Fair Value (Fair Value of Financial Instruments) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Held-to-maturity securities	$ 2,362	$ 1,899
Loans held-for-sale, net	314	108
Finance receivables and loans, net	128,684	121,617
Nonmarketable equity securities	1,410	1,233
Deposit liabilities	106,178	93,256
Short-term borrowings	9,987	11,413
Long-term debt	44,193	44,226
Deposit liabilities with no defined contractual maturities, carrying value		47,400
Deposit liabilities with no defined contractual maturities, fair value		45,200
Reported value measurement
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Held-to-maturity securities	2,362	1,899
Loans held-for-sale, net	306	95
Finance receivables and loans, net	128,684	121,617
Nonmarketable equity securities	1,351	1,233
Deposit liabilities	51,985	45,869
Short-term borrowings	9,987	11,413
Long-term debt	44,193	44,226
Estimate of fair value measurement
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Held-to-maturity securities	2,307	1,865
Loans held-for-sale, net	306	95
Finance receivables and loans, net	130,878	123,302
Nonmarketable equity securities	1,351	1,239
Deposit liabilities	51,997	45,827
Short-term borrowings	9,992	11,417
Long-term debt	45,646	46,624
Estimate of fair value measurement \| Fair value, inputs, level 1
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Held-to-maturity securities	0	0
Loans held-for-sale, net	0	0
Finance receivables and loans, net	0	0
Nonmarketable equity securities	0	0
Deposit liabilities	0	0
Short-term borrowings	0	0
Long-term debt	0	0
Estimate of fair value measurement \| Fair value, inputs, level 2
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Held-to-maturity securities	2,307	1,865
Loans held-for-sale, net	0	0
Finance receivables and loans, net	0	0
Nonmarketable equity securities	1,351	1,190
Deposit liabilities	0	0
Short-term borrowings	0	0
Long-term debt	23,846	27,807
Estimate of fair value measurement \| Fair value, inputs, level 3
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Held-to-maturity securities	0	0
Loans held-for-sale, net	306	95
Finance receivables and loans, net	130,878	123,302
Nonmarketable equity securities	0	49
Deposit liabilities	51,997	45,827
Short-term borrowings	9,992	11,417
Long-term debt	$ 21,800	$ 18,817

Carrying Value of Deposit Liabilities with no Defined Contractual Maturities

No definition available.

Name:	ally_CarryingValueofDepositLiabilitieswithnoDefinedContractualMaturities
Namespace Prefix:	ally_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Fair Value of Deposit Liabilities With No Defined Contractual Maturities

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	ally_FairValueofDepositLiabilitiesWithNoDefinedContractualMaturities
Namespace Prefix:	ally_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Nonmarketable equity securities

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	ally_Nonmarketableequitysecurities
Namespace Prefix:	ally_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The aggregate of all deposit liabilities held by the entity, including foreign and domestic, interest and noninterest bearing; may include demand deposits, saving deposits, Negotiable Order of Withdrawal (NOW) and time deposits among others.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03.12)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6876686&loc=d3e534808-122878

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_Deposits
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueBalanceSheetGroupingFinancialStatementCaptionsLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of investment in debt security measured at amortized cost (held-to-maturity).

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109979856&loc=d3e26610-111562

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 5
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=82897076&loc=d3e27232-111563

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_HeldToMaturitySecurities
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount after allowance and deduction of deferred interest and fees, unamortized costs and premiums and discounts from face amounts, of loans and leases held in portfolio, including but not limited to, commercial and consumer loans. Excludes loans and leases covered under loss sharing agreements and loans held for sale.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 310
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=82891408&loc=d3e4428-111522

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03.7)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6876686&loc=d3e534808-122878

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LoansAndLeasesReceivableNetReportedAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount, after allowance for bad debt, of loan receivables held-for-sale that are not part of a disposal group. Excludes loans and leases covered under loss sharing agreements and loans classified as debt securities.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LoansReceivableHeldForSaleNetNotPartOfDisposalGroup
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount, after unamortized (discount) premium and debt issuance costs, of long-term debt. Includes, but not limited to, notes payable, bonds payable, debentures, mortgage loans and commercial paper. Excludes capital lease obligations.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 470
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (b)(3)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109500613&loc=SL6031897-161870

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03(a)(16))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03(16))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6876686&loc=d3e534808-122878

Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02(22))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongTermDebt
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Reflects the total carrying amount as of the balance sheet date of debt having initial terms less than one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02(19)(a))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03(a)(16)(a)(1))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03(13))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6876686&loc=d3e534808-122878

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ShortTermBorrowings
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementBasisAxis=us-gaap_CarryingReportedAmountFairValueDisclosureMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementBasisAxis=us-gaap_EstimateOfFairValueFairValueDisclosureMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueByFairValueHierarchyLevelAxis=us-gaap_FairValueInputsLevel1Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueByFairValueHierarchyLevelAxis=us-gaap_FairValueInputsLevel2Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueByFairValueHierarchyLevelAxis=us-gaap_FairValueInputsLevel3Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: