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 Ford Taurus owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl contact owns a 1999 Ford Taurus. While driving approximately 40 MPH, the contact's visibility was hindered by dust from the large street sweeping vehicles. She did not see the preceding vehicle and rear-ended the vehicle. None of the airbags deployed. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed and the contact was not given an explanation as to the cause of the air bag failure. The driver was transported to the hospital and sustained numerous bruises and swelling. The contact believes that she could have been seriously injured due to the failure. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 140,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, a deer crossed in front of the vehicle and caused the contact to crash. The air bags did not deploy. The police were notified and a report was filed. The contact was transported to the emergency room via ambulance for treatment of injuries. The vehicle was towed from the scene. The conditions of the vehicle had not been diagnosed by the contact's insurance company. The dealer was not notified. The manufacturer also was not notified of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 167,000.
Tl contact owns a 1999 Ford Taurus. While driving 40 MPH something hit the windshield and shattered it. The driver crashed into objects that she could not identify. The crash occurred on February 10, 2008. The seat belts didn't engage to keep her from hittin the steering wheel. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained severe injuries. A police report was available. The current and failure mileages was 67,473. Updated 04/22/08.
Tl*- the contact stated that while driving the 1999 Ford Taurus at 40 MPH it crashed into the back of another vehicle, and the driver's side airbag did not deploy. The contact has not had the vehicle inspected to determine the reason for the crash. The contact was able to drive the vehicle home. The vehicle currently had an odometer reading of 100,000. Miles.
My vehicle was hit at an estimated 50 MPH by a driver who blew a red light. It was high just in front of the drivers side wheel. The airbags failed to deploy during the crash. My vehicle was totaled in this crash. It probably would not have made much of a difference if they had not deployed. However I was advised that a report should be made to NHTSA.
On February 10th, 2008, my front windshield suddenly shattered, leaving a hole in it's center and "crackling" the remaining part of the window, making it impossible for me to see through it. I immediately slammed on the brakes (there were no other cars on the road at the time) causing the car to jerk violently to the right 90 degrees and slam head first into an electrical utility box. The car continued to spin around which drove it over an island in the center of the road and into a road sign and while still spinning, smashed into a utility pole next to the utility box. During this entire incident, I could not see anything through the windshield and was not aware what the car was hitting or what direction it was moving. When the car hit the utility box, I was traveling about 35mph. …
I have owned the vehicle for fourteen months. As I was parking in front om apartment, my right front tire bumped the curve and triggered my air bags, which in turn exploded and caused $3,000 in damage. The Ford certified dealer in my area was unable to find a reason for the airbags to go off. And when I called Ford the lady on the phone told me that she had never heard of such a thing. She said she had heard of people complaining that the airbag did not deploy when they felt it should, but not the airbag deploying from a <1mph impact of a tire into a curb. Ford insisted they could not help me. This has really been hard on me considering my insurance company was hesitant to cover the incident because according to them no collision occured for the airbags to deploy. However, my insurance company finally accepted claim. …
Design defect/safety defect. My son just received his driver's permit and has recently been driving my 1999 Ford Taurus. I planned to give him this car and then purchase another car when he turns 16. In adjusting the tilt steering wheel, it caused the wiring mechanism that controls the air bags to break. Apparently, when the wire broke it touched metal and shorted out my system. Thus, I don't have the use of my air bags and they said it will cost $800 to fix. I believe this is a serious design flaw if there is a risk of a wire breaking when you use your tilt steering wheel that renders you air bags useless and thereby not having the benefit of an air bag in a crash. I don't believe I should be responsible to have to pay for what is definitely a design defect!
Rounded a curve and realized the oncoming car was in my lane. Steered left to avoid oncoming car at the same time the opposing driver corrected. Steered to the right and went into a spin. The airbag deployed while the I was attempting to regain control and the windshield was completely shattered. Once the airbag deployed, the car was still moving and I had to steer it to safety without being about to see around the airbag. There was no impact before the airbag deployed.
While driving at 25 MPH hit a manhole within the road and the front wheels went into the manhole, and the cradle that protects the engine hit the manhole ,to set off the air bag sensor which caused the driver's side/ passenger's side air bags to deploy. Cover to the air bags flew into the windshield and cracked the windshield glass, and glass got inside the vehicle. Dashboard was damaged by the air bags.
Airbag complaints in other Taurus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 1999 Ford Taurus?
NHTSA has 40 complaints about the air bags of the 1999 Ford Taurus, 5% of the model year's 874 complaints. The component named most often is frontal (23 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1999 Ford Taurus airbag problems?
No. NHTSA lists no air bags recall for the 1999 Ford Taurus, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1999 Ford Taurus airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 92,000 miles, and 8% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 31 crashes, 0 fires and 30 injuries 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.