Amazon's autonomous vehicle subsidiary, Zoox, has been forced to recall hundreds of its self-driving cars after a software flaw caused them to drift dangerously into the path of oncoming traffic.
The Recall and the Fault
The company announced the recall of 332 of its pod-like robotaxis on Tuesday. The safety defect was first identified in August when one of the vehicles took an excessively wide right turn. This manoeuvre caused the car to cross over the yellow centre line, partially entering a lane designated for traffic moving in the opposite direction.
A subsequent internal review discovered a total of 62 similar incidents. In each case, a Zoox vehicle crossed the lane line and came to a stop where it could have been struck by oncoming traffic. Fortunately, the company confirmed that no crashes or injuries have been linked to the problem.
Software Patch Deployed
Zoox stated it has already resolved the issue with a software update, effectively a digital patch that reprograms how the vehicle behaves on the road. "We have proactively identified some instances where our vehicles were making manoeuvres that, while common for human drivers, didn't meet our standards," a company spokesperson told Reuters.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the US federal safety regulator, confirmed the recall and noted it is in ongoing discussions with Zoox. This incident comes just four months after Zoox's unique, steering wheel-less robotaxis received federal approval to operate on public roads in Las Vegas and San Francisco.
A Pattern of Problems for Robotaxis
This is not an isolated incident for Zoox or the wider self-driving industry, where software glitches are increasingly the cause of recalls.
- In May, Zoox recalled 270 robotaxis following a crash in Las Vegas involving an empty vehicle during testing.
- Earlier this year, US regulators closed a separate investigation into Zoox over sudden braking problems.
- Earlier this month, Google's Waymo recalled its driverless fleet after its cars were found to have illegally passed stopped school buses.
- Videos from Tesla's new self-driving taxi service in Texas have shown vehicles veering into wrong lanes and stopping abruptly in roadways.
These recurring issues are impacting public trust. A AAA survey in February of 888 adults found that more than half would refuse to ride in a self-driving vehicle.
As the technological race between giants like Amazon, Google, and Tesla intensifies, this latest recall underscores the significant challenge of convincing the public—and regulators—that autonomous cars can consistently outperform human drivers in safety.
