LATCH system but car seat moves like a roller coaster

I installed, or attempted to install, the Britax B-SAFE using the Latch system to my 2012 Nissan Altima, in the rear passenger seat, facing to the rear, since that's how I'm told it is supposed to be for infants.

I got the latch connectors to attach to the base anchors within my backseat without problem, they clicked and are connected. I then tightened the latch adjustor strap as much as I could, but the seat moves like crazy, especially side to side, when side to side pressure is applied to the part of the car seat that is closest to the front seat/furthest from the anchors.

Answer as many as you are able please - I need the help!

1) True or False. The only two places the car seat is secured are the two base anchors.

2) Any guesses as to what I did wrong?

3) Should I disband this idea and try to attach the car seat using the seatbelts instead?

4) Should I attach it instead in the middle of the backseat rather than in the rear passenger back seat?

You may not have done anything wrong! The only place you want to check for movement is at the belt path-- just give it a firm handshake, and check for less then an inch of movement. Movement at the part of the seat that's farthest from the anchors is totally okay

Check the seat at the belt bath, and then let us know if there (and only there!) it is moving more or less then an inch.

This isn't your seat, but a pretty good video to show where to check for movement, and where to apply pressure if you are still getting too much movement:

[ame]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i6Ro1QXE6Wo[/ame]

Welcome to Car-seat.org, and congrats on your soon-to-be (or here) new addition!

1) You only check for movement AT THE BELT PATH. The seat will and should move at the "head" end. That's totally safe. As long as you have less than 1" of movement side to side or front to back when you grab it with your non-dominant hand in a firm handshake kind of way, then you've got an acceptable install.

2) Maybe nothing!

3)Using the seat belt is a totally viable option, but might not "cure" the head-of-the-seat movement. The seatbelt is just as safe as LATCH if used correctly.

4) The middle is statistically the safest place, just because it's furthest from any potential point of impact. If you placed it outboard purely to make use of LATCH (because most vehicles don't allow LATCH in the center seat), then sure. Give it a try.

I believe the best course of action would be to set up a meeting with a Child Passenger Safety Technician. A list of those from this board is here. http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=59135. Short of that, you could post photos here of your installation job (use a host site like photobucket and then paste the

Thank you two both, very much, for the helpful advice!

Ended up moving it to the center, using the seatbelts (Jess was correct - no LATCH in the middle), and it felt tighter. Good to hear that some movement is allowed in the "Head" end.

Going to a police station tomorrow that offers a check of the install.

Thanks again.

Awesome. Just make sure whoever you are seeing is actually a tech and not just a "helpful" officer.

One other thing you can do when installing with LATCH is pull the LATCH strap tight from the inside of the car seat. Then you are pulling more "up" to tighten, rather than "out." This can help further tighten the LATCH strap at times when just tightening from outside the car seat isn't quite snug enough.