a clear pattern of driverless AVs interfering with law enforcement and other first responders," pointing to cases in which self-driving vehicles entered active emergency scenes, cut off ambulances or fire crews, or proved unable to register or react to flashing lights, flares, smoke, fire, and cones. He characterized a vehicle's failure to detect and appropriately react to such conditions as a "functional insufficiency" and demanded that companies bring their remedies to NHTSA before the month's end. The letter did not name specific companies.
Zoox, which Amazon $AMZN acquired in 2020, operates robotaxis with no steering wheel or pedals and four inward-facing seats. The company unveiled interior and exterior updates to its vehicles ahead of a planned commercial launch that requires an NHTSA exemption from federal motor vehicle safety standards. Zoox currently offers free rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco and is running limited-access testing in Miami and Austin, along with six other U.S. cities.
This is not the company's first software recall. A March 2025 recall addressed a hard-braking problem that regulators had been examining since the prior year, and two additional recalls followed in May 2025 — one tied to a crash with a passenger car and another after a Zoox vehicle was hit by an e-scooter, according to TechCrunch.
Last month, rival Waymo recalled about 3,900 robotaxis after some vehicles drove into closed freeway construction zones, according to CNBC.
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