How many times do we go over this  . These are shear off bolts for theft prevention , so that you could not just loosen the bolts and steer the van once loose from the dash .The  shear off feature is that the bolts are machined down and  shear off with a torque when tightened , hence the cone shape bolt head. So remove them and put a quality bolt back in with a proper washer .
     I generally use a Dremel tool to cut a groove in them and use a straight screwdriver to remove them 
       So forget about the crash aspect of the bolts . Way over played . 
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> On Feb 16, 2014, at 9:31 PM, Cunegonde <cunegonde.van.westfalia@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> The washers were missing and I couldn't get a grip on them with vice grips or channel locks. I don't have a grinder or cut off tool here. So I used capillary lube on the threads at the brackets, then drilled them out until I could hammer in a small hex bit. Came out easily after all that!
> 
> Should I replace with steel or brass M8s? I can't tell if they're a security or safety (shear in a crash) feature.