Guarantor Financial Information - Condensed Consolidating Balance Sheets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018
Assets, Current [Abstract]
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 162	$ 159	$ 99
Accounts receivable, net	395	401
Inventories, net	194	194
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	43	43
Total current assets	794	797
Noncurrent assets
Property, plant and equipment, net	479	498
Operating lease assets	253	0
Goodwill and intangibles, net	507	504
Equity method investments	39	34
Investment in subsidiaries	0	0
Deferred income taxes	116	123
Other noncurrent assets	109	108
Total noncurrent assets	1,503	1,267
Total assets	2,297	2,064
Current liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt	22	15
Trade and other payables	153	171
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	246	237
Total current liabilities	421	423
Noncurrent liabilities
Long-term debt	1,320	1,327
Employee benefit obligations	376	387
Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent	224	0
Other noncurrent liabilities	152	185
Total noncurrent liabilities	2,072	1,899
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ (deficit) equity	(196)	(258)	$ (343)	$ (358)
Total liabilities and stockholders’ deficit	2,297	2,064
Present value of lease liabilities	254
Eliminations
Assets, Current [Abstract]
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	(150)	(118)
Inventories, net	0	0
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	0	0
Total current assets	(150)	(118)
Noncurrent assets
Property, plant and equipment, net	0	0
Operating lease assets	0
Goodwill and intangibles, net	0	0
Equity method investments	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	(1,770)	(1,703)
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Other noncurrent assets	0	0
Total noncurrent assets	(1,770)	(1,703)
Total assets	(1,920)	(1,821)
Current liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt	0	0
Trade and other payables	(150)	(118)
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	0	0
Total current liabilities	(150)	(118)
Noncurrent liabilities
Long-term debt	0	0
Employee benefit obligations	0	0
Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent	0
Other noncurrent liabilities	0	0
Total noncurrent liabilities	0	0
Stockholders’ (deficit) equity	(1,770)	(1,703)
Total liabilities and stockholders’ deficit	(1,920)	(1,821)
Valvoline Inc. (Parent Issuer) | Reportable Legal Entities
Assets, Current [Abstract]
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories, net	0	0
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	1	0
Total current assets	1	0
Noncurrent assets
Property, plant and equipment, net	0	0
Operating lease assets	0
Goodwill and intangibles, net	0	0
Equity method investments	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	1,247	1,157
Deferred income taxes	55	48
Other noncurrent assets	3	3
Total noncurrent assets	1,305	1,208
Total assets	1,306	1,208
Current liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt	22	15
Trade and other payables	109	80
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	18	9
Total current liabilities	149	104
Noncurrent liabilities
Long-term debt	1,319	1,326
Employee benefit obligations	0	0
Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent	0
Other noncurrent liabilities	34	36
Total noncurrent liabilities	1,353	1,362
Stockholders’ (deficit) equity	(196)	(258)
Total liabilities and stockholders’ deficit	1,306	1,208
Guarantor Subsidiaries | Reportable Legal Entities
Assets, Current [Abstract]
Cash and cash equivalents	62	59
Accounts receivable, net	245	181
Inventories, net	108	110
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	32	35
Total current assets	447	385
Noncurrent assets
Property, plant and equipment, net	407	431
Operating lease assets	211
Goodwill and intangibles, net	425	423
Equity method investments	39
Investment in subsidiaries	523	546
Deferred income taxes	47	61
Other noncurrent assets	97	96
Total noncurrent assets	1,749	1,591
Total assets	2,196	1,976
Current liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt	0	0
Trade and other payables	96	127
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	182	175
Total current liabilities	278	302
Noncurrent liabilities
Long-term debt	1	1
Employee benefit obligations	359	369
Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent	195
Other noncurrent liabilities	116	147
Total noncurrent liabilities	671	517
Stockholders’ (deficit) equity	1,247	1,157
Total liabilities and stockholders’ deficit	2,196	1,976
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries | Reportable Legal Entities
Assets, Current [Abstract]
Cash and cash equivalents	100	100
Accounts receivable, net	300	338
Inventories, net	86	84
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	10	8
Total current assets	496	530
Noncurrent assets
Property, plant and equipment, net	72	67
Operating lease assets	42
Goodwill and intangibles, net	82	81
Equity method investments	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	0	0
Deferred income taxes	14	14
Other noncurrent assets	9	9
Total noncurrent assets	219	171
Total assets	715	701
Current liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt	0	0
Trade and other payables	98	82
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	46	53
Total current liabilities	144	135
Noncurrent liabilities
Long-term debt	0	0
Employee benefit obligations	17	18
Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent	29
Other noncurrent liabilities	2	2
Total noncurrent liabilities	48	20
Stockholders’ (deficit) equity	523	546
Total liabilities and stockholders’ deficit	$ 715	$ 701