Supplemental Guarantor Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements - Statement of Comprehensive Income Loss (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Net sales and operating revenues —
External									$ 8,209	$ 8,420	$ 7,964
Affiliated companies									0	0	0
Net sales and operating revenues	$ 2,031	$ 2,025	$ 2,130	$ 2,023	$ 2,004	$ 2,081	$ 2,241	$ 2,094	8,209	8,420	7,964
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown below)	1,688	1,707	1,764	1,686	1,685	1,735	1,851	1,754	6,845	7,025	6,734
Engineering, research, and development									146	169	144
Selling, general, and administrative									491	519	453
Depreciation and amortization of other intangibles									203	208	205
Costs and expenses									7,685	7,921	7,536
Other income (expense)
Loss on sale of receivables									(4)	(4)	(4)
Other income (expense)									(1)	(3)	0
Total other income (expense)									(5)	(7)	(4)
Earnings before interest expense, income taxes, and noncontrolling interests	128	116	155	120	83	140	156	113	519	492	424
Interest expense —
External (net of interest capitalized)									67	91	80
Affiliated companies (net of interest income)									0	0	0
Earnings (loss) before income taxes, noncontrolling interests and equity in net income from affiliated companies									452	401	344
Income tax expense									149	131	122
Equity in net income (loss) from affiliated companies									0	0	0
Net income (loss)									303	270	222
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests									56	44	39
Net income (loss) attributable to Tenneco Inc.	$ 68	$ 52	$ 78	$ 49	$ 21	$ 78	$ 81	$ 46	247	226	183
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Tenneco Inc.									127	41	231
Reclass & Elims
Net sales and operating revenues —
External									0	0	0
Affiliated companies									(969)	(1,005)	(922)
Net sales and operating revenues									(969)	(1,005)	(922)
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown below)									(969)	(1,005)	(922)
Engineering, research, and development									0	0	0
Selling, general, and administrative									0	0	0
Depreciation and amortization of other intangibles									0	0	0
Costs and expenses									(969)	(1,005)	(922)
Other income (expense)
Loss on sale of receivables									0	0	0
Other income (expense)									(48)	(38)	(58)
Total other income (expense)									(48)	(38)	(58)
Earnings before interest expense, income taxes, and noncontrolling interests									(48)	(38)	(58)
Interest expense —
External (net of interest capitalized)									0	0	0
Affiliated companies (net of interest income)									0	0	0
Earnings (loss) before income taxes, noncontrolling interests and equity in net income from affiliated companies									(48)	(38)	(58)
Income tax expense									0	0	0
Equity in net income (loss) from affiliated companies									(402)	(451)	(300)
Net income (loss)									(450)	(489)	(358)
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests									0	0	0
Net income (loss) attributable to Tenneco Inc.									(450)	(489)	(358)
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Tenneco Inc.									(450)	(489)	(358)
Guarantor Subsidiaries
Net sales and operating revenues —
External									3,711	3,727	3,498
Affiliated companies									411	403	350
Net sales and operating revenues									4,122	4,130	3,848
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown below)									3,442	3,391	3,103
Engineering, research, and development									70	81	66
Selling, general, and administrative									193	211	187
Depreciation and amortization of other intangibles									87	86	78
Costs and expenses									3,792	3,769	3,434
Other income (expense)
Loss on sale of receivables									(1)	0	0
Other income (expense)									41	26	(1)
Total other income (expense)									40	26	(1)
Earnings before interest expense, income taxes, and noncontrolling interests									370	387	413
Interest expense —
External (net of interest capitalized)									(2)	(1)	(2)
Affiliated companies (net of interest income)									54	73	70
Earnings (loss) before income taxes, noncontrolling interests and equity in net income from affiliated companies									318	315	345
Income tax expense									43	94	60
Equity in net income (loss) from affiliated companies									84	129	32
Net income (loss)									359	350	317
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests									0	0	0
Net income (loss) attributable to Tenneco Inc.									359	350	317
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Tenneco Inc.									359	350	317
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries
Net sales and operating revenues —
External									4,498	4,693	4,466
Affiliated companies									558	602	572
Net sales and operating revenues									5,056	5,295	5,038
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown below)									4,372	4,639	4,553
Engineering, research, and development									76	88	78
Selling, general, and administrative									295	302	260
Depreciation and amortization of other intangibles									116	122	127
Costs and expenses									4,859	5,151	5,018
Other income (expense)
Loss on sale of receivables									(3)	(4)	(4)
Other income (expense)									6	9	59
Total other income (expense)									3	5	55
Earnings before interest expense, income taxes, and noncontrolling interests									200	149	75
Interest expense —
External (net of interest capitalized)									3	4	5
Affiliated companies (net of interest income)									(56)	(75)	(72)
Earnings (loss) before income taxes, noncontrolling interests and equity in net income from affiliated companies									253	220	142
Income tax expense									106	37	62
Equity in net income (loss) from affiliated companies									0	0	0
Net income (loss)									147	183	80
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests									56	44	39
Net income (loss) attributable to Tenneco Inc.									91	139	41
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Tenneco Inc.									91	139	41
Tenneco Inc. (Parent Company)
Net sales and operating revenues —
External									0	0	0
Affiliated companies									0	0	0
Net sales and operating revenues									0	0	0
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown below)									0	0	0
Engineering, research, and development									0	0	0
Selling, general, and administrative									3	6	6
Depreciation and amortization of other intangibles									0	0	0
Costs and expenses									3	6	6
Other income (expense)
Loss on sale of receivables									0	0	0
Other income (expense)									0	0	0
Total other income (expense)									0	0	0
Earnings before interest expense, income taxes, and noncontrolling interests									(3)	(6)	(6)
Interest expense —
External (net of interest capitalized)									66	88	77
Affiliated companies (net of interest income)									2	2	2
Earnings (loss) before income taxes, noncontrolling interests and equity in net income from affiliated companies									(71)	(96)	(85)
Income tax expense									0	0	0
Equity in net income (loss) from affiliated companies									318	322	268
Net income (loss)									247	226	183
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests									0	0	0
Net income (loss) attributable to Tenneco Inc.									247	226	183
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Tenneco Inc.									$ 127	$ 41	$ 231