Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	May 03, 2013 Common Class A [Member]	May 03, 2013 Common Class B [Member]
Entity Registrant Name	TECUMSEH PRODUCTS COMPANY
Entity Central Index Key	0000096831
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2013
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		13,401,938	5,077,746