yep, i went the defouler route amd it tripped the p0420 right away. but i think the o2 simulator will work as the o2 heater code hasn't tripped. the o2 heater shows up on my OBD11 scanner as: monitor status: incomplete. so it hasn't run enough cycles to clear it yet. i feel pretty hopeful. thanks fir the tip though bio. it's much appreciated...