Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1999 Cadillac Deville owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Yesterday, nov. 22, I had a front end collision which resulted in my car being totalled. At the moment of impact the air bag on the passenger side deployed and inflated, but the air bag on the driver's side deployed but did not inflate. The car was a 1999 Cadillac Deville sedan with 65,000 miles on it.
We were leaving my son's apartment when we hit the speed bump at about 5 miles an hour the air bags deployed and busted out our wind shield and filled the car with smoke. My fianc was driving the car and had his thumb hurt. Several of the electrical things in the car do not work now.
Automobile ran a red light and collided with the driver's side of my car. Considerable damage was done to my car. The side air bags failed to deploy so I was thrown against the door with injury to my head, neck, shoulders, and lower back in the vicinity of my kidney.
Passenger side door hit by oncoming vehicle at 50-60 MPH. Impact primarily at 90 degree middle section of passenger front door. Airbag did not deploy. Pictures available. Problem: paid extra for this safety feature that apparently did not work in it's first application. Either a matter of product failure or fraud upon the consumer in that they are purchasing a safety feature that does not work in all instances. Mainly concerned with this occurring when a passenger is in this position as this passenger, if indeed had been present, would have most certainly been severely injured or fatal.
Vehicle was involved in a driver side impact collision. Upon impact, side air bags failed to deploy. Upon inspection of the vehicle by the insurance company they noticed that the side air was disconnected and duck taped. Prior to this incident vehicle was taken into a dealership to have the side impact sensor module recall 00V228000 repairs performed. Dealership never performed repairs, but indicated he did so.
While driving 30 to 45 MPH consumer hit concrete divider on right side of vehicle and front end air bags did not deploy. Contact dealer. Dealer stated that vehicle did not hit hard enough, and didn't hit in right place. Consumer was injured in accident.
Consumer was traveling about 30mph on a side road in rainy weather. There was a gun fire noise, and a bad smell and white smoke was inside of vehicle. Passennger's airbag went off without prior warning, and there wasn't any accident. No injuries reported.
When traveling 35 MPH consumer was involved in a head-on collision in which neither driver's side nor passenger's side air bags deployed. Also the dollar amount of damage to the front end is over five thousand dollars. Please provide any further details.
When vehicle was involved in a crash, mainly being hit between the driver's and passenger's side door, by a tow truck traveling about 55 MPH, air bag on the driver's side did not deploy. Vehicle and tow truck were totalled in the crash.
Possible side airbags deployed without cause, family believe that one or both side airbags deployed while approaching the intersection and disorientated the driver as well as blocking her view of the intersection causing a fatal accident.
Related recalls
Air bags › Side/window
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. Some of the side impact sensor modules have quality problems that can cause an inadvertent deployment of the driver or passenger side impact air bags. These side air bags deploy with less force than a frontal air bag and are designed to minimize the risk of serious injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the driver and passenger side impact sensing modules. If the vehicle has had the side air bags temporarily disconected, the temporary disconnect will be removed before replacing the side impact…
NHTSA investigations
Inadvertent deployment of side air bag
This side impact air bag can inadvertently deploy due to a number of root caused including: erroneous acceleration inputs or false activation of the air bag deployment algorithm due to an electrical malfunction in the sensing and diagnostic module (sdm); false activation resulting from an electrical short in the sdm wiring harness; and false acceleration inputs resulting from improper sdm installation.in each case,…
Inadvertent of side impact air bag
There is no summary currently available
Airbag complaints in other Deville years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 1999 Cadillac Deville?
NHTSA has 49 complaints about the air bags of the 1999 Cadillac Deville, 26% of the model year's 187 complaints. The component named most often is side/window (27 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1999 Cadillac Deville airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 00V-217 (side/window, Aug 11, 2000). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 1999 Cadillac Deville airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 76,000 miles, and 20% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 15 crashes, 0 fires and 18 injuries and 3 deaths to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.