diff --git a/cpp/src/routing/crossovers/ox_recombiner.cuh b/cpp/src/routing/crossovers/ox_recombiner.cuh
index 404d450585..cefbd8df15 100644
--- a/cpp/src/routing/crossovers/ox_recombiner.cuh
+++ b/cpp/src/routing/crossovers/ox_recombiner.cuh
@@ -169,6 +169,14 @@ struct OX {
     return graphs_size + sol_arrays_size + helper_arrays_size;
   }
 
+  /// @brief OX recombination of two parents into A (offspring built in place).
+  ///        In fixed_route mode (fleet_size == min_vehicles) the vehicle count
+  ///        is preserved; otherwise the offspring route count may vary.
+  /// @param A first parent; on success, replaced by the recombined offspring.
+  /// @param B second parent (read-only donor genome).
+  /// @return true if a valid offspring was produced and applied to A; false if
+  ///         recombination was rejected (e.g. mismatched parents, fixed-route
+  ///         count violation, size/memory guards) — A is then left unchanged.
   bool recombine(Solution& A, Solution& B)
   {
     raft::common::nvtx::range fun_scope("ox");
@@ -204,7 +212,13 @@ struct OX {
     routes_number = std::min(routesA.size(), routesB.size());
 
     const auto& dimensions_info = A.problem->dimensions_info;
-    if (dimensions_info.has_dimension(dim_t::VEHICLE_FIXED_COST)) {
+    // Optimal-routes search lets Bellman-Ford pick a variable number of routes to minimize
+    // vehicle fixed cost. This is incompatible with fixed_route mode (fleet_size ==
+    // min_vehicles): the vehicle count cannot change, so searching over route counts both
+    // breaks the recreate_solution invariant (routes removed == routes added) and can drift
+    // the solution below min_vehicles. When the route count is fixed there is nothing to
+    // optimize over, so keep the strict fixed-route path.
+    if (!fixed_route && dimensions_info.has_dimension(dim_t::VEHICLE_FIXED_COST)) {
       routes_number         = max_vehicle_increase + std::max(routesA.size(), routesB.size());
       optimal_routes_search = true;
     }
@@ -390,9 +404,13 @@ struct OX {
       --i;
     }
 
-    if (fixed_route) {
-      cuopt_assert(routes_to_remove.size() == tmp_routes.size(),
-                   "number of routes removed and routes added should be same");
+    if (fixed_route && routes_to_remove.size() != tmp_routes.size()) {
+      // In fixed_route mode the vehicle count must be preserved: we add one route per changed
+      // offspring segment (tmp_routes) and remove the distinct original routes those segments
+      // touch (routes_to_remove). A mismatch would change the vehicle count and drop it below
+      // min_vehicles, so reject this offspring instead of applying it.
+      cuopt_assert(false, "number of routes removed and routes added should be same");
+      return false;
     }
     if (routes_to_remove.size() == 0 || tmp_routes.size() == 0) { return false; }
 
diff --git a/cpp/src/routing/local_search/cycle_finder/cycle.hpp b/cpp/src/routing/local_search/cycle_finder/cycle.hpp
index 7e3e275e13..9b922ccda2 100644
--- a/cpp/src/routing/local_search/cycle_finder/cycle.hpp
+++ b/cpp/src/routing/local_search/cycle_finder/cycle.hpp
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 #pragma once
 
 #include <utilities/copy_helpers.hpp>
+#include <utilities/macros.cuh>
 #include <utilities/vector_helpers.cuh>
 #include "../../solution/solution_handle.cuh"
 
@@ -55,11 +56,25 @@ struct ret_cycles_t {
   }
 
   struct view_t {
-    DI void push_back(i_t val) { paths[offsets[*n_cycles_] + curr_cycle_size++] = val; }
+    /// Append a vertex to the in-progress cycle (`*n_cycles_`): writes at
+    /// `offsets[*n_cycles_] + curr_cycle_size` into the flat `paths` buffer and
+    /// bumps the per-cycle counter. Caller resets `curr_cycle_size` per cycle;
+    /// append_cycle() finalizes it.
+    DI void push_back(i_t val)
+    {
+      const auto write_pos = offsets[*n_cycles_] + curr_cycle_size++;
+      cuopt_assert(write_pos < (i_t)paths.size(),
+                   "ret_cycles paths overflow: increase cycle buffer size");
+      paths[write_pos] = val;
+    }
 
+    /// Close the current cycle: advance the cycle count and store its end as the
+    /// next offsets[] prefix-sum boundary (offsets[c] = offsets[c-1] + cycle_size).
     DI void append_cycle(i_t cycle_size)
     {
       *n_cycles_ += 1;
+      cuopt_assert(*n_cycles_ < (i_t)offsets.size(),
+                   "ret_cycles offsets overflow: increase cycle buffer size");
       offsets[*n_cycles_] = offsets[*n_cycles_ - 1] + cycle_size;
     }
 
diff --git a/cpp/src/routing/local_search/move_candidates/move_candidates.cuh b/cpp/src/routing/local_search/move_candidates/move_candidates.cuh
index 1fb6ab1bba..e91139c962 100644
--- a/cpp/src/routing/local_search/move_candidates/move_candidates.cuh
+++ b/cpp/src/routing/local_search/move_candidates/move_candidates.cuh
@@ -121,10 +121,11 @@ class move_path_t {
     }
   }
 
