Front Seat Head Restraint problems of the 1999 Honda Accord

Driver's seat of my '99 Honda Accord has become loose, rocks and pulls away from steering wheel upon acceleration, causing lack of control since momentum pulls driver away from wheel. When seat is not occupied, this is evident by pushing on headrest, causing seat to 'rock' backwards approx 6". Mechanic said that a piece of steel on the bracket under the seat is broken (& seat bracket is the same for all 1998-2002 models). Dealer said this isn't a recall or anything so repairs would be at my expense. Car cannot pass state inspection until this is fixed, so looks like I now have no choice but to try & locate a replacement bracket at a junkyard & pay someone to install, costing me at least $300 (with no guarantee that the replacement bracket will not have the same problem). Big safety issue here with lots of complaints reporting the same problem (per online search)- why has this not been properly addressed?.