NHTSA Complaint #11522539 — 2017 FORD FUSION HYBRID

On or about January 2023, I noticed the airbag light come on my vehicle's dashboard. I didn't notice anything else that may have suggested what was wrong or what caused the light to come on. On February 6, 2023, I took the car to a Ford dealership to be inspected (the car had less than 60,000 miles and was about 6 years old at the time). After an inspection, I was told that the "Restraint Control Module" (RCM) had failed and that the part I needed was on national backorder. I asked the sales person if this meant that my airbags wouldn't deploy in an accident. His answer was unclear, and he said that "the airbags would at least not deploy unintentionally". On May 6, 2023, I was involved in an accident and the airbags did NOT deploy. I am unsure if there was enough force during the accident that would have caused the airbags to deploy, or whether they should have deployed but did not due to the bad RCM component. Today, May 17, 2023, my car is currently being repaired at an auto body shop. I called Ford's customer service because I am concerned about driving with potentially non-working airbags. I was told that the part I need (HS7Z14B321H) is still on national backorder and may take at least two more months to be back in stock. Ford recommended filing a report with NHTSA. I feel that the car is not safe to drive and I am concerned for the safety of myself and passengers. Please let me know if you have any additional questions or recommend any solutions to resolve this situation. Thank you for your time.