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Zoox recalls robotaxi software after smoke scene failure
Zoox updated all 105 robotaxis after one vehicle struggled at a smoke-filled fire scene in June. NHTSA had just warned AV firms about blocking first responders.
Image: TechCrunch
Zoox has issued a software recall for its robotaxi fleet after one vehicle struggled to handle a smoke-filled emergency fire scene in June. The Amazon-owned company said Friday that it had deployed a software update to all 105 vehicles. Nobody was on board during the incident, and Zoox told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) it is not aware of any injuries linked to the problem.
According to NHTSA’s recall report, the incident happened on June 20, when a Zoox robotaxi encountered heavy smoke that obscured an active fire scene that was not cordoned off with cones. The vehicle braked hard while attempting to steer away before coming to a stop. A Zoox teleoperator then reversed the vehicle away from the area, allowing first responders to place traffic cones. The report does not say where the incident occurred.
The recall lands just one week after NHTSA administrator Jonathan Morrison warned self-driving car companies to stop interfering with first responders.
“Let me be clear: the inability to detect and appropriately respond to such situations represents a functional insufficiency. Emergency scenes are not rare or extreme 'edge cases.' As such, NHTSA is today issuing a call to action for AV developers and operators to immediately focus their resources on fixing this issue.”
Zoox said it investigated the event to find the root cause and look for similar cases. The company told NHTSA that “this is the only event of this kind that Zoox has experienced,” and said it held multiple discussions with the regulator in late June and early July about the issue’s severity, frequency, and root causes. Zoox decided to issue the recall on July 7, one day before Morrison’s letter.
This is not the company’s first software recall. Zoox voluntarily recalled vehicle software in March 2025 to fix a hard braking issue that NHTSA had been investigating since 2024. It issued two more recalls in May 2025 following a collision with a passenger car and a separate incident in which a Zoox vehicle was struck by an e-scooter rider.
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Zoox has been expanding testing into new cities and is offering free rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco ahead of a planned commercial launch. That launch depends on NHTSA granting an exemption from certain Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, since Zoox robotaxis do not have a steering wheel or pedals. NHTSA has also recently proposed removing the brake pedal requirement for vehicles built to be fully autonomous.
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Dan is our resident futurist, covering electric mobility, space exploration, and the smart home. He's interested in atoms just as much as bits. Whether it's a new battery chemistry, a reusable rocket, or a protocol that finally makes IoT devices talk to each other, Dan breaks down the engineering that pushes humanity forward.
via TechCrunch
