Acquisitions and Divestitures - Acquisition of Federal-Mogul (Details) - USD ($)		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 01, 2018	Oct. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price	$ 3,700,000,000	$ 3,707,000,000
Authorized common stock (in shares)	250,000,000				135,000,000
Borrowings on revolving lines of credit			$ 6,120,000,000	$ 9,120,000,000	$ 5,149,000,000
Common and preferred stock authorized (in shares)	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
Preferred stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01		$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Business acquisition, share price (in dollars per share)	$ 41.99
Advisory fees					68,000,000
Goodwill			$ 1,254,000,000	$ 1,244,000,000	1,231,000,000
Revolving Credit Facility
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt term	5 years
Common Stock
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Tenneco shares issued for purchase of Federal-Mogul (in shares)		29,444,846
Fair value of the Stock Consideration	$ 1,236,000,000
Federal-Mogul
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill	803,000,000
Federal-Mogul
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash consideration	$ 800,000,000
Business acquisition, share price (in dollars per share)	$ 41.99
Fair value of the Stock Consideration	$ 1,200,000,000
Remaining debt obligation	1,700,000,000
Step up of inventory	$ 149,000,000
Non-cash charge for inventory step-up				$ 44,000,000	105,000,000
Revenue since acquisition					1,886,000,000
Net loss since acquisition					(69,000,000)
Federal-Mogul | Common Stock
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Tenneco shares issued for purchase of Federal-Mogul (in shares)	29,444,846
Term Loan A Facility
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt term	5 years
Borrowings on revolving lines of credit	$ 1,700,000,000
Term Loan B Facility
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Borrowing capacity	$ 1,700,000,000
Debt term	7 years
Line of Credit
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Borrowing capacity	$ 4,900,000,000
Line of Credit | Revolving Credit Facility
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Borrowing capacity	$ 1,500,000,000
Debt term	5 years
Line of Credit | Federal-Mogul
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Borrowing capacity	$ 4,900,000,000
Class A
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Authorized common stock (in shares)	175,000,000		175,000,000	175,000,000
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)			$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Class A | Federal-Mogul | Common Stock
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01
Tenneco shares issued for purchase of Federal-Mogul (in shares)	5,651,177
Percentage of outstanding shares	9.90%
Class B
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Authorized common stock (in shares)	25,000,000
Class B | Federal-Mogul | Common Stock
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01
Tenneco shares issued for purchase of Federal-Mogul (in shares)	23,793,669
Powertrain
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill			$ 343,000,000	$ 343,000,000	388,000,000
Powertrain | Federal-Mogul
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 343,000,000
Motorparts
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill			623,000,000	620,000,000	611,000,000
Motorparts | Federal-Mogul
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill	395,000,000
Ride Performance
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill			$ 265,000,000	$ 259,000,000	$ 210,000,000
Ride Performance | Federal-Mogul
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 65,000,000