Air Bag Not Deploy problems of the 2012 Mini Cooper

Warning lamp for "airbag system failed" illuminated one day while driving on a straight street "in town" approx 25mph. At first light went off if I buckled passenger seatbelt (even when seat was empty) now it won't go off even doing that. . . Also doesn't matter if driving at high or low speeds, road types, turning, stopping, parked, driving, passenger in rider's seat, no riding passenger, etc, it will illuminate (& I never place anything on my passenger seat). Took to a mechanic - he checked & provided code 9435. Stated airbags might not deploy when this warning lamp is illuminated. Said this is a common problem with Mini Coopers & is a safety issue that he thinks probably should be covered under a recall. Contacted Mini dealership - said no recall for my vehicle. From what I have found there are almost 100,000 other Minis that have had a recall for this same problem, however, they tell me my vehicle is not included in the recall - want to charge me Minimally $65 just to re-diagnose the code, then labor & parts to fix! called Mini customer service - told me no recall for my vehicle & they referred me here.