CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (USD $) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Revenues
Net sales and operating revenues	$ 2,004	$ 2,081	$ 2,241	$ 2,094	$ 2,031	$ 1,963	$ 2,067	$ 1,903	$ 8,420	$ 7,964	$ 7,363
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown below)	1,685	1,735	1,851	1,754	1,703	1,691	1,736	1,604	7,025	6,734	6,170
Goodwill impairment charge									0	0	0
Engineering, research, and development									169	144	126
Selling, general, and administrative									519	453	427
Depreciation and amortization of other intangibles									208	205	205
Costs and expenses									7,921	7,536	6,928
Other income (expense)
Loss on sale of receivables									(4)	(4)	(4)
Other expense									(3)	0	(3)
Total other income (expense)									(7)	(4)	(7)
Earnings before interest expense, income taxes, and noncontrolling interests	83	140	156	113	118	72	141	93	492	424	428
Interest expense (net of interest capitalized of $5 million for 2014 and $4 million for 2013 and 2012, respectively)									91	80	105
Earnings before income taxes and noncontrolling interests									401	344	323
Income tax expense									131	122	19
Net income									270	222	304
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests									44	39	29
Net income attributable to Tenneco Inc.	$ 21	$ 78	$ 81	$ 46	$ 54	$ 12	$ 63	$ 54	$ 226	$ 183	$ 275
Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding —
Basic (in shares)									60,734,022	60,474,492	59,985,677
Diluted (in shares)									61,782,508	61,594,062	61,083,510
Basic earnings per share of common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.34	$ 1.29	$ 1.34	$ 0.76	$ 0.90	$ 0.19	$ 1.04	$ 0.90	$ 3.72	$ 3.03	$ 4.58
Diluted earnings per share of common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.33	$ 1.27	$ 1.32	$ 0.75	$ 0.88	$ 0.19	$ 1.02	$ 0.88	$ 3.66	$ 2.97	$ 4.50