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 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) by Beep@lemmus.org to c/technology@lemmy.world
103 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

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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[–] LastYearsIrritant@sopuli.xyz 6 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

It's not their right to decide if I get to work on my own property.

[–] skozzii@lemmy.ca 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

If you cant figure out how to get past this screw you shouldn't be working on things. Mechanics have a million speciality tools, what's one more little bit, doesn't affect us the slightest.

[–] LastYearsIrritant@sopuli.xyz 2 points 7 hours ago

So when I'm working on my car, and find I need to find a specialty bit to undo a single screw, and they don't sell it anywhere in town and I have to wait 2-3 days for shipping (or 2-3 weeks if I order from overseas) then it's fine cause I shouldn't be working on my car myself?

Is this a BMW bot?

What happened to the right to own and maintain my own property?

[–] Iconoclast@feddit.uk 0 points 11 hours ago

Well, they don't in this case either - they just add an extra step to it. You can buy a bit like that off eBay.