Document and Entity Information Document	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	May 02, 2012
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	Sauer Danfoss Inc
Entity Central Index Key	0000865754
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	true
Amendment Description	Filing of XBRL data inadvertently omitted due to technical difficulties.
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		48,451,417