Restructuring (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($) labor_union employee	Nov. 10, 2015
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Finalization of severance agreements, number of labor unions | labor_union		3
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Provision	$ 0.0	$ 6.4
Employee Severance [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	6.4	29.4
Provision		3.3
Cash payments	(3.7)	(19.6)
Translation adjustment	0.1	0.9
Ending Balance	2.8	14.0
Employee Severance [Member] | Drivetrain [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	3.7	25.3
Provision		2.3
Cash payments	(1.6)	(17.3)
Translation adjustment	0.0	0.7
Ending Balance	2.1	11.0
Employee Severance [Member] | Engine [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	2.7	4.1
Provision		1.0
Cash payments	(2.1)	(2.3)
Translation adjustment	0.1	0.2
Ending Balance	$ 0.7	3.0
Remy International Inc.
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Employee termination benefits		1.1
Gustav Wahler GmbH u. Co. KG and its general partner
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Provision		$ 1.6
Drivetrain [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Employee termination costs, number of employees | employee		450
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Provision		$ 1.2
Remy International Inc.
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Equity interest acquired			100.00%