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 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours 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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[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 205 points 20 hours ago (15 children)

As soon as the rollout for BMW dealers starts, Chinese toolmakers will churn out compatible bits and screwdrivers. They might even be on the market before the BMW dealers have them in the mail.

[–] sudoMakeUser@sh.itjust.works 27 points 18 hours ago

You could almost manufacture it based on this image, granted that's a 1/4" impact bit. All it would take is one bolt being smuggled to their factory or one photograph of a spec sheet.

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