Zoox Pulls 270 Self-Driving Taxis Off Roads After Software Glitch Leads to Vegas Crash

On May 6, Amazon-owned autonomous vehicle company Zoox announced a voluntary software recall affecting 270 driverless vehicles following a minor collision in Las Vegas. The incident, which occurred on April 8, involved an unoccupied Zoox robotaxi and a passenger car. No injuries were reported, and both vehicles sustained only minor damage.

According to Zoox, the collision happened when a passenger car quickly approached the lane where the robotaxi was traveling. Anticipating that the car would proceed forward, the robotaxi slowed down and steered to the right. Nevertheless, the passenger vehicle stopped, entirely yielding to the robotaxi and remaining stopped in the shoulder lane. While the robotaxi did perform a hard brake, it was unable to stop without colliding.

Following the incident, Zoox halted all driverless vehicle operations while conducting a full safety review."After analysis and rigorous testing, Zoox identified the root cause," the company stated in a blog post. "We issued a software update that was implemented across all Zoox vehicles. All Zoox vehicles on the road today, including our purpose-built robotaxi and test fleet, have the updated software."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was notified of the incident and the subsequent recall. The agency had previously closed a separate investigation into Zoox vehicles regarding unexpected braking that caused injuries to motorcyclists, which was also resolved by a software update. However, another NHTSA investigation remains open into Zoox's self-certification of robotaxis lacking traditional driving controls.

Zoox has been testing its autonomous vehicles in Las Vegas, Foster City, and San Francisco, with additional testing in Austin, Miami, and Seattle using retrofitted Toyota Highlanders. The company plans to begin public rides in Las Vegas by year's end, with plans to follow in San Francisco.

This recall highlights some of the challenges that autonomous vehicle developers confront in delivering a safe and reliable product before they can commercially deploy them. Zoox's decision to act on the software problem before launching rides, by breaking the news and executing the recall, underscores its commitment to transparency and complying with regulatory oversight in the autonomous vehicle space.