A “BMW screw” refers to a newly patented, logo-shaped fastener with recessed quadrants, designed to prevent DIY repairs by requiring a proprietary tool BMW Patent Reveals Branded Screw Design That Limits Access to Vehicle Repairs
Twitter is taking bets on how Long it will take Temu or similar Chinese company to release their tool for these.
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I wasn’t planning on ever buying a BMW, anyways
And my fleet have none at my location
Some other locations have a handful of LOSER BMW evs, which proved to be duds, and are being phased out🤣
I constantly advise ALL of my relatives and acquaintances to steer clear of buying European automobiles
Some of them didn’t listen and it cost them DEARLY 
I told those particular people “I told you so. You asked for advice and ignored it. Good luck with your car”
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Manufactures have been using specialized fasteners for decades in area where vehicle owners should not be tampering; air bags, seatbelts, steering columns, computers, powertrain components, etc.
Forty years ago, the old-timers complained that manufactures invented new fasteners just to make mechanics buy more tools.
From the article:
Potential applications include seat mountings and areas where the interior connects to the vehicle body. These are locations that already require high torque and proper equipment, placing them beyond casual maintenance even before introducing a proprietary fastener.
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There’s no sense in making a fancy, company logo fastener for a location that is not routinely seen- unless the objective is to limit access. Mounting a seat? How often do you bend down to look at the fasteners holding the seat in place? Manufacturers go out of their way to hide fasteners that mount things to the vehicle body so the interior looks more refined. I don’t see how a fancy headed screw will make attaching a dash panel safer that any existing fastener designed for that purpose. I find the argument ridiculous. Just state they want to highlight their logo and forget about using weak justifications for their implementation…
@Nevada_545 has the right take on this. So many times manufacturers have used s “new” type of fastener… maybe so people wouldn’t mess with them? Maybe they helped the assembly process?
How about the Torx fastener? Easy to drive, harder to remove. Especially those big buggers used for seatbelts and sometimes seats. And now its cousin, the Torx Plus.
The Volkswagen Auto Group’s fetish with triple square fasteners. Why?? I can’t think of a single reason beyond keeping the shadetree DIYer from messing with them. Allen screws have been around a long time, why not use those?
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GM made a special tool for my chevy Vega to hold down all the valve springs at once to remove the cam. 4 guys with screwdrivers can do the same thing. The Vegas oil-sending unit that required special size socket. Specialized tools aren’t anything new.
This fastener hasn’t found its way into production yet. I’m sure we will read about it if it does.
I hate to say it, I could most likely make a tool in my garage to remove/install those only using grinders and maybe a welder using a proper sized hardened bolt or similar, I’m pretty sure anybody with any kind of fabrication skills can make something to work enough to remove them, but I also bet the tool trucks will be all over these…
You know people will be 3D printers will be 3D printing a tool and then sending it to a machine shop to make em to sell em…lol
Here is a tool I made at 2am one night (morning) while working on a couple of different vehicles at home, my bought tool would not work, so I made this pretty quick while doing valve stem seals on a Honda CRX, my buddy had to drive it to work later that morning…
I added a spine to it later and painted it and what not…
I have made more than a few tools over the years for different reasons…
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I saw that on lehtos law. All you have to do is buy another set of tools. Not likely in stock at ace though.
I don’t see a problem with this unless they won’t sell this tool to a customer. Tamper-proof and specialty fasteners and tools have been around for decades, mostly on things that the average DIY’er shouldn’t be touching anyway.
I’ve made a few at night, etc. steering wheel tool, misc. pullers. The lawn mower wheel puller was made at leisure. If you buy a new mower or blower, pull the wheels off and add anti sieze. New years tip. Dont be like barky and have to fill with foam years later.
?? Any chance ‘Leno’s Garage’?
Nope, Lehto is a lawyer specializing in automotive issues.
Thank you.