{"id":"00240dcf-203e-4a65-8ce4-491a9a86fca5","slug":"zoox-fire-scene-recall-2026-07-17","kind":"recall","headline":"Zoox recalls 105 robotaxis after one drove into active fire scene obscured by smoke","summary":"Amazon-owned Zoox issued a software recall affecting 105 robotaxis after one vehicle drove into an active emergency scene obscured by heavy smoke from a fire. The robotaxi failed to detect or respond to the hazard, prompting NHTSA-reported recall and software update.","occurredAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00.000Z","reviewStatus":"reviewed","modelId":null,"deploymentId":null,"companyId":"6ab92a95-6f4e-4493-a771-ae645c7969c6","dataCenterId":null,"aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"none","reviewNote":null,"severity":"serious","rootCauseCategory":null,"rootCauseDetail":null,"affectedUnitsCount":105,"affectedUnitsBasis":"exact","remediationStatus":"in_progress","regulatoryAction":"recall_ordered","regulatoryBody":"NHTSA","propertyDamageEstimateUsd":null,"damageEstimateBasis":null,"bodilyInjurySeverity":null,"fatalityCount":null,"lossCostClass":null,"sourceQualityTier":null,"oshaRecordable":null,"oshaCaseNumber":null,"rootCauseDisclosed":null,"publicDisclosureDate":null,"insuranceClaimPublic":null,"formFactor":null,"latitude":null,"longitude":null,"autonomyClass":null,"legalOutcomeClass":"unknown","createdAt":"2026-09-01T09:08:55.115Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-29T19:03:19.826Z","model":null,"deployment":null,"company":{"id":"6ab92a95-6f4e-4493-a771-ae645c7969c6","name":"Zoox","slug":"zoox","description":"Autonomous-vehicle company founded ~2014 by [Jesse Levinson](/people/jesse-levinson) and [Tim Kentley-Klay](/people/tim-kentley-klay), acquired by [Amazon](/companies/amazon) in 2020 for over $1 billion. Zoox develops a purpose-built, bidirectional [robotaxi](/models/zoox) with no steering wheel or pedals, plus a retrofitted [Toyota](/companies/toyota) Highlander test fleet. On August 10, 2026, Zoox launched its first-ever paid commercial ride-hailing service in [Las Vegas](/locations/las-vegas-nevada-usa), following NHTSA's July 30 temporary exemption allowing up to 2,500 vehicles annually for two years. Free demonstration rides continue in [San Francisco](/locations/san-francisco-california-usa) (SoMa). Zoox also tests with human safety operators in Austin, [Miami](/locations/miami-florida-usa), Seattle, and [Los Angeles](/locations/los-angeles-california-usa) using retrofitted Highlanders. The company has faced significant regulatory scrutiny including three NHTSA software recalls in 2025 and ongoing probes. [Amazon](/companies/amazon) has positioned Zoox as its entry into autonomous ride-hailing, though it trails [Waymo](/companies/waymo) in commercial deployment scale.","status":"subsidiary","founded":2014,"hq":"Foster City, California, USA","hqLat":37.5600336,"hqLng":-122.2688522,"hqGeocodedAt":"2026-08-05T14:56:33.423Z","hqAddress":null,"hqPrecision":null,"website":"zoox.com","fundingTotal":"1800000000","type":"both","roles":["robot_maker","robot_operator"],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","heatIndex":85,"lifecycleState":"active","supersededByCompanyId":null,"sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/06/amazon-owned-zoox-issues-recall-following-robotaxi-crash/","title":"Zoox — Amazon-owned, purpose-built robotaxi + Highlander test fleet, SF/Vegas/Austin/Miami/Seattle, recalls","sourceName":"TechCrunch","publishedAt":"2025-05-06"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/30/zoox-custom-robotaxis-are-finally-coming-to-san-francisco-and-las-vegas","title":"Zoox custom robotaxis to SF (SoMa) and Las Vegas (Strip); founded ~2014; Amazon 2020","sourceName":"TechCrunch","publishedAt":"2024-10-30"},{"url":"https://interestingengineering.com/transportation/amazon-robotaxis-software-recall","title":"Zoox runs free public robotaxi rides in SF + Las Vegas; needs federal approval for paid; plans to charge 2026","sourceName":"Interesting Engineering","publishedAt":"2025-12-23"},{"url":"https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/were-acquiring-zoox-to-help-bring-their-vision-of-autonomous-ride-hailing-to-reality","title":"We're acquiring Zoox — Amazon announces agreement to acquire Zoox (no purchase price disclosed in the release)","sourceName":"Amazon (aboutamazon.com)","publishedAt":"2020-06-26"},{"url":"https://zoox.com/","title":"Zoox - purpose-built autonomous robotaxi (official)","sourceName":"Zoox (official)"},{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/10/amazons-zoox-jumps-into-us-robotaxi-race-with-las-vegas-launch-.html","title":"Amazon's Zoox launches public driverless robotaxi in Las Vegas (Sept 2025)","sourceName":"CNBC"},{"url":"https://electrek.co/2026/03/24/zoox-expands-current-service-area-and-is-bringing-its-purpose-built-robotaxi-to-two-new-cities/","title":"Zoox expands service area and to two new cities (Mar 2026)","sourceName":"Electrek"},{"url":"https://www.amazon.science/latest-news/how-the-zoox-robotaxi-predicts-everything-everywhere-all-at-once","title":"Amazon Science - how the Zoox driving stack (perception/prediction/planning) works","sourceName":"Amazon Science"},{"url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-24/amazon-s-zoox-plans-to-expand-robotaxi-rides-to-austin-miami","title":"Amazon's Zoox plans to expand robotaxi rides to Austin and Miami (Mar 2026)","sourceName":"Bloomberg"},{"url":"https://fortune.com/2025/12/08/amazon-robotaxi-service-zoox-plans-fees-vegas-san-francisco/","title":"Amazon's