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 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 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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[–] aramis87@fedia.io 28 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Because this head prioritizes branding over utility, neither the bit nor the screw head can withstand the torque of a standard Torx or Hex fastener. The result? Broken bits, stripped screws, and more time spent on what would otherwise be a simple task.

Ugh.

[–] artyom@piefed.social 9 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

That was my first thought as well. I love torx bolts. I worked on BMWs professionally for a few years and never in all that time did I ever strip a torx bolt. Not even 1.

Of course, the engine bolts themselves snapped frequently without even touching them due to galvanic reaction to the magnesium block, and the much weaker in general aluminum bolts, but that's a different problem.