IllustrationJUST GOT OFF THE HIGHWAY IN TILTON, NH TRAVELLING 10-15MPH, CAME TO A RED LIGHT, AND ALL OF SUDDEN PASSENGER'S SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED. NO WARNING. *AK
1999 Cadillac Deville
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Deville years
Owner complaints for the 1999 Cadillac Deville are substantially higher than the model-year median of 44.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Deville years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
70–25K
1625–50K
1850–75K
1675–100K
10100–150K
2150K+
69 reports with mileage · 118 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Air Bags. Review the 49 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 47 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
17 crash reports4 fire reports23 injury reports
What owners actually said
187 reportsVEHICLE DIES AT STOP SIGNS, BUT CONSUMER IS ABLE TO START VEHICLE AGAIN . DEALER SAID CODES SHOW NO PROBLEMS. *AK *ML
FALSE DEPLOYMENT OF AIR BAG ON DRIVER SIDE WHILE DRIVING. YH
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.
ENGINE IS CONSUMING 3/4 QUARTS OF OIL WITHIN EVERY 600-700 MILES OF WEAR. DEALER NOTIFIED AND REPLACED ENGINE, BUT PROBLEM IS STILL OCCURRING. *AK *ML
AFTER GETTING INTO THE VEHICLE AND REACHING TO INSERT THE IGNITION KEY, DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG INADVERTENTLY DEPLOYED. DRIVER WAS INJURED. DEALER NOTIFIED, AND REPLACED/REPAIRED THE VEHICLE. *AK *ML
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
INSTRUMENT PANEL DIGITAL LIGHTING IS VERY HARD TO READ IN DAYLIGHT OR SUNNY DAYS, ACCORDING TO CADILLAC MANUAL THE DIGITAL LIGHTING DISPLAY AUTOMATICALLY BRIGHTENS WHEN IT BECOMES LIGHT OUTSIDE CONSUMER SAYS THIS IS NOT SO. NLM
FIRST PROBLEM WAS THE BATTERY SHORT ON 5-26-99, THEN ON 6-15-99 AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON, STATING TO SERVICE AIR BAG. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALER AND I WAS ADVISED THAT THERE WAS NO PROBLEM WITH AIRBAG SYSTEM. ON 7-7-99, AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. VEHICLE TAKEN TO DEALER AND AGAIN ADVISED THAT NOTHING WAS WRONG,L JUST A FAULTY…
Read full complaint
FIRST PROBLEM WAS THE BATTERY SHORT ON 5-26-99, THEN ON 6-15-99 AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON, STATING TO SERVICE AIR BAG. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALER AND I WAS ADVISED THAT THERE WAS NO PROBLEM WITH AIRBAG SYSTEM. ON 7-7-99, AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. VEHICLE TAKEN TO DEALER AND AGAIN ADVISED THAT NOTHING WAS WRONG,L JUST A FAULTY LIGHT. THEY ALSO STATED THAT THE AIR BAG WOULD NEVER DELOY UNLESSS THERE WAS AN ACCIDENT. ON 7-29-00 WHILE STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT. AIRBAG SERVICE LIGHT CAME ON, AND AIR BAGSDELOYED IMMEDIATELY ON DRIVERS SIDE DOOR. VEHICLE TAKEN TO DEALER AND LEFT FOR 27 DAYS. GMC STATED THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ANOTHER VEHICLE. AS I CAN SEE THEY LIED TO ME, IT HAS HAPPENED. I HAVE A LAWSUIT PENDING WITH THEM SINCE 11-29-99 REQUESTING THEY BUY BACK MY VEHICLE. NOTHING HAS BEEN HEARD FROM SINCE. ON 11-1-99 FUEL GAUGE SENSOR WENT OUT AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. ALL THESE PROBLEMS STARTED WITH A BATTERY SHORT ON 5-26-99 AND THE COMPUTER HAS A MIND OF ITS OWN. PLEASE NOTE: THE AIR BAG HAS ONLY DEPLOYED ONCE. HOWEVER, I HAD TWO PREVIOUS WARNINGS. *AK
WHILE PARKING DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG INADVERTENTLY DEPLOYED WITHOUT INDICATION. *AK *ML
Official recalls
100V217000 · Air Bags:side/window
Aug 11, 2000
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: HOWEVER, AN OCCUPANT CAN RECEIVE SOME INJURY FROM A DEPLOYMENT.
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 SENSING MODULES.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
2EA00004 · Inadvertent Of Side Impact Air Bag
Opened Feb 15, 2000 · Closed Sep 28, 2000
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags:side/window
There is no summary currently available
PE99061 · Inadvertent Deployment Of Side Air Bag
Opened Sep 27, 1999 · Closed Feb 15, 2000
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags:side/window
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, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR THE INADVERTENT DEPLOYMENT TO OCCUR WITHOUT WARNING.THE SCOPE OF THE ENGINEERING ANALYSIS IS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE MY 1997 DEVILLE VEHICLES.ODI HAS IDENTIFIED 253 REPORTS ALLEGING INADVERTENT DEPLOYMENT OF A SIDE IMPACT AIR BAG ON 1997-1999 CADILLAC DEVILLE VEHICLES.GM HAS MADE 8 MODIFICATIONS IN THE MANUFACTURING OR DESIGN OF THE SIDE IMPACT SYSTEM IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES SOME OF WHICH ARE FOCUSED ON REDUCING THE POTENTIAL FOR AN ELECTRICAL SHORT.INADVERTENT DEPLOYMENT OF A SIDE IMPACT AIR BAG CAN RESULT IN UNWARRANTED INJURIES TO OCCUPANTS AND PRESENTS THE POTENTIAL FOR LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTOL. AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS IS WARRANTED TO DETERMINE IF A POTENTIAL SAFETY DEFECT EXISTS.