Supplemental Guarantor Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements - Statement of Comprehensive Income Loss (Details) - 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
Net sales and operating revenues —
External									$ 8,599	$ 8,181	$ 8,381
Affiliated companies									0	0	0
Net sales and operating revenues	$ 2,155	$ 2,096	$ 2,212	$ 2,136	$ 2,031	$ 2,020	$ 2,118	$ 2,012	8,599	8,181	8,381
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales	1,794	1,743	1,816	1,770	1,687	1,707	1,757	1,677	7,123	6,828	6,989
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									8,078	7,668	7,885
Other income (expense)
Loss on sale of receivables									(5)	(4)	(4)
Other income (expense)									0	(1)	(3)
Total other income (expense)									(5)	(5)	(7)
Earnings before interest expense, income taxes, and noncontrolling interests	71	150	171	124	129	111	150	118	516	508	489
Interest expense —
External (net of interest capitalized)									92	67	91
Affiliated companies (net of interest income)									0	0	0
Earnings (loss) before income taxes, noncontrolling interests and equity in net income from affiliated companies									424	441	398
Income tax expense (benefit)									0	146	131
Equity in net income (loss) from affiliated companies									0	0	0
Net income (loss)									424	295	267
Net income attributable to Tenneco Inc.									68	54	42
Net income (loss) attributable to Tenneco Inc.	$ 38	$ 179	$ 82	$ 57	$ 70	$ 49	$ 75	$ 47	356	241	225
Comprehensive Income									356	121	40
Reclass & Elims
Net sales and operating revenues —
External									0	0	0
Affiliated companies									(1,273)	(969)	(1,005)
Net sales and operating revenues									(1,273)	(969)	(1,005)
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales									(1,273)	(969)	(1,005)
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									(1,273)	(969)	(1,005)
Other income (expense)
Loss on sale of receivables									0	0	0
Other income (expense)									(15)	(48)	(38)
Total other income (expense)									(15)	(48)	(38)
Earnings before interest expense, income taxes, and noncontrolling interests									(15)	(48)	(38)
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									(15)	(48)	(38)
Income tax expense (benefit)										0	0
Equity in net income (loss) from affiliated companies									(618)	(390)	(449)
Net income (loss)									(633)	(438)	(487)
Net income attributable to Tenneco Inc.									0	0	0
Net income (loss) attributable to Tenneco Inc.									(633)	(438)	(487)
Comprehensive Income									(633)	(438)	(487)
Guarantor Subsidiaries
Net sales and operating revenues —
External									3,865	3,683	3,688
Affiliated companies									526	411	403
Net sales and operating revenues									4,391	4,094	4,091
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales									3,720	3,414	3,352
Engineering, research, and development									76	70	81
Selling, general, and administrative									311	193	211
Depreciation and amortization of other intangibles									86	87	86
Costs and expenses									4,193	3,764	3,730
Other income (expense)
Loss on sale of receivables									(2)	(1)	0
Other income (expense)									(9)	41	26
Total other income (expense)									(11)	40	26
Earnings before interest expense, income taxes, and noncontrolling interests									187	370	387
Interest expense —
External (net of interest capitalized)									(2)	(2)	(1)
Affiliated companies (net of interest income)									(12)	54	73
Earnings (loss) before income taxes, noncontrolling interests and equity in net income from affiliated companies									201	318	315
Income tax expense (benefit)									(97)	43	94
Equity in net income (loss) from affiliated companies									166	78	128
Net income (loss)									464	353	349
Net income attributable to Tenneco Inc.									0	0	0
Net income (loss) attributable to Tenneco Inc.									464	353	349
Comprehensive Income									464	353	349
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries
Net sales and operating revenues —
External									4,734	4,498	4,693
Affiliated companies									747	558	602
Net sales and operating revenues									5,481	5,056	5,295
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales									4,676	4,383	4,642
Engineering, research, and development									78	76	88
Selling, general, and administrative									277	295	302
Depreciation and amortization of other intangibles									126	116	122
Costs and expenses									5,157	4,870	5,154
Other income (expense)
Loss on sale of receivables									(3)	(3)	(4)
Other income (expense)									24	6	9
Total other income (expense)									21	3	5
Earnings before interest expense, income taxes, and noncontrolling interests									345	189	146
Interest expense —
External (net of interest capitalized)									4	3	4
Affiliated companies (net of interest income)									7	(56)	(75)
Earnings (loss) before income taxes, noncontrolling interests and equity in net income from affiliated companies									334	242	217
Income tax expense (benefit)									97	103	37
Equity in net income (loss) from affiliated companies									0	0	0
Net income (loss)									237	139	180
Net income attributable to Tenneco Inc.									68	54	42
Net income (loss) attributable to Tenneco Inc.									169	85	138
Comprehensive Income									169	85	138
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									0	0	0
Engineering, research, and development									0	0	0
Selling, general, and administrative									1	3	6
Depreciation and amortization of other intangibles									0	0	0
Costs and expenses									1	3	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									(1)	(3)	(6)
Interest expense —
External (net of interest capitalized)									90	66	88
Affiliated companies (net of interest income)									5	2	2
Earnings (loss) before income taxes, noncontrolling interests and equity in net income from affiliated companies									(96)	(71)	(96)
Income tax expense (benefit)										0	0
Equity in net income (loss) from affiliated companies									452	312	321
Net income (loss)									356	241	225
Net income attributable to Tenneco Inc.										0	0
Net income (loss) attributable to Tenneco Inc.									356	241	225
Comprehensive Income									$ 356	$ 121	$ 40