[Bluebottle]

I have the opposite prob in a way DJ, when the Previa is heavily frosted it can only be opened with the key- the remote won't work! Having then opened it with the key, which of course makes the alarm go off, the remote works once I'm inside the car. However, having only had it for a couple of years, I'm still getting used to the idea that in the depths of winter I can turn the key and it'll go!!
As for my friends car, they didn't pay anyone anything to tell them that so no-one is making a killing- quite the reverse since there must be some kind of problem and they're not interested in getting money by fixing it- even if it's just a dodgy battery that's still business they're not going to get.