+  /// Reset per-iteration move state
   void reset(solution_handle_t<i_t, f_t> const* sol_handle)
   {
-    constexpr i_t zero_val = 0;
-    n_insertions.set_value_async(zero_val, sol_handle->get_stream());
+    // set_value_to_zero_async() is capture-safe (no host source).
+    n_insertions.set_value_to_zero_async(sol_handle->get_stream());
     async_fill(loop_closed, 1, sol_handle->get_stream());
     async_fill(changed_routes, 0, sol_handle->get_stream());
   }
diff --git a/cpp/src/routing/solver.cu b/cpp/src/routing/solver.cu
index b160a2d140..6dca14ce90 100644
--- a/cpp/src/routing/solver.cu
+++ b/cpp/src/routing/solver.cu
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /* clang-format off */
 /*
- * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2021-2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+ * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2021-2026, NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
  */
 /* clang-format on */
@@ -65,9 +65,10 @@ assignment_t<i_t> solver_t<i_t, f_t>::solve()
   // TODO accept a settings object once we have full feature in ges solver
   // We only set target vehicles and use fixed route loop in the below case. The other paths will
   // run regular fixed route loop.
-  auto target_vehicles = -1;
-  if (data_view_ptr_->get_fleet_size() == data_view_ptr_->get_min_vehicles()) {
-    target_vehicles = data_view_ptr_->get_min_vehicles();
+  auto target_vehicles    = -1;
+  const auto min_vehicles = data_view_ptr_->get_min_vehicles();
+  if (min_vehicles > 0 && data_view_ptr_->get_fleet_size() >= min_vehicles) {
+    target_vehicles = min_vehicles;
   }
 
   const bool is_pdp = data_view_ptr_->get_pickup_delivery_pair().first != nullptr;
diff --git a/python/cuopt/cuopt/tests/routing/test_solver.py b/python/cuopt/cuopt/tests/routing/test_solver.py
index 92622b1f16..9534e5d24a 100644
--- a/python/cuopt/cuopt/tests/routing/test_solver.py
+++ b/python/cuopt/cuopt/tests/routing/test_solver.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 
 import os
 import numpy as np
+import pytest
 
 import cudf
 
@@ -262,3 +263,74 @@ def test_prize_collection():
     assert objectives[routing.Objective.COST] == 13.0
     assert sol.get_status() == 0
     assert sol.get_vehicle_count() >= 2
+
+
+# Cost matrix from issue #904 (7 locations: depot 0 + orders 1-6)
+_ISSUE_904_COST_MATRIX = [
+    [0, 17, 12, 11, 10, 18, 10],
+    [16, 0, 15, 11, 19, 15, 16],
+    [19, 19, 0, 11, 16, 11, 17],
+    [17, 19, 17, 0, 11, 18, 19],
+    [10, 19, 19, 19, 0, 17, 15],
+    [12, 18, 15, 18, 18, 0, 14],
+    [12, 12, 11, 19, 10, 17, 0],
+]
+
+
+def _build_min_vehicles_data_model(vehicle_fixed_costs, min_vehicles=3):
+    """Builds min vehicles regression data model"""
+    n_locations = 7
+    n_vehicles = 3
+    n_orders = 6
+    dm = routing.DataModel(n_locations, n_vehicles, n_orders)
+    dm.add_cost_matrix(
+        cudf.DataFrame(_ISSUE_904_COST_MATRIX).astype(np.float32)
+    )
+    # Capacity 10 lets all 6 orders fit on one vehicle; min_vehicles must still
+    # force 3 routes.
+    dm.add_capacity_dimension(
+        "demand",
+        cudf.Series([1] * n_orders, dtype=np.int32),
+        cudf.Series([10] * n_vehicles, dtype=np.int32),
+    )
+    dm.set_order_locations(cudf.Series([1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6], dtype=np.int32))
+    dm.set_vehicle_fixed_costs(
+        cudf.Series(vehicle_fixed_costs, dtype=np.float32)
+    )
+    dm.set_min_vehicles(min_vehicles)
+    dm.set_objective_function(
+        cudf.Series(
+            [routing.Objective.COST, routing.Objective.VEHICLE_FIXED_COST]
+        ),
+        cudf.Series([1.0, 1.0], dtype=np.float32),
+    )
+    return dm
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "vehicle_fixed_costs",
+    [
+        [10.0, 20.0, 30.0],  # non-zero fixed costs (the bug case in #904)
+        [
+            0.0,
+            0.0,
+            0.0,
+        ],  # zero fixed costs (H100 12.2/13.1 compat crashed in debug)
+    ],
+)
+def test_min_vehicles_respected(vehicle_fixed_costs):
+    """
+    Regression for https://github.com/NVIDIA/cuopt/issues/904.
+    Verifies that min_vehicles is respected and no crash occurs, regardless of
+    vehicle fixed costs.
+    """
+    dm = _build_min_vehicles_data_model(
+        vehicle_fixed_costs=vehicle_fixed_costs
+    )
+    ss = routing.SolverSettings()
+    ss.set_time_limit(3)
+
+    sol = routing.Solve(dm, ss)
+
+    assert sol.get_status() == 0, sol.get_error_message()
+    assert sol.get_vehicle_count() >= 3