A woman says she was asking her mechanic so many questions about the work being done on her car that he asked her to get in the vehicle, then lifted it into the air on the shop’s hydraulic lift with her still inside. The 38-second story, delivered with zero resentment and full self-awareness, has drawn more than 225,000 views and introduced a large audience to a term mechanics have apparently been using for years: air jail. Meme (@scaredandsobbing) posted the video earlier this week , speaking straight to camera from inside her car. Her caption sets the tone: “I too would like me to shut up.” How To Annoy Your Mechanic Meme says she was at a mechanic’s shop, watching the work being done and asking questions about the process. “I was just like really into the process,” she says. The mechanic told her to hop into the car. She did. Then the ground started dropping away from her. “I feel myself in the air. I’m flying like a fairy,” she says. “He has lifted the lift. I’m in the car, lifted on the lift.” When she asked what was happening, the mechanic was encouraging but evasive. “He’s like, ‘yeah, like that’s perfect … you’re doing great. Like, just stay there. Maybe roll the windows up,’” she says. She got the message. “I was like, ‘is it because I’m talking a lot?’ And he was like, ‘yeah. Yeah.’ I was like, ‘okay. Understood.’” Tell us what you think! View Comments What Is Air Jail? The comments section was dominated by one phrase: air jail. “Getting put in air jail is crazyyy,” wrote Aubrie in the top comment, which drew thousands of likes and dozens of tags. AirBear, who identifies as a mechanic, confirmed: “As a mechanic we call this air jail.” Motor1 has previously reported on the prank that mechanics sometimes pull on customers, and has also pointed to expert warnings about messing around on car lifts. In Meme’s video, the term appeared in more than 30 comments. Mechanics treated it as a well-known shop tradition. Michaelshawn925 wrote, “It happens to mechanics a lot lol. I got left on a lift when my mentor went to lunch.” Slowstang, a former service writer, added, “I used to make them put me in air jail to take a nap.” Not everyone was in on the joke at first. Meme herself replied to one commenter saying she had been so curious about it beforehand that she had looked up info on whether mechanics ever let people ride the lift. “I was googling if mechanics ever let people do that bc I wanted to ask,” she wrote. Do Mechanics Welcome Questions? Several mechanics in the comments explained why the reaction wasn’t as unusual as it might seem to customers. “Most of us become mechanics because we don’t wanna talk to customers, respectfully,” wrote Chefgust0. Garrett echoed this sentiment, writing, “I’m a mechanic because I don’t like talking to people. Nothing against my customers, I just prefer to get lost in my work, keep my head down and get stuff done.” ORhillbilly shared a different deterrent. “I just ask the customer if they are aware of the watching fee and let them know that it will be added at the end to their bill. They always run away.” Katelynn Smith505, who fixes and paints rims, spelled out the underlying concern, posting, “It’s awesome that you’re interested and this is my special interest but I am on the clock and everything I need to do is loud and you’re interrupting me.” Is It Safe To Be In A Car On A Lift? A few commenters questioned the safety of riding in a car on a hydraulic lift. “That seems like a safety violation,” wrote Scary. Just Call Me Katie added, “OSHA wouldn’t like that at all.” The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) doesn’t actually have a specific directive, but other safety authorities warn against hoisting a car with a passenger in it. Others pushed back. Huncho.hev replied, “Not at all if it’s a mechanic shop. That lift will carry 10k pounds and won’t even budge.” Emma shared her own experience: “If that thing can hold my car it can hold my car AND me. I stayed on the lift once to have my two front tires changed quickly and it was a 10/10 time.” A professional shop lift can handle far more weight than a car and its driver combined. That said, industry safety standards explicitly prohibit raising a vehicle with an occupant inside. How Did The Customer Feel About Air Jail? The funniest thing about the video was Meme’s reaction. She wasn’t angry or even embarrassed. When the mechanic confirmed it was because she was talking too much, her response was cheerful assent. As commenter Velly put it, “Now this is a lady that understands everyone’s feelings are valid.” Motor1 reached out to meme via the email address listed on her TikTok profile for additional comment. We’ll be sure to update this if she responds. We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Motor1.com? Take our 3 minute survey. - The Motor1.com Team
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