Any car enthusiast has had the experience of thinking, “Oh, I can do that myself” — then quickly learns that it might be harder than expected.

Many fixes on a car aren’t as scary as they look though. For example, once you learn how to change your own oil, you feel pretty silly about how you used to pay up to $150 to have someone else do it.

However, a little bit too much confidence in the shop can have some pretty negative consequences. One woman learned this while working on her 2005 Chevrolet Colorado — and now, she’s sharing her story. 

What Went Wrong With This Car Repair?

In a video with over 1 million views, TikTok user Macie Bliss (@chevy.colorado.girl) shows her car being lifted by a jack stand and floor jack. 

“‘Can you help me fix my truck’ It’s probably best if l don’t…” she writes in the text overlaying the video. 

Her video then shows Bliss removing the plate from the U-bolts. For context, U-bolts wrap over the axle, clamping it to the leaf springs and keeping it firmly attached to the suspension. The plate distributes the clamping force of the U-bolts.

After she successfully removes the plate, everything collapses. The leaf springs shoot toward the ground, while the car plummets off the jacks and onto the floor.

“I didn’t think it had that much tension behind it… lesson learned,” she writes in the video’s caption. “We did the other one with a jack.”

What Went Wrong Here?

There are a few things that the TikToker did incorrectly.

In this case, it seems the incorrect move was solely supporting the vehicle on a jack by its axle, not its frame.

By jacking the car up on the axle, Bliss allowed load to remain in the leaf springs. When she removed the plate, she allowed all of the load in the leaf springs to be released at once. This caused the leaf springs to not only shoot out, but for there to be so much force that it knocked the car off the jack.

In order to safely remove the plate, here’s what Bliss should have done.

To start, she should have placed her jack under the frame, not the axle. Then, she should jack up the car. From there, she should make sure tension has been relieved, generally by watching the wheels drop a bit. Finally, she can remove the U-bolts.

For her part, Bliss seems to hope her video can serve as instructional to others who may make the same error.

“Learned my lesson,” she writes in a comment.

Commenters Can’t Believe It

In the comments section, many users made jokes at Bliss’ expense. Some questioned what she thought was going to happen, while others couldn’t believe that she survived the ordeal — let alone posted it.

“Lets support everything BUT the frame,” joked a user.

“I’ve had some humbling experiences in my life but people just post whatever on the internet nowadays lol,” added another.

“You know, MAD respect for posting and slogging through all the comments on this,” offered a third. “lesson learned and glad you made it out okay!”

A few users even owned up to similar mistakes.

“I had this happen once while helping a buddy didn’t notice that he didn’t put the stand on the frame til I got a f350 leaf spring slammed to me. The pain 10/10 recommend to an ex,” recalled a user. 

“I planned too sleep offf the pain but couldn’t and decided to go to the er. Next thing ik I’ve got internal bleeding. Once again missed out on some good sleep.”

“I hate to say but I’ve almost been there a few times lol,” stated a second. “you learn the hard way sometimes.”

We’ve reached out to Bliss via TikTok comment and Instagram direct message.

@chevy.colorado.girl I didn’t think it had that much tension behind it… lesson learned. We did the other one with a jack ? #2005chevycolorado #mechanic #trucks #fails #shoptok ♬ Fire the Cannons (1812 Overture) – Jochen Flach & Peter Ilych Tchaikvsky & Thomas Hewitt Jones