LAS VEGAS — Zoox issued a voluntary software recall for its fleet of 105 autonomous vehicles after one of its robotaxis drove into an active emergency fire scene obscured by heavy smoke. The company notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the recall on July 8, 2026.

The recall addresses a software issue where the Automatic Driving Systems may fail to detect heavy smoke, allowing the vehicle to enter areas of low visibility such as active emergency scenes. Zoox shipped a software update to its fleet to address the smoke detection issue. Zoox stated 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."

The incident prompting the recall occurred on June 20, 2026, when an unoccupied Zoox robotaxi encountered heavy smoke that obscured an active emergency fire scene that was not cordoned off with cones. The Zoox vehicle entered the scene, braked hard while attempting to steer away, and came to a stop. Zoox stated the incident took place in Las Vegas.

A Zoox teleoperator remotely instructed the vehicle to reverse away from the scene. First responders placed traffic cones at the scene after the vehicle reversed. Zoox told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration it is not aware of any injuries associated with the incident. Zoox stated this is the only event of this kind that the company has experienced.

Zoox decided to issue the recall on July 7, 2026. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison sent a letter to self-driving car companies warning them to stop interfering with first responders.

"Let me be clear: the inability to detect and appropriately respond to such situations represents a functional insufficiency," Morrison wrote. "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," Morrison wrote. Morrison stated in the letter that the agency has "identified a clear pattern of driverless AVs interfering with law enforcement and other first responders."

"An AV that cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public," Morrison said in the letter. The NHTSA letter cited incidents where autonomous vehicles drove into active emergency scenes, blocked the paths of ambulances or firefighters, or failed to recognize flashing lights, flares, smoke, fire, and traffic cones.

Zoox voluntarily recalled software on its vehicles in March 2025 to resolve a hard-braking issue. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had been investigating the hard-braking issue since 2024. Zoox issued two more recalls in May 2025 following a collision with a passenger car and an incident where a Zoox vehicle was struck by an e-scooter rider.

Zoox issued several software recalls in 2025 to address issues over lane crossings and its ability to predict the movement of other vehicles and pedestrians. Zoox is offering free rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco. Zoox is allowing select users to hail its robotaxis in small zones in Miami and Austin, Texas.

Zoox is conducting testing in six other U.S. cities. Zoox's planned commercial launch is dependent on the NHTSA granting the company an exemption to certain Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards because its robotaxis do not have a steering wheel or pedals. The NHTSA recently proposed removing the brake-pedal requirement for vehicles built to be fully autonomous. Amazon acquired Zoox for $1.3 billion in 2020.

Zoox operates a fleet of 105 autonomous vehicles and is expanding its testing and commercial operations across multiple U.S. cities, including free rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco and limited service in Miami and Austin. The company's planned commercial launch depends on NHTSA granting an exemption to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards because its robotaxis lack a steering wheel and pedals.

The recall follows three previous software recalls in 2025 addressing hard-braking, collisions, and pedestrian prediction issues. NHTSA's broader investigation into autonomous vehicles interfering with emergency scenes has prompted a call to action requiring developers to present fixes and participate in meetings by the end of the month.