Zoox to start charging for rides in 2026 (Dec 2025)","sourceName":"Fortune"},{"url":"https://zoox.com/common/files/global-202603-zoox-press-kit-backgrounder.pdf","title":"Zoox press kit backgrounder (Mar 2026)","sourceName":"Zoox"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/17/amazon-owned-zooxs-100-robotaxi-limit-in-nevada-is-about-to-disappear/","title":"Amazon-owned Zoox's 100-robotaxi limit in Nevada is about to disappear","sourceName":"TechCrunch"},{"url":"https://sd15.senate.ca.gov/news/major-victory-public-safety-accountability-oversight-and-emergency-response-standards","title":"Major Victory for Public Safety as Accountability, Oversight, and Emergency-Response Standards Governing Autonomous Vehicles is Signed into Law","sourceName":"Office of Senator Dave Cortese","publishedAt":"2026-09-30"},{"url":"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1246","title":"SB-1246 Autonomous vehicles. (2025-2026)","sourceName":"California Legislative Information"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/01/robotaxi-operators-will-face-fines-for-blocking-first-responders/","title":"Robotaxi operators will face fines for blocking first responders","sourceName":"TechCrunch","publishedAt":"2026-10-01"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"Robotaxi (company-claimed)","value":"In 2020 Zoox unveiled its purpose-built robotaxi with no steering wheel or driver's seat, the year it joined Amazon."},{"label":"Nevada permit (company-claimed)","value":"Its Nevada permit with a 100-vehicle cap was set to expire Sep 25 2026."},{"label":"Paid rides (reported, Sep 2026)","value":"Las Vegas is the only city where Zoox charges for rides; California charging awaits another permit."},{"label":"California SB 1246 (Sep 2026)","value":"Signed Sep 30 2026; by July 2028 remote AV drivers must be US-based and licensed, and operators must alert local agencies during system failures."},{"label":"SB 1246 first-responder rules","value":"Requires on-site incident technicians and local penalties when an AV blocks responders for over 30 minutes. DMV rules pending."}],"aliases":["Zoox Inc","Amazon Zoox","Zoox robotaxi"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"atsProvider":null,"atsSlug":null,"factoryLocations":null,"manufacturingCapacity":null,"orgType":null,"burnSignal":null,"litigationEvents":null,"insurancePostureDisclosed":null,"unitEconomicsDisclosed":null,"tickerSymbol":null,"stockExchange":null,"secCik":null,"revenueUsd":null,"revenueBasis":null,"revenueAsOf":null,"employeeCount":2200,"employeeCountBasis":null,"employeeCountAsOf":null,"marketCapUsd":null,"marketCapAsOf":null,"marketCapSource":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-26T18:25:08.712Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-21T00:48:12.410Z"},"derived":{"status":"active"},"sources":[{"id":"bc2050af-609c-468e-aa44-4340b4979fae","incidentId":"00240dcf-203e-4a65-8ce4-491a9a86fca5","url":"https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCAK-26E044-8851.pdf","label":null,"publishedAt":"2026-07-16T00:00:00.000Z","notes":null,"title":"NHTSA acknowledgment letter RCAK-26E044 Zoox ADS software may fail to detect heavy smoke","sourceName":"NHTSA","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-09-29T19:03:19.332Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-29T19:03:19.332Z"},{"id":"7af11cd0-5b60-424a-bdb7-a9efd4f565b9","incidentId":"00240dcf-203e-4a65-8ce4-491a9a86fca5","url":"https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26E044-2993.pdf","label":null,"publishedAt":"2026-07-16T00:00:00.000Z","notes":null,"title":"NHTSA Part 573 report RCLRPT-26E044 Zoox smoke detection recall (105 units)","sourceName":"NHTSA","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-09-29T19:03:20.742Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-29T19:03:20.742Z"},{"id":"61faefc4-8db0-49dd-a1f6-8a768d122f30","incidentId":"00240dcf-203e-4a65-8ce4-491a9a86fca5","url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/17/amazon-zoox-software-recall-robotaxi-smoke.html","label":"CNBC","publishedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00.000Z","notes":null,"title":null,"sourceName":"CNBC","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-09-01T09:08:55.115Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-01T09:08:55.115Z"}],"responses":[],"statusEvents":[{"id":"7405627c-569f-45c6-80fa-431bf086de4f","incidentId":"00240dcf-203e-4a65-8ce4-491a9a86fca5","status":"active","reason":null,"source":"agent:recon","effectiveAt":"2026-09-01T09:08:56.373Z","createdAt":"2026-09-01T09:08:56.373Z"}],"jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/zoox-fire-scene-recall-2026-07-17","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/zoox-fire-scene-recall-2026-07-17","headline":"Zoox recalls 105 robotaxis after one drove into active fire scene obscured by smoke","description":"Amazon-owned Zoox issued a software recall affecting 105 robotaxis after one vehicle drove into an active emergency scene obscured by heavy smoke from a fire. The robotaxi failed to detect or respond to the hazard, prompting NHTSA-reported recall and software update.","identifier":"00240dcf-203e-4a65-8ce4-491a9a86fca5","datePublished":"2026-07-17T00:00:00.000Z","articleSection":"recall","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"},"author":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"verified","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":3,"primary_source_types":["primary-regulatory-filing","secondary-established-publication"]}}}