Zoox has issued a software recall covering 105 of its robotaxis after one of the vehicles failed to respond safely to heavy smoke from a fire, interfering with an active emergency response. The incident highlights growing concerns over how autonomous vehicles handle emergency scenes, an issue regulators have recently flagged as a priority rather than a rare edge case.

On 20 June, a Zoox robotaxi drove into heavy smoke from a fire in an uncordoned traffic lane, braked hard while trying to steer away, then stopped before reversing under remote teleguidance, after which first responders placed cones to block the lane. Zoox says this is the only such incident it has recorded and has rolled out a software update improving smoke detection and response. It follows an earlier Zoox recall in May 2025 after a collision with a passenger car in Las Vegas, and comes weeks after the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wrote to autonomous vehicle firms demanding improvements, with Administrator Jonathan Morrison calling the inability to handle emergency scenes a "functional insufficiency." The recall is a setback in an otherwise expansive year for Zoox, which has unveiled an updated robotaxi and plans to widen its Las Vegas and San Francisco operations and trial its software in new cities.