Amazon-owned Zoox said Friday it will recall its entire U.S. fleet of 105 autonomous vehicles because the robotaxis may fail to detect heavy smoke and could impede emergency responders. The over-the-air software recall lands just nine days after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) publicly ordered driverless-vehicle developers to fix a "clear pattern" of AVs interfering with first responders.
What triggered the recall
On June 20, 2026 an unoccupied Zoox robotaxi encountered heavy smoke obscuring an active emergency fire scene on the Las Vegas Strip. The vehicle entered the scene, braked hard while attempting to steer away, then came to a stop; a Zoox teleguidance operator reversed the vehicle before first responders cordoned two of three lanes with traffic cones. Zoox notified NHTSA of the smoke-detection defect on July 8 and confirmed the recall Friday.
The software fix
Zoox said the recall pushes an over-the-air update that "enhances existing capability of detecting and responding to heavy smoke," letting the robotaxi identify smoke-obscured scenes and slow or reroute before entering them. All 105 vehicles are equipped with the same perception stack of 40+ cameras, radars, lidars and infrared sensors, so no hardware swaps are required.
NHTSA's July 8 letter
NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison told AV developers on July 8 that the agency had documented multiple cases of driverless robotaxis blocking ambulances and firefighters or failing to recognize flashing lights, flares, smoke, fire and traffic cones. NHTSA has demanded that developers present fixes by the end of July, echoing the framework laid out in the agency's first-responder interference call to action. The Zoox smoke recall is the first concrete industry response.
Zoox scales up under a regulatory spotlight
The recall arrives as Zoox pushes into commercial production. The company this month unveiled a production-intent robotaxi targeting 100 units per week from its Hayward, California factory and continues to expand paid rides in Las Vegas alongside Waymo's four-city expansion. Amazon acquired Zoox in 2020 and has since positioned it as a core bet on autonomous mobility, but the smoke-detection incident underscores that NHTSA scrutiny — not manufacturing throughput — is the near-term gating factor for U.S. robotaxi scale.
Reporting based on coverage from Reuters, CNBC and NHTSA press materials.