Superb. Thanks guys for all the replies. Apologies to the non-diesel drivers who got unduly excited about auxiliary heating (mistaking it for auxiliary venitilation). The capacity to heat up the car before you get to it is fab...but is NOT the same as auxiliary ventilation.

This is what BMW says about Auxiliary HEATING:
"We (BMW) can confirm that only as an add-on option a water-based heater is used for auxiliary heating and is supplied with energy from the car's fuel system. Heat is generated by burning a fuel/air mixture in a separate combustion chamber, the engine coolant being heated by a built-in heat exchanger. This warms the engine and allows you to safely use higher 'revs' from when you pull away from overnight parking. In lay terms, the 'engine' is pre-heated. A separate electrical water pump circulates the coolant independently of the engine coolant pump. Heated air is also blown into the passenger cabin to warm the interior and will also generate sufficient heat to de-ice all windows. While operating for a maximum period of 30 minutes, the water temperature in the small heater circuit is kept at 70-85 degrees centigrade, regardless of the heat drawn from the system. The system is operated by a keyless remote, only one remote is provided with the system."

Hence my original question about the remote...so again, thanks for all the details.

Cheers


John[I][B]