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.
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.
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.