this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2026
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BMW’s Newest “Innovation” is a Logo-Shaped Middle Finger to Right to Repair (www.ifixit.com)
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by Beep@lemmus.org to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Adafruit: From Ultimate Driving Machine to Ultimate Rent-Seeking Machine: The BMW Logo Screw Patent.

If you haven’t already heard, BMW’s R&D teams have been busy “innovating.” Unfortunately, they aren’t focusing on the things that actually matter—like stellar engine performance or the legendary driving dynamics that gearheads love. Instead, the C-suite execs decided that the best use of their engineering budget was to design a proprietary security screw specifically intended to prevent BMW drivers from fixing their own cars.

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[–] bearboiblake@pawb.social 3 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Why do manufacturers do that, do you think? Why would car manufacturers design the vehicles such that they require proprietary tools? Surely they can just use commodity parts and fixings?

[–] RattlerSix@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I don't really know. I purposely picked the things I mentioned because they're similar to the BMW bolt, but the tools required are cheap and simple for all of them.

Part of my point was that there are other, more complicated and more expensive tools that are brand specific too. I think a lot of it is really just the nature of the beast. Brands do thiings differently, so a special shaped tool to get into the nook and cranny of a certain car won't work on a different brand that has different nooks and crannys. And you can substitute "brand" with "engine," "model," or even "year."

[–] bearboiblake@pawb.social 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Right, but the article suggests a potential motivation - adding friction to dissuade motorists from repairing and servicing their own vehicles - which seems very likely to me. I was wondering why you dismissed that claim.

[–] RattlerSix@lemmy.world 1 points 53 minutes ago (1 children)

I don't see how it could be effective. The brand specific things I mentioned are almost identical and none of them stop people from repairing their car. The BMW design is simpler than the ones I mentioned. A flat screwdriver with a gap cut down the middle would work.

[–] bearboiblake@pawb.social 1 points 4 minutes ago

Sure, I agree that it wouldn't pose an insurmountable barrier for people, but it absolutely does cause friction - someone might have taken a crack at fixing something themselves, seen that it needs some proprietary tool, and decided "meh, fuck it, i'll take it to the dealer".

I can't think of any other motivation than that.