Acquisitions and Divestitures - Acquisition of Federal-Mogul (Details) - USD ($)		3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 01, 2018	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2018
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Authorized common stock available for issuance under the plan	250,000,000					135,000,000
Borrowings on revolving lines of credit			$ 5,149,000,000	$ 6,664,000,000	$ 5,417,000,000
Borrowing capacity		$ 5,054,000,000	$ 5,054,000,000
Common and preferred stock authorized						185,000,000
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)						$ 0.01
Authorized shares (in shares)	50,000,000	50,000,000	50,000,000	50,000,000		50,000,000
Preferred stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Goodwill		$ 869,000,000	$ 869,000,000	$ 49,000,000
Class B
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Authorized common stock available for issuance under the plan	25,000,000
Class A
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Authorized common stock available for issuance under the plan	175,000,000	175,000,000	175,000,000	135,000,000
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)		$ 0.01	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Federal-Mogul
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price	$ 3,707,000,000
Cash Consideration	$ 800,000,000
Tenneco share price at October 1, 2018	$ 41.99
Repayment of Federal-Mogul debt and accrued interest	$ 1,660,000,000
Advisory fees			$ 68,000,000
Acquisition related costs			96,000,000
Payment for advisory fees	11,000,000
Goodwill	825,000,000
Step up of inventory	$ 152,000,000
Non-cash charge for inventory step-up		$ 105,000,000
Revenue since acquisition		1,886,000,000
Net loss since acquisition		69,000,000
Common Stock | Federal-Mogul
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Tenneco shares issued for purchase of Federal-Mogul	29,444,846
Fair value of the Stock Consideration	$ 1,236,000,000
Common Stock | Federal-Mogul | Class B
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01
Tenneco shares issued for purchase of Federal-Mogul	23,793,669
Common Stock | Federal-Mogul | Class A
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01
Percentage of outstanding shares	9.90%
Tenneco shares issued for purchase of Federal-Mogul	5,651,177
Federal-Mogul
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition related costs			4,000,000
Accrued interest	$ 5,000,000
Revolving Credit Facility
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt term	5 years
Borrowing capacity	$ 1,500,000,000
Revolving Credit Facility | Federal-Mogul
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Extinguishment of debt	$ 200,000,000
Term Loan A Facility
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt term	5 years
Borrowing capacity	$ 1,700,000,000
Term Loan B Facility
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt term	7 years
Borrowing capacity	$ 1,700,000,000
Term Loan | Federal-Mogul
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Extinguishment of debt	1,455,000,000
Line of Credit
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Borrowings on revolving lines of credit	4,900,000,000
Borrowing capacity	$ 4,900,000,000
Line of Credit | Revolving Credit Facility
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt term	5 years
Borrowing capacity	$ 1,500,000,000
Powertrain
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill		388,000,000	388,000,000	$ 0
Powertrain | Federal-Mogul
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill	388,000,000
Motorparts
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill		$ 437,000,000	$ 437,000,000	$ 0
Motorparts | Federal-Mogul
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 437,000,000