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	$ 2,020	$ 2,118	$ 2,012	$ 8,599	$ 8,181	$ 8,381
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown below)	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 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									92	67	91
Earnings before income taxes and noncontrolling interests									424	441	398
Income tax expense									0	146	131
Net income									424	295	267
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests									68	54	42
Net income attributable to Tenneco Inc.	$ 38	$ 179	$ 82	$ 57	$ 70	$ 49	$ 75	$ 47	$ 356	$ 241	$ 225
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)	$ 0.70	$ 3.22	$ 1.44	$ 1.00	$ 1.19	$ 0.84	$ 1.24	$ 0.79	$ 6.36	$ 4.05	$ 3.70
Earnings per average share of common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.69	$ 3.19	$ 1.43	$ 0.99	$ 1.18	$ 0.83	$ 1.23	$ 0.78	$ 6.31	$ 4.01	$ 3.64