I've been lurking but a brand new member here so be gentle. I'm looking at a couple different F150's 2017-2018 with the 2.7 and 3.5 ecoboost engines. I have a buddy that owns a small used car lot that told me the 3.5L has much better reliability past 100K miles compared to the 2.7L. After a ton of searching on google and the forum, I couldn't find any reports to verify this. I'm not worried about towing capacity (don't plan to) or gas mileage as main considerations so I'm more focused on reliability. Any good reason to not go with the 2.7L engine? I'm looking at two similarly spec'd trucks except for the engine and the 2.7L engine truck has a larger screen which seems to be more important to me at this point then the engine if reliability is pretty much the same.

I also noticed that it appears Ford updated the 2.7L ecoboost in 2018 and the 3.5L ecoboost in 2017. Is it worth the effort to pick up a truck with the "updated" engine? The 3.5L truck would have the updated engine and the 2017 2.7L would not.

 

The 2.7 has only been around for 5 years, so that may be why your friend made the comment he did. But so far, it has proven to be as reliable as any other modern F150 engine, if not more so.

I would not let reliability be the deciding factor against a 2.7 truck. I would also suggest an '18+ for a 2.7 truck, for the engine updates as well as the 10AT.

My $.02

 

The 2.7 has a cast iron (graphite) blockl

 

This is a great reason to never rely on "buddies". Or social media...

 

Truer words...and all that. Nice guy, but what he was saying sounded off to me.

 

Did you buy chance tell your buddy which motor you were mostly considering?

 

I did. I told him I was considering the 2.7 since I wasn't too concerned about towing and thought I'd get better gas mileage. He said they are wound so tight that they become less reliable once you get above 100K miles compared to the 3.5. He didn't have the configuration with either engine that I wanted on his lot so I don't feel like he was steering me toward the 3.5L for that reason. I'm guessing he just had bad information? I'm also guessing the information wasn't based on the second generation of either engine since they were just released in 2017/2018.

 

I recommend you go through the list of threads. There's quite a few threads filled with many posts from owners experiences with the 3.5 and 2.7 regarding possible issues (or not). This will give you a better idea of owner's experiences.

 

He doesn't know what he is talking about.

Based on the number of 2.7's that have been sold, and the number of enthusiast types who own them, what people tow with them, how many have tuned them, and how few problems we have seen...I wouldn't be surprised if the 2.7 was the most reliable current F150 engine. I think that's where I'd put my money for most reliable of the lineup, actually. The 2.7.

I think that anybody who is okay with the lower GVWR and lower payload of the 2.7 (because of how Ford builds the trucks, it's not an engine thing), would objectively be best served with a 2.7. If they just have to have the V8 sound then of course the 5.0 is the only option, and if they want to tune for max power/go-fast then the 3.5 is where it's at, if they are going to spend BIG money to modify for power then a supercharged 5.0 is the ticket, if they want to tow/haul moderately heavy the 3.5 is the way to go (could do 5.0 but probably 3.5 is better), and if they REALLY want to tow/haul heavy (for a half ton) then a lower trim HDPP truck is the ticket.

But most people, probably the 2.7 is the objectively superior choice based based on price, fuel mileage, power, and expected reliability and longevity


And yes if you can swing it I think it's worth getting the Gen 2 of the engines from 17/18+ and with the 10 speed trans

 

Let me give you a suggestion. From a dead stop, punch the button on the end of the gear shift lever--to Sport Mode.

Then stomp on the accelerator for about 6 seconds.

You'll be amazed that a 2.7 liter motor is so danged fast in such a large vehicle.

Since I tow max 5000 lbs., the 2.7 does a great job for me. I see 22.5 mpg most of the time. On the open road in Econo Mode, I've seen 25.5 mpg @ 55 mph.