Acquisition Narrative (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				0 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	0 Months Ended				0 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	4 Months Ended
	May 24, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Energy Segment [Member]		Sep. 30, 2012 Energy Segment [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 Energy Segment [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Automotive Segment [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Automotive Segment [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Automotive Segment [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Automotive Segment [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Automotive Segment [Member]	Sep. 01, 2012 BERU [Member] Automotive Segment [Member]	May 04, 2012 CVR Energy, Inc. [Member] cash_contingent_payments	Sep. 30, 2012 CVR Energy, Inc. [Member]	May 04, 2012 CVR Energy, Inc. [Member] Maximum [Member]	May 04, 2012 CVR Energy, Inc. [Member] Energy Segment [Member]	May 04, 2012 CVR Energy, Inc. [Member] Energy Segment [Member] Petroleum [Member]	May 04, 2012 CVR Energy, Inc. [Member] Energy Segment [Member] Nitrogen Fertilizer [Member]	May 04, 2012 CVR Partners, LP [Member] Energy Segment [Member]	May 07, 2012 IEP Energy [Member] Principal Owners and Affiliates [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 IEP Energy [Member] CVR Energy, Inc. [Member]	May 04, 2012 IEP Energy [Member] CVR Energy, Inc. [Member]	May 04, 2012 IEP Parties [Member] CVR Energy, Inc. [Member]	May 03, 2012 CVR Energy, Inc. [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash paid for acquisition of CVR																			$ 52	$ 1,754
Share price, CVR acquisition (in ones)																				$ 30
Number of cash contingent payment rights (in ones)																				1
Common shares of CVR tendered																				48,112,317
Percentage of CVR shares tendered																													55.00%
Percentage of equity ownership in subsidiary																										70.00%		82.00%		70.00%
Affiliate ownership interest							93.30%	92.60%																			6.40%
Business Combination, Acquisition Related Costs																					1
Acquisition-date fair value of equity interest in CVR held by IEP Energy immediately before the acquisition date																				378
Business Combination, Step Acquisition, Equity Interest in Acquiree, Remeasurement Loss																				(1)
Solicitation period from third party to acquire	60 days
CCP valuation assumption, expected life of CCP																					3 months 18 days
Net (loss) gain from investment activities		(81)	(49)	255	1,158				0	[1]	0	[1]		0	0	0	0														102
Goodwill		2,042		2,042		1,127			894		894		0	1,125		1,125		1,097	20				894	652	242
Goodwill recognized, expected to be tax deductible																							$ 0
EBITDA multiple used to calculate fair value of non-controlling interest in CVR																						6.5

[1] We consolidated CVR effective May 4, 2012.