Every time a new platform lands, the internet splits into "it's flawless" and "it's a disaster." Neither is useful when you're standing in a delivery bay with a pen in your hand.
So here's the honest version. The S650 Dark Horse has been a solid car overall — the Coyote and the chassis are the good news, and most of what owners report is fit-and-finish or drivability annoyances, not engine failures. But there ARE recurring items worth knowing about, because catching them early is the difference between a warranty fix and "that's just how it is now."
Two ground rules for this thread:
- Ford-confirmed and owner-reported are NOT the same thing. I've labeled which is which.
- Nothing here means your car has a problem. It's a checklist, not a prophecy.
FORD-CONFIRMED (recall territory — check your VIN)
There has been a recall covering certain 2026 builds for a cylinder head manufacturing issue where ball plugs can fail and cause an oil leak — fire and engine-seizure risk. The fix is a free cylinder head replacement. Notably, the affected cars were reported as still sitting in dealer inventory, so if you took delivery of a new car recently, this is the one to verify before you get comfortable.
Don't take my word for the scope. Run your own VIN — it takes two minutes and it's the only answer that applies to YOUR car. Steps are in the recalls thread in this forum.
OWNER-REPORTED: FIT AND FINISH (check these at delivery)
These come up over and over on S650 forums. Individually minor, much easier to get fixed before you sign:
- Panel gap at the nose cone, commonly the driver's side
- Trunk lid alignment sitting off-center, in some cases close enough to contact the tail light
- Uneven gaps where the headlight lens meets the bumper or body
- Ripples or waviness in the rear bumper along the molding seam lines
- Hood-to-fender and hood-to-bumper alignment being off
What to do: walk the car in daylight, not under showroom lights. Photograph anything you find and get it written on the delivery paperwork. "I'll mention it next time" is how these become permanent.
OWNER-REPORTED: DRIVABILITY
- 10R80 automatic: low-speed shudder or jerky shifts, particularly in stop-and-go
- A driveline shock or clunk on warm restarts
- A pinging or clicking from the rear axle area — this one carries over from S550s and often isn't a failure, but get it documented anyway
What to do: write down the exact conditions — temperature, gear, speed, warm or cold. A dealer can't chase "it feels weird sometimes." They can chase "clunk on the 2-3 upshift, under 25 mph, only when fully warm." And get it on a repair order while you're in warranty, even if they can't reproduce it. The paper trail is the point.
OWNER-REPORTED: COOLANT LEVEL
Some owners report the coolant level dropping and staying low after topping off. Check it cold, mark where it sits, and check again in a week. If it keeps falling, that's a dealer visit — not something to manage with a jug in the trunk. A cooling system that consumes coolant is telling you something.
NOT A DEFECT, BUT CATCHES PEOPLE OUT: THE TROFEO RS TIRES
If you have the Handling Package, you're on Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS — a track-focused summer tire, and easily the most misunderstood item on the car.
Below roughly 45F the compound goes hard, grip falls off badly, and owners have reported cracked tires after cold-weather exposure. Pirelli's warranty specifically excludes compound cracking from use below about 45F, so this is not a claim you'll win. Several owners in cold climates have moved to a Michelin Pilot Sport 4S or similar as a daily-driver set and saved the Pirellis for warm days and track use.
This isn't the tire being bad. It's the tire being exactly what it says it is, in the wrong weather.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Most of this list is "inspect carefully and document early," not "the car is fragile." The owners who end up frustrated are almost always the ones who noticed something at month two, waited, and brought it up at month twenty-six.
Anything safety-related or warranty-related goes to Ford or your dealer, not to a forum thread — including this one. Use this to know what to ask about, not as a substitute for asking.
Your turn: what has actually needed attention on yours, and how many miles were on it? Please include model year and whether it's a manual or auto — the pattern only shows up when enough of us post real data. Zero-problem reports are just as useful as problem reports, so post those too.