Cat Financial Financing Activities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014
Receivables [Abstract]
Period after which collection of future income is considered as not probable (in days)			120 days
Customer
Impaired finance receivables
Recorded Investment With No Allowance Recorded	$ 333		$ 333		$ 251
Unpaid Principal Balance With No Allowance Recorded	331		331		249
Related Allowance With No Allowance Recorded	0		0		0
Recorded Investment With An Allowance Recorded	220		220		362
Unpaid Principal Balance With An Allowance Recorded	218		218		360
Related Allowance With An Allowance Recorded	78		78		75
Recorded Investment, Total	553		553		613
Unpaid Principal Balance, Total	549		549		609
Related Allowance, Total	78		78		75
Average Recorded Investment With No Allowance Recorded	314	$ 275	326	$ 358
Interest Income Recognized With No Allowance Recorded	2	2	7	9
Average Recorded Investment With An Allowance Recorded	269	314	286	232
Interest Income Recognized With An Allowance Recorded	3	5	8	9
Average Recorded Investment, Total	583	589	612	590
Interest Income Recognized, Total	5	7	15	18
Customer | North America
Impaired finance receivables
Recorded Investment With No Allowance Recorded	10		10		14
Unpaid Principal Balance With No Allowance Recorded	10		10		14
Related Allowance With No Allowance Recorded	0		0		0
Recorded Investment With An Allowance Recorded	13		13		6
Unpaid Principal Balance With An Allowance Recorded	13		13		6
Related Allowance With An Allowance Recorded	3		3		1
Recorded Investment, Total	23		23		20
Unpaid Principal Balance, Total	23		23		20
Related Allowance, Total	3		3		1
Average Recorded Investment With No Allowance Recorded	10	19	12	22
Interest Income Recognized With No Allowance Recorded	1	0	1	1
Average Recorded Investment With An Allowance Recorded	10	10	7	10
Interest Income Recognized With An Allowance Recorded	0	0	0	0
Average Recorded Investment, Total	20	29	19	32
Interest Income Recognized, Total	1	0	1	1
Customer | Europe
Impaired finance receivables
Recorded Investment With No Allowance Recorded	43		43		44
Unpaid Principal Balance With No Allowance Recorded	42		42		43
Related Allowance With No Allowance Recorded	0		0		0
Recorded Investment With An Allowance Recorded	9		9		12
Unpaid Principal Balance With An Allowance Recorded	8		8		12
Related Allowance With An Allowance Recorded	4		4		4
Recorded Investment, Total	52		52		56
Unpaid Principal Balance, Total	50		50		55
Related Allowance, Total	4		4		4
Average Recorded Investment With No Allowance Recorded	43	47	43	47
Interest Income Recognized With No Allowance Recorded	0	1	0	1
Average Recorded Investment With An Allowance Recorded	15	24	15	21
Interest Income Recognized With An Allowance Recorded	0	1	1	1
Average Recorded Investment, Total	58	71	58	68
Interest Income Recognized, Total	0	2	1	2
Customer | Asia Pacific
Impaired finance receivables
Recorded Investment With No Allowance Recorded	2		2		1
Unpaid Principal Balance With No Allowance Recorded	1		1		1
Related Allowance With No Allowance Recorded	0		0		0
Recorded Investment With An Allowance Recorded	36		36		29
Unpaid Principal Balance With An Allowance Recorded	36		36		29
Related Allowance With An Allowance Recorded	5		5		8
Recorded Investment, Total	38		38		30
Unpaid Principal Balance, Total	37		37		30
Related Allowance, Total	5		5		8
Average Recorded Investment With No Allowance Recorded	1	0	2	4
Interest Income Recognized With No Allowance Recorded	0	0	0	0
Average Recorded Investment With An Allowance Recorded	41	26	33	18
Interest Income Recognized With An Allowance Recorded	0	0	1	1
Average Recorded Investment, Total	42	26	35	22
Interest Income Recognized, Total	0	0	1	1
Customer | Mining
Impaired finance receivables
Recorded Investment With No Allowance Recorded	56		56		29
Unpaid Principal Balance With No Allowance Recorded	56		56		29
Related Allowance With No Allowance Recorded	0		0		0
Recorded Investment With An Allowance Recorded	13		13		138
Unpaid Principal Balance With An Allowance Recorded	13		13		137
Related Allowance With An Allowance Recorded	5		5		9
Recorded Investment, Total	69		69		167
Unpaid Principal Balance, Total	69		69		166
Related Allowance, Total	5		5		9
Average Recorded Investment With No Allowance Recorded	63	29	80	82
Interest Income Recognized With No Allowance Recorded	0	0	3	3
Average Recorded Investment With An Allowance Recorded	9	127	47	75
Interest Income Recognized With An Allowance Recorded	0	2	1	4
Average Recorded Investment, Total	72	156	127	157
Interest Income Recognized, Total	0	2	4	7
Customer | Latin America
Impaired finance receivables
Recorded Investment With No Allowance Recorded	31		31		34
Unpaid Principal Balance With No Allowance Recorded	31		31		34
Related Allowance With No Allowance Recorded	0		0		0
Recorded Investment With An Allowance Recorded	60		60		42
Unpaid Principal Balance With An Allowance Recorded	60		60		42
Related Allowance With An Allowance Recorded	22		22		12
Recorded Investment, Total	91		91		76
Unpaid Principal Balance, Total	91		91		76
Related Allowance, Total	22		22		12
Average Recorded Investment With No Allowance Recorded	32	37	32	29
Interest Income Recognized With No Allowance Recorded	0	0	0	0
Average Recorded Investment With An Allowance Recorded	69	27	56	24
Interest Income Recognized With An Allowance Recorded	1	1	2	1
Average Recorded Investment, Total	101	64	88	53
Interest Income Recognized, Total	1	1	2	1
Customer | Caterpillar Power Finance
Impaired finance receivables
Recorded Investment With No Allowance Recorded	191		191		129
Unpaid Principal Balance With No Allowance Recorded	191		191		128
Related Allowance With No Allowance Recorded	0		0		0
Recorded Investment With An Allowance Recorded	89		89		135
Unpaid Principal Balance With An Allowance Recorded	88		88		134
Related Allowance With An Allowance Recorded	39		39		41
Recorded Investment, Total	280		280		264
Unpaid Principal Balance, Total	279		279		262
Related Allowance, Total	39		39		41
Average Recorded Investment With No Allowance Recorded	165	143	157	174
Interest Income Recognized With No Allowance Recorded	1	1	3	4
Average Recorded Investment With An Allowance Recorded	125	100	128	84
Interest Income Recognized With An Allowance Recorded	2	1	3	2
Average Recorded Investment, Total	290	243	285	258
Interest Income Recognized, Total	3	2	6	6
Dealer
Impaired finance receivables
Recorded Investment, Total	0		0		$ 0
Average Recorded Investment, Total	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0