CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Revenues
Net sales and operating revenues	$ 2,155	$ 2,096	$ 2,212	$ 2,136	$ 2,031	$ 2,025	$ 2,130	$ 2,023	$ 8,599	$ 8,209	$ 8,420
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown below)	1,790	1,741	1,810	1,770	1,688	1,707	1,764	1,686	7,111	6,845	7,025
Engineering, research, and development									154	146	169
Selling, general, and administrative									589	491	519
Depreciation and amortization of other intangibles									212	203	208
Costs and expenses									8,066	7,685	7,921
Other income (expense)
Loss on sale of receivables									(5)	(4)	(4)
Other expense									0	(1)	(3)
Total other income (expense)									(5)	(5)	(7)
Earnings before interest expense, income taxes, and noncontrolling interests	75	152	177	124	128	116	155	120	528	519	492
Interest expense									92	67	91
Earnings before income taxes and noncontrolling interests									436	452	401
Income tax expense									3	149	131
Net income									433	303	270
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests									70	56	44
Net income attributable to Tenneco Inc.	$ 40	$ 180	$ 86	$ 57	$ 68	$ 52	$ 78	$ 49	$ 363	$ 247	$ 226
Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding —
Basic (in shares)									55,939,135	59,678,309	60,734,022
Diluted (in shares)									56,407,436	60,193,150	61,782,508
Basic earnings per share of common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.74	$ 3.24	$ 1.51	$ 1.00	$ 1.18	$ 0.89	$ 1.27	$ 0.81	$ 6.49	$ 4.14	$ 3.72
Diluted earnings per share of common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.73	$ 3.21	$ 1.49	$ 0.99	$ 1.17	$ 0.88	$ 1.26	$ 0.80	$ 6.44	$ 4.11	$ 3.66