Direct injection engines are in A LOT of trucks these days (not just FORD)....Your choices might be limited in the future.
Every make has problems.
My 2015 F150 2.7 was fine for the year I had it, admittedly not a very long time (14,000 ish miles). Never had a warranty issue, it was sold in order to buy a house. I’d have bought another Ford in 2019 save their ridiculous pricing, which was 10K over a comparably equipped RAM.
Yes Ford has had some motor issues, the early 2011-2012 3.5 ecos did have some issues. After that, the 3.5 was pretty well regarded. The 2.7 has surprisingly been their best motor of the group. The 2017-18 5.0’s had a definite oil burning issue, its all over their forums and the internet at large.
GMs “chevy shake” and AL45 or AL90 8 speed transmission woes make their engineering and design suspect.
So what to do? Since all 3 big truck makers produce some lemons, you can’t say any one maker is better than the other. Choose the platform, ride, drivetrain and options that you prefer and just go for it. Buy a long factory extended warranty if you are unsure and just enjoy your ride.
We bought a 2019 RAM Limited due to its ride and interior/tech. We rode in a new Chevy LTZ and were not impressed at all. I actually never test drove a 2019 F150, knowing that they only changed to the 10 speed and upped the hp/tq a bit. Their ride and interiors hadn’t progressed any since my 2015.
Our RAM has been excellent overall and with 10.5K miles on it I’m still very impressed. I figure that if the truck had significant problems, they’d have showed up by now. If I had a problem truck I’d be moving into the service center until it was fixed under the 3/36 warranty. This forum has had several owners follow lemon laws, send attorney letters, file for arbitration and use various other pressure tactics sucessfully.
The best thing is that my wife enjoys the truck every time she’s in it as a driver or passenger and that’s a super big plus for me.