Another update
This might be related, but the car has has an intermittent, occasional misfire at idle ever since I've owned it and I've not been able to determine the cause. It's not enough to set a misfire code, but my experienced mechanic feel knows what a misfire feels like, haven't put a lab scope on it yet to see if I can "catch" a miss on one of the cylinders (2 channel Pico). Seems to happen more when the A/C is on, such as in the summer or when running the defroster.
Don't know if the two issues are related or not. Again not familiar with Subarus, although basic engine concepts remain the same across all makes. Didn't know if anyone had seen this problem before or if there was a common issue that caused